Microreview:
Concupiscence by Vincent Stall

One
of 2dcloud‘s mini comics from their fall 2014 season, Concupiscence is seemingly slight. At only 8 pages, the book is
easy to miss in a table full of other work. But Stall has created a blobby,
vicious world where violence and sexual desire are magnets drawn to one
another. A woman, stripped of her agency, is accused of infidelity by her
husband – but the violence surrounding his revenge turns on him in an
unexpected way. Regardless, the woman in the story still has no agency, despite
the events that unfold. In the end, hollow eyes and a knife posed over womb
imply more violence, further isolation, and fear. Throughout Stall’s
illustration is dark and brooding, high in detail; navy ink on cream paper with
a yellow screenprint on the cover add to the mini’s appeal as a print object.
Strong panel composition carries the mini through to its dark end; despite
being such a small comic, Concupiscence more than carries its weight.