The Bayba Set by Roberto Baldazzini (Part 1)

Maybe it's the constant staring at the computer, working on press releases and proposals all day in the office, and then working on my novel all night at home. Then again, maybe it's just e-reader backlash, and a desperate attempt by my senses to once again experience the thrill of glossy a paper and the heft of a real book.

Whatever the reason, I went on a bit of a shopping spree last week, ordering copies of The Bayba Set by Roberto Baldazzini, Pretty Face, Vol. 1 by Yasuhiro Kano, Boy Princess Vol. 1 by Seyoung Kim, Click Volume 1 by Youngran Lee, and Kashimashi Omnibus vol. 1 by Satoru Akahori.

The good postal fairy delivered this afternoon. :)

Just because it's big, bold, and colourful, I decided to start by reading Domina in Red, the first of the 2 books in The Bayba Set. What a curious tale . . . not at all what I expected . . . yet somehow more delightful for it.

Basically, this is the tale of a young submissive shemale breaking into the world of porn. She's partnered with another shemale by the name of Red Domina, who has a hard time getting an erection (pun intended), and who speaks with a deliberate lisp. Maybe it's just the translation, but the imagery leads me to suggest she really is designed to be a rather lightweight domina, tentative, anxious, and really quite needy.

Bayba, on the other hand, is a submissive little whore - and proud of it! The more she's used, abused, tortured, and humiliated, the more she loves it. The best part of the book is the flashback to her early days as a sissy, and her discovery by the woman whose house she cleaned. There was some real domination there, and even a suggestion of forced coercion one her husband stepped in.

Along with the porno shoot storyline, there's also a developing romance that seems to end poorly when Bayba catches Red Domina giving up her ass to the producer, who loves it so much he promises to make her he star. The final panel redeems it all, however, when the humiliation leaves Bayba writhing on the floor and cumming all over herself.

The narrative is a little weak, and the dialogue awkward (especially Red's lisp), but the book looks gorgeous. The colours are stark (reds, browns, blacks, and fleshtones), and the whole thing has a vibrant, yet almost washed out look that adds to the atmosphere. The bondage situations into which Bayba gets put are glorious in their intricacies, and Red always looks stunning in her red latex. The pig-faced men are a bit strange, to be sure, but I'm guessing that's a trademark of Baldazzini's work.

All in all, a nice little graphic novel. I'm looking forward to giving the 2nd volume, Lady Brown, a read next.

♂↔♀