Welcome to Folded The Corner where something that is celebrated in one major corner is laments in another area. Spoilers ahead for people who haven’t read this series. Comixology Unlimited, is one of the best things I ever subscribed to; the app is at least, the Kindle reader sucks. But at least, you find comics you’ve never even heard of; might need to consider getting a library card if you’re able to for Hoopla though. During a few of these times on the best-selling/top-ranked lists, I discovered one of the best digital comics, Bandette. Then I found another series that confused me, Irresistible by Zenescope Entertainment.
Weird Choice of Branding
Zenescope is a company known for three things: horrific stories with supernatural/fairy tale backgrounds, covers featuring attractive women (sometimes in barely any clothes), and a partnership with the Discovery and History channels. This series has the first two qualities. After a read through, I’m more curious why this series is a top seller in Comixology; especially when reviews are a mix. I mean Zenescope isn’t as well known as Marvel or DC. So how do fans find Irresistible appealing?
What Part of This is Irresistible
Irresistible is about Allen Keeg, a depressed bachelor stuck on his ex-girlfriend. Unable to enjoy himself, Allen focuses on the bad things in life even around attractive women. He comes across and helps an old woman who grants him his wish to be desired. Allen becomes irresistibly attractive to every woman he meets except his ex. But like all wishes they come with a price.
As a result of the magic only making him desirable, the women start to act like stalkers and sex addicts. Over time they become violent at just being able to touch him. With Allen unable to live his life without a shallow fling, Allen confronts the gypsy witch. She tells him to destroy what he loves most to break the spell. Desperate to be free, Allen kills his ex-girlfriend but ultimately is unable to break the spell and is arrested. By the time Allen’s let out of jail, he is torn apart by a mob of women in lust for him. Yeah, that spell gets stronger over time. Wait, then why didn’t any of them sneak in during his time then?
Seriously; What the (Bleep) Irresistible!
Irresistible subverts the tale of the straight male fantasy of being attractive to every woman. More specifically the scenario that turns into a nightmare once all the euphoria is gone. But there’re a lot of complaints about this “be careful what you wish for” story, especially with how women are portrayed.
It’s Magic Out of Control
Nearly every woman save Allen’s ex are shallow or devoid of any interest outside of sex. On a side note, some critics say that the scary points are fetishized. All of this in story could be hand waved as a result of the magic spell that affects Allen. Aside from that, some people think that while not a perfect read, there are some interesting points and merits to it. Because fantasies taken to their extremes are always something to think about. Some of those extremes even come from the attempts to get out of those fantasies. But now for some insights.
The Only Irresistible Part
At the beginning, Allen after a year-and-a-half of breaking up is desperate to feel wanted, especially by his ex. Because of this long period of emptiness Allen can’t see the good in anything. Allen is clearly depressed; a long period of time in this state can affect a person by how they view the world. It can also cause the sex drive to die down hence why being around exotic dancers doesn’t excite him. Allen’s obsession with his ex is also part of the same mindset with his fixation being part of OCD. (Look here for more details) Because of Allen’s obsession with her, the stress build up eventually came in for him.
Instead of trying to make Allen forget about his girlfriend with some floozy times; his friends should have considered getting him a therapist. People read the first issue because of the potential it brings. Unfortunately the series flaws drag it down.
Lazy Magic
The subsequent issues characters become less interesting with only Allen and his ex in focus. Instead of focusing on how Allen’s wish affects the lives of the people around him, it just repeats his woes to absurd levels. Allen’s friends don’t even appear to be worry about him. The only other character with more dimensions is the gypsy. Unfortunately, she’s the weakest link.
Did Anyone Actually Study?
The gypsy witch was originally a hedonist who got into trouble. Cursed with immortality after an affair, she is left to wander the world. With nothing to live for and becoming jaded by her existence; the witch wants to use her gifts to help people. But she does so in a way that is shallow like her gift to Allen. As it turns out, the gypsy hires theater actors to attack her and find good people to grant their desires.
However she lacks insight of the person’s wants and needs. Like Allen, she could only see the surface level details. All things considered she could’ve been a good foil character. By the end, it’s like the Gypsy doesn’t even know how her own magic works. Despite Allen finally ending the fantasy he was devoted to while in prison; he is still cursed. So how does this series get such high sales?
Don’t be a Hater!
The high sale ranking on Comixology seems to be because “Sex Sells”. Most of the women in the series look similar to supermodels and potentially strike the pleasure centers. It’s one of the only plausible explanations as Raven Gregory wasn’t really taking Irresistible very seriously. All he really does is reuse tropes from Grimm Fairy Tales in an incompatible setting. However while Irresistible isn’t perfect, it doesn’t deserve the zero it got on a review site. I myself thought Irresistible was unsatisfying but not in the way people called it mysogynistic or fetish fuel; just wasted potential of a good conflict and lacking character.
Now for stories of men becoming magically attractive to any woman they meet with more depth, South Korean based Lezhin Comics has practically made a sub-genre with series like He Does A Body Good and Stand Up! (warning NSFW). At least the characters are expanded on and aren’t just plot elements.