Perfect Love by Giovanna Fabi (Mini Kus! #133)

Fabi uses scant few words in this story, with interesting visual framing sequences denoting dreams and imagination. The textured line patterns that overlay the art, sometimes encompassing the entire panel, seem to ebb and flow with intensity in ways that complement the character interactions. As the characters embrace, there’s a morphing spark at their touch; I think this denotes the tension between either a) two souls in love becoming one, and b) prompting the question – are we just narcissistic by nature and seeking out people like us that meet our egotistical needs in a form of relationship affinity bias? In either case, Perfect Love comes at us with an ironic title that feels like a deliberate misnomer. It asks many questions. Is love is actually fleeting, is the chase just an elaborate trap, does the other person entice and keep us, or do we ultimately keep ourselves in situations by seeing and being drawn to reflections of ourselves in other people’s stories? Perfect Love is challenging, perhaps best epitomized by the ritual collaring toward the end. This process and those who know its symbolism must interrogate the story and the questions it begs. Which character POV is real, and which character POV is a dream state, which is dominant and which is submissive, or can they be fluid when we all feel that we’re the main character in our own story, and we inherently refute the notion that we’re merely a side character in another person’s story?