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Thank you, Netgalley, and to the publisher, for lending me the e-ARC for The Vain. This does not affect my review in any way and form.

Was immediately drawn in by the cover art and the premise of the book: "A horror/breakup story in five parts." But what is it about?

"Catrin Vander, a lonely video producer, buys an Artificial Intelligence partner that's meant to bond to her for life. After ten years together, her holographic wife suddenly disconnects without a warning. The breakup drives Catrin to the point of near insanity. She's alone for the first time in years, and reeling from a loss she can't comprehend."

The book is set in the future where AI takes human forms and can be designed and "built" custom-made based on what the human wants. In this particular story though, Catrin's marriage (might I call it obsession?) and eventual "breakup" with an AI left her unhinged and spiraling into a craze of self-destruction.

The self-destruction part was perfectly encapsulated by how confusing, strange, wild, and horrific the storytelling got as I read the last two chapters. I had no idea what was going on and only had a vague sense of what was happening to the main character. And I think that in itself speaks for the harrowing and empty feeling that goes with heartbreaks, losing yourself in the process, and looking for ways to FEEL in very destructive ways - drugs and sex.

While I like the metaphorical take and AMAZING art style and how the color schemes were used to emulate emotions, I got sort of withdrawn from the characters as I was reading the last chapters.

Trigger Warnings: self-harm, physical assault, murder, body horror, drug/alcohol abuse, addiction, mental breakdown

'Lonely Receiver' by Zac Thompson with art by Jen Hickman is a graphic novel about a breakup that goes to dark places.

Catrin Vander is in love with an Artificial Intelligence named Rhion until she finds out that Rhion is seeing a lot more people. They have a violent breakup and Catrin thinks she can live on her own until she can't. She pursues someone else, then sinks to some pretty low depths, all for the pursuit of love.

The idea of the story started out okay and slowly devolved in to a story I didn't care about. Catrin is only pathetic and never sympathetic. Which is too bad, because Jen Hickman's art and eye-popping colors were a treat, except for the white on teal speech bubbles which were hard to read.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Aftershock Comics, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Beautiful artwork but messed up and a bit traumatizing of a story. I understand that some people do experience depression when their long term relationship ends, but this I feel went a bit far without ever really giving any healthy resolution

Lonely Receiver raises philosophical discussions of selfhood, isolation, technological advancement, and identity, but it doesn't venture to explore any in great depth. The art style is captivating, though at time the violence and darkness of the subject matter is overwhelming. The grand finale is a welcome reprieve from the dire hopelessness of the vast majority of the book, even if the ending message is a bit heavy-handed.

When Rihon, Catrin's AI wife, suddenly disconnects and leaves her, Catrin feels lost and ostracised. She loses her grip and desperately grapples to regain normalcy and to find her perfect life partner again.

The illustrations in Lonely Receiver are vibrant yet iridescent yet muted and perfectly depicts this alternative future and the thin line between illusion and reality. I liked how the story shows how we in relationships lose parts of ourselves to others and how great a void that can make after a breakup.
However, I found the story hard to follow and quite messy and I think some things were explained too little and others it was too much of. I could have done without the orgies and graphic sex scenes.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me a copy.
First I was like « wow great a lesbian, sci-fi/horror story with a pretty good topic »!
I kinda like the first chapter but after that, I was just confused. I didn’t get attached to the character and thought the topic wasn’t well enough managed.
But I really enjoyed the graphic works. The drawings were pretty and fit the story perfectly, but what I preferred were the characters' designs and the colors. Like I could just watch the drawings without reading the story.
So it’s not what I was waiting for, I found the story underexploited, but the art was pretty amazing.
TW: Death, Murder, Child Abuse, Incest, Blood, Sex

Lonely Reciever took me for a ride I was not expecting to be on. From the start I was drawn into the art style, beautiful colors, and interesting story concept. It is very reminiscent of HER and plays with sci-fi elements I always enjoy looking into but wow did I not expect the turn that this took.

