Monday 31 October 2016

Darling Alfie

... One of the Biggest Little Erotic Adventures Ever. 

It was not long ago that I first ran across the remarkable erotic webcomic Alfie, by the excellent writer and artist InCase. Now that he's reissuing this fabulous work in a freshly re-drawn, new-and-improved format -- hopefully as a prelude to the further adventures of the title character and her ever-feisty mother Vera -- it's a good time to revisit what makes this particular comic so special.

Alfie is, first and foremost, darned sexy erotic entertainment built on a reasonably typical high-fantasy setting that features elves, humans and a race of halflings / not-Hobbits in this case called "havlins." The shorties, so to speak, are unquestionably the stars of the show, and InCase imbues his cast of protagonists with a sexy vitality that I would never have imagined before seeing his work. Casting this kind of material in a fresh light is no small feat in itself, and worth the price of admission. But there's more.




What's most impressive about Alfie is that in the course of all the sexy hijinks it offers up, it also builds some interesting characters that the reader can follow and root for, and explores much weightier issues than you'd expect at first glance. It's not issue-driven, per se -- it stays fun and sensual first and foremost -- but it's also willing to explore things like family dynamics, the awkwardness of inter-ethnic coupling and relationships, the perils of parochialism and of "standing out" in a hidebound rural setting, and queer sexuality and identity. InCase has sharp takes on all these subjects, and the touch of added depths this brings to his characters actually makes the sex hotter.

I was particularly taken by his portrayal of the surprisingly realistic struggles of characters trying to come to terms with queer and kinky sexuality. These sub-threads provide some of the very hottest material in the comic even if -- I'll venture to say -- you're not normally a fan of gay and lesbian sex, femdom and/or BDSM-related content.

At present the saga of Alfie is on something of a cliffhanger, so I'm hopeful the fresh edition will eventually move the tale into new territory. InCase is already updating at a fantastic pace given the amount of other work they're producing, so if you can manage to support them on Patreon I think it's well worthwhile. And if you haven't had the opportunity to check out the original upload of the comic, it's fantastic and well worth your time to read it from end to end. While you're getting started on that, allow me to play you out with "Alfie's Theme" by Sonny Rollins:



ObPlug: Alfie's tale of inter-"racial" fantasy hijinks is part of what inspired a (considerably darker) take on the subject matter I'm working up for inclusion in the Uruk Press anthology Sex and Sorcery 3. I believe they're still accepting submissions, so check out the guidelines.

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