“Casual Fling” #1 is a contemporary story which plays with repurposed tropes, all with an eye towards issues that will only become more complex as time goes on. It’s a compact, well paced and well drawn story. The tension in “Casual Fling” #1 feels real as we follow Jennifer Ryan through a series of difficult choices that are all the more terrifying given their veracity. “Casual Fling” #1 perfectly cuts through the mundane with sex and intrigue, and then turns on a dime once again as the sinister forces of the story sink in. There’s a lot to talk about in this AWA Studios comic, so let’s get to it. Note, some minor spoilers lie ahead.
Cover by DaniCasual Fling #1
Written by Jason Starr
Illustrated by Dalibor Talajic
Colored by Marco Lesko
Reviewed by Kobi BordoleyJennifer Ryan has the perfect life. A loving family. A high paying job in corporate law. A luxurious apartment in upper Manhattan. Then one day she steps out of her marriage…and finds that her new lover isn’t the one night stand she expected. Stalked and threatened with exposure, Jennifer attempts to unravel the true identity of her tormentor, discovering valuable clues in the trail of destruction left in this mysterious man’s wake.
Jennifer Ryan and her husband feel like an upwardly mobile Gen X or Millennial couple, trying their best to balance careers, family, and their relationship to one another. “Casual Fling” #1 lays this all out clearly in the first few panels of the story, and effectively captures the chaotic ritual of a morning routine. Jennifer’s husband curses at the fire alarm, the burning food, and the general bad vibes of Getting Things Together For The Kids while Jennifer tries her best at small talk and being helpful while trying to get to work on time. From the get-go character motivations and relationship tensions are clear. Jennifer’s husband is a stay at home dad who feels like Jennifer isn’t doing her fair share of parenting, while Jennifer provides for the family from her high power corporate law job. She tries, but maybe not her best. However, she could be doing a lot worse.
We feel for the family in “Casual Fling” #1, and as readers find ourselves weighing the pros and cons of each micro decision they make. Should Jennifer have lingered at the kitchen table a little longer? Could her husband have phrased that request more kindly? These little moments feel real because the dialogue mirrors the kinds of conversations so many of us have as we navigate similarly tricky situations, weaving in and out of passive aggression in an attempt to arrive at consensus. Overall, “Casual Fling” #1 nails the characterizations from a writing perspective. Talajic’s art aligns so well with what happens on the page too, which only makes things stronger.
For example, in the first few pages of “Casual Fling” #1, we get clear closeups of the main characters, establishing the protagonists quickly. The outlines are crisp and the colors are clear. There’s nothing heady or surreal about this story, but there doesn’t need to be. It’s about human relationships, full stop — no ifs, ands, or buts. While the dialogue makes character motivations clear, character expressions in “Casual Fling” #1 offer a lot of subtext that provides us a deeper look into each character’s psyche. There’s a specific panel at the end of the first scene in “Casual Fling” #1 that gets this across well — Jennifer and her husband argue about scheduling snafus and the merits of calendars. In the panel, Jennifer’s husband cringes a bit, and appears placating while simultaneously a little defeated. Jennifer’s body language, on the other hand, portrays someone on the edge of exacerbation who’s trying to hold back. We’re not sure what the exact notes for the artist were in “Casual Fling” #1, but Talajic got the the point across masterfully. What’s more, the physical exchange on these pages lays the groundwork for the couple’s dynamic as “Casual Fling” #1 moves forward: Jennifer’s husband ebbing between passivity and disappointment, and Jennifer flowing between bluntness and being coy.
By establishing a consistent visual language for characters so early on in the story, moments when that language changes are even more noticeable. For example, when Jennifer meets Alex Miles, the wealthy investor (and soon to be villain) who’s promised to support her firm, her countenance changes. She becomes more animated, and Talajic captures her flirtations remarkably well in the art. Starr also uses a few dialogue tricks to let us know conversation is flowing. During their first meeting, for example, the dialogue between Jennifer and Alex moves in a written montage-like manner from panel to panel. In the first panel they’ll discuss wine, then in the next one Italy, and in the one after central European literature, so on and so on, with abrupt breaks between panels. These sort of rhetorical devices may sound rote when written up in our review, but on the page they lend to a sort of narrative flow that feels natural and engaging. The visual beats also line up well here, and as Jennifer and Alex amp up their banter we’re given visual ups of their touching hands, some footsie, and a zoom out shot of them alone as the bar has long since emptied. The panel in which Jennifer wistfully twists her wedding ring looks especially good. All in all, it’s all classic fare that works remarkably well.
Continued belowWhile the colors in “Casual Fling” #1 are quite realistic and straight forward, Lesko makes good use of tone. He gives us dreary greens from the TV after a long day at work, and seductive lavenders and pinks, paired with blocks of black, during the wordless sex scenes of the story. These color tones build mood in an instant, and add another level of nuance to the dichotomy between Jennifer’s home life and her nascent, edgy relationship with Alex. Color also interplays with panel design in “Casual Fling” #1. There’s a wonderful scene half way through the story in which Jennifer walks down the street with her husband and child, looking autumnal and generally wholesome. Those panels are placed directly next to a series of smaller panels with faded colors, each of which depict her prior night flirting with Alex. The statement is clear: Jennifer is one place, but thinking softly of another. Altogether, it’s a great depiction of what could, perhaps, be described as “horny absentmindedness.”
Jennifer’s push and pull dynamic with Alex are the crux of “Casual Fling” #1, and after their first hook-up things feel a little more predictable: sex with Alex was a one time thing for Jennifer, but she quickly realizes that pleasing him is directly correlated to her firm receiving his investments, and therefore Alex becomes her job security. If one goes, so does the other. On top of that, Alex becomes more overbearing and more covetous of her time as the story goes on, forcing Jennifer to keep giving him attention at the cost of her own agency.
The predictability of Jennifer and Alex’s relationship in “Casual Fling” #1 is less a knock against the writers and more an indictment of our own society’s relationship dynamics; Starr and Talajic merely show what already exists in excruciating detail. However, the ending panel of “Casual Fling” #1 indicates that the story is about to veer into less established territory. We’ll let that surprise remain unspoiled, but it’s indicative that the scope of “Casual Fling” #1 will be greater than you initially thought.
In sum, “Casual Fling” #1 is a sleek, well written story about sex, power, gender dynamics, and control. This four part series from AWA Studios has no real weak point, and we’re excited (and nervous) to see how Jennifer’s uncomfortable relationship with Alex develops.
Final Verdict: 9.0. An effective and contemporary forbidden romance story that’s sure to twist the knife deeper — we’ve only just begun.