First off - this main character is objectively the worst. Don't get me wrong - I love to follow crappy characters. This was not an issue for me but it made following the story a bit slow for me because I couldn't connect with her at all before she started making some wildly stupid decisions. Between the AI virus-like horror and gratuitous sex scenes you can really tell the story was written by a man. Which is made a bit more strange when you recognize that the main character is in fact a lesbian and winds up in an orgy that takes place over the better part of two whole issues.

The story touches on obsession, a little bit of sex addiction/kinks, and the first two sections were by far the most interesting. Once she dove deeper below the net and spent most of her time inside of this network there didn't feel like much of a plot anymore and the story became harder to follow because it is written in a strange prose that seems to mimic the way the virus talks.

The final reveal at the end is interesting but it doesn't really make up for the whole situation.

This is DEFINITELY NOT a YA book.

This comic had some beautiful moments in the design, but I couldn't get into it overall (despite some pretty cute Cronenberg references). The writing didn't work for me; I felt like the story would have benefited from heavier editing, as well as more dialogue to break up all the narration.

"Her" but make it a queer graphic novel with orgies.
I don't even know what to say about this. Even though the similarities between the movie were inevitable, I was still excited to see how the theme was going to be explored but it didn't deliver, in my opinion.
I just thought it was super messy, the explanation parts were not clarifying whatsoever and I still feel like I don't know the characters and who they are, expect for that technician (?) who in the first scene we had with him shared a very personal story. If my doctor ever told that type of story in front of me while I have something down my throat I would 100% run for my life.
The art work was amazing, it is definitely one of the best aspects of this, multiple beautiful scenes. I did like the message and what it wanted to discuss but, for me, was just very confusing yet amusing at the same time. It was worth the read tho.

I really loved the artwork in this graphic novel, but I found myself having to reread panels and go back to try to understand what exactly was going on. That made it hard to read this, I’m disappointed because it’s so beautiful but so deep and philosophical, this something I’d have to read with a clear head.
Please don’t think that means this isn’t worth it, if you like deep meanings and stories that cause you to dig deep and think, then this is perfect for you.


Thank you to Net Galley and the Publishers for allowing me to review.

This graphic novel centers around Caitlin, who decides to get an A.I. life partner after going through a rough breakup. This graphic novel is full of plot twists and beautiful art. However, the content may not be for everyone so be forewarned. There are heavily sexual themes in this book. I did enjoy reading this graphic novel, but sometimes I found myself a bit lost on what was happening. I had to reread panels and still found myself scratching my head. But overall, I did enjoy this novel.

This frustrated me. The illustrations are wonderful and I love the color work. The topic of a recent breakup and the process of grieving after is of interest to me.

But there was not a lot of depth or breadth to the world in which we see our characters. This is a futuristic plot and the interjections of a personal letter and a user manual do not help at all. I feel they would have proven more interesting if the world was built up more, if we weren't told things but shown things. Seeing the lives of others in different circumstances instead of just the repair person would be helpful.

In conclusion, I find there are some very deeply resonating moments in this that stick with me (pg 44 in the download especially), but once the end arrived, I felt lost and without a true conclusion.

Don't know if I would purchase it for our collection currently, but it might be worth recommending for anyone interested in futuristic technology/human emotion.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an early copy of this book. This in no way influences my thoughts or opinions

So..... this is a lot to take in and I highly suggest taking your time if you decide to read it. It's a very complex and layered story. The dialogue does make it a little hard to keep up, in my opinion. It just feels really philosophical and that's not necessarily something I enjoy reading unless I'm analyzing it for a class.

Beautiful artwork, though. I can't get over how gorgeous some panels were, even when they were terrifying to look at. Vibrant colors and exquisitely rendered scenes will keep you hooked.

This was a bit disappointing to be honest.

I loved the art style but the story was lacking. I didn't know what was going on a lot of the time. I wished there was more dept and worldbuilding throughout.

It was...okay
I had trouble connecting and caring to the characters and the plot in general but it was okay

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.
2.5 stars? Maybe?
The art style in this graphic novel is great, which provides an eerie atmosphere that would be perfect if the story itself wasn't a bit messy.
We start off with a great premise - an AI that is supposed to be a lifetime companion "breaks up" with our protagonist - but it soon goes off the rails in a rushed and convoluted storyline that required multiple reads of some pages to try and make sense (and I usually consider myself a rather able reader).
Maybe this is a case of "it's not you, it's me", but I probably won't check out the next installment. I would still recommend giving it a try if you like graphic novels and the premise intrigues you.

