Sweet Paprika #1: This Devil’s A Loser

Mirka Andolfo is one of the youngest creators in the industry at the moment, and has had no trouble standing out of the crowd. With her extremely recognizable art style, it’s easy to pick her books out from afar. And each book she works on has a little bit of extra flare. Especially her self-created titles.

Sweet Paprika is the newest of her self-created books, with Mercy being her previous one. Though both books are made by her, I can assure you that if issue 1 is anything to go off of, the two will be very different books.

Sweet Paprika is about a not-so-sweet devil named, well, Paprika. She’s loud, she’s crude, she’s hellishly rude. Paprika is the C.C.O. of a major publishing company, she doesn’t have time for things like friends, or relationships, or well, to put it bluntly, sex. But she certainly wants a lot of that last one. Sadly though, she’s a bit of a loser with no life outside of work. (Her own words, not mine.)

Enter Dill, a suave angel delivery boy who delivers packages along with his own personal package. The ladies love him, but Paprika can’t stand him. Even his little puppy companion can’t soothe her soul. The two live very different lives, but I’m getting the feeling their lives are going to become very intertwined. Especially since it’s extremely hinted at in the book’s solicitation. 

While Dill is a smoothtalker, Paprika seems to be a self-sabotager. This issue sets up for what looks to be a story about Paprika dealing with childhood trauma and how it has come to affect her and her relationships. On an emotional and sexual level. A story like that, paired with Andolfo’s exaggerated art style is bound to make for a book that will keep your interest no problem. 

I already feel a level of investment in our main character that makes me want to see her grow better over the course of the series. Here’s hoping Dill can help her with that. Cause she certainly needs the help. And the releasing of some clear sexual frustration. 

Did I mention that this book is most definitely not for kids? Because it isn’t.

It’s full of nude art and sexual innuendo. So if you like your character driven stories with a bit of spice, this is the book for you! Trust me on this, I love those kinds of stories and this one has me ready to read, read, read.

But I mentioned the art, so let’s focus on that for a second. Andolfo does have a very recognizable style, but this is easily one of her most stylized books. Everything has this cartoon like look to it, that heavily contrasts with the themes being discussed. It’s casual, yet serious. Everything has this larger than life feel to it. Which makes sense, as it is a story about devils, angels, demons and more.

Simon Tessuto’s colors add an extra whimsical feel to the book. With bright colors and hard hitting highlights, the book just pops. Fabio Amelia’s lettering completes the book, giving unique voices to the characters and giving some stellar sfx to add to each scene. Sweet Paprika has a knockout team for sure, making for a memorable first issue.