"You’re the maker of my evil."

What drew me to this graphic novel was the cover. I know we shouldn’t judge a book based on that but I did. That cover is going to sucker a lot of people into reading this and they are going to be severely disappointed.

I really don’t want to say this but I have to say it. (Deep breath) I hated this. It bored me and I didn’t almost finish it. There were a few times where I had to force myself to read further and I wish I didn’t. There was nothing there keeping me glued to those pages.

Some of the art was decent and very colorful but art isn’t going to save your story. It needs depth and that glue to hold the readers attention, it didn’t have any of that. And those bizarre sex scenes weren’t really necessary. They were awkward but not necessary.

The only enjoyable moment was when Catrin went to a burger joint. The name of it filled me with joy. Cronin-Burger!!! Love it!

Lonely Receiver was a waste of time. It was bizarre in all the wrong ways and I honestly didn’t know what to say about it. It wasn’t for me and I’m not sure if I would recommend this to anyone.

This should NOT be in the YA section. A sexed up, introspective book about trauma and how it shapes our relationships. This is just a case of this not being my cup of tea, but it could be hard to follow at certain points. Interesting concept, well executed, but not for me personally. Would highly recommend to those looking for beautiful drawings and a philosophical journey.

Thank you to Netgalley and AfterShock Comics/Diamond Book Distributors for an advanced copy of this title.

Touted in the opening notes by the author as a response to his own painful breakup, LONELY RECEIVER is a sad and somewhat confusing story about love, loss, and finding one's self....at least I think?

TW: relationship abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, alcohol abuse, depression

Catrin, recently separated, creates a holographic life partner named Rhion to fix her broken heart. After ten years together, Rhion disconnects suddenly from Catrin which makes her spiral into depression. A dark figure appears to her and telepathically speaks to her. telling her to find Rhion. She begins searching for ways to reconnect to Rhion, looking for her in a virtual space called "The Garden" where humans and their A.I.s physically connect (aka have sex).

The first part of the book was easy to follow, a basic break up story except with a human and the A.I. she created. I had a lot of questions as to what Rhion was, how she was created, and why Catrin had a fleshy, hairy phone that was her connection with Rhion (seriously, it looks like a vagina and I think that's the point?). These questions are somewhat answered later on and aren't dire, but I was just confused right from the get go and that didn't set me up to succeed with this story.

Catrin wants love so bad, but is pretty terrible to Rhion in the beginning - she's very possessive and demanding and then wonders why she leaves. Catrin's problems in relationships (and within herself) are delved into further throughout the rest of the book. This is where the weird cyber orgies start happening, with long, flowery monologues from Catrin about herself and her past(ish - it's briefly touched on about the abuse she endured as a child and how it affects her now). The ending finally brings it back together and had a really good message, but it was somewhat difficult to get to. Definitely reflective of the deep sadness and existence questioning that happens after a hard breakup, but the imagery and long text made it a soggy read to get through.

This book was also marked "Teen & YA" - UM NO. Catrin is explained to be in her late 30s, there are multiple graphic sex scenes (basically half the book) and the relationship content wouldn't be relatable or accessible to teens in my opinion.

Final thoughts: A lot of deep, metaphorical prose mixed with sexual orgies and weird space organs and bright colors - was a weird cup of tea that I'm not sure who to recommend it to.

TW: Drinking, sex, nudity, depression, violence, abuse.

My thoughts: This story is a heartbreaking story of one person still in love and another no longer in love. Catrin is dumped by her sci-fi wife after she decides that she has seen enough of the world to move on and actually live life. Heartbroken Catrin embarks on a world where she drowns her sorrows in drinking and drugs. Many different moments she meets up with her love only for it end in different ways.

I thought this was very clever graphic novel written about how dissolved relationships can be when they are ending. Nothing is ever fair or come out perfect. Sometimes you are bounced around and trying to work out what went wrong and coming to turns with the end.