Graphic Novel Review: Chester 5000 XYV Vol. 1 by Jess Fink

 
 
Priscilla is feeling neglected because her inventor husband, Robert, doesn't seem to have time for her or to be interested in sex anymore. In order to satisfy her, Robert creates Chester 5000, a fully functioning sex robot! Priscilla is hesitant at first but, upon getting to know Chester, finds that he's sweet, caring, and everything she could ever want in a man. But what will happen when Robert finds out she's in love with his new creation?

Graphic Novel Review: Chester 5000 XYV Vol. 1 by Jess Fink | reading, graphic novel review, webcomics, science fiction, sci-fi romance, steampunk, erotica, androids/robots
Title: Chester 5000 XYV Vol. 1
Author:
Book Number: Volume 1
Pages: 144
My Rating: 2.5 Stars
More Info: Goodreads, Amazon, Publisher, Webcomic
 

Review:

This was like this interesting cross between steampunk, silent film, and porn—steampunk because it was about a woman and her sex robot, silent film because there were no words, and porn because it was EXPLICIT. Super explicit. I cannot understate how so very explicit it was. I’m not sure how to write this review though because, while the comic wasn’t quite for me, I don’t want to stop anyone else who’s interested from reading it. Despite all the explicitness, there was a kind of a cute little romance story in there, but I say “kind of” because there are different ways to view the story, and, well…

My favorite character was Robert, the husband who was somewhat villainized because he was supposedly too busy with work (to be fair, he wasn’t actually made out to be the villain in the end). But the way I saw it, Priscilla seemed to have an insatiable appetite for sex, which, for the record, is not the same as love, and I could understand why Robert built her a robot—he never would’ve gotten anything done otherwise! And just because he didn’t want sex as often, that didn’t make him a bad person. Also, even though some of Robert’s actions weren’t so great, he was the one who created Chester, and the whole reason he created him was to try and make his wife happy because he cared about her. And, I mean, his wife fell in love with someone else, so I could understand why he got upset. So what I’m saying is, maybe Robert was a good man who just didn’t know how to be the husband he wanted to be (he did seem kind of unhappy). Or maybe he was a good man who was just in a marriage with the wrong person.

Or maybe I’m reading entirely too much into a silly, absurd, erotic comic about a love interest who had mechanical genitals and a special nose piece that worked as a tongue since he had no mouth. (Update: I was totally NOT reading too much into it! The second book added so much depth and backstory about Robert and their marriage.) The whole thing was silly, but it was meant to be. The absurdity of some of the robot’s sexual abilities made me laugh, everyone got a happy ending at the end, and it was fun for a bit of fluffy distraction (especially since you can read it for free on the author’s site). And the little April Fool’s Day mini comic she created after—a genderswapped version named Chesty 5000 (NSFW)—was absolutely hilarious!

Update: I have now read Vol. 2 and abso-freaking-lutely LOVED it! So if this sounds even remotely good to you, don’t let my 2.5 star rating dissuade you because the story gets so much better!

*Note: This review is based on the webcomic. Other formats may have differences I am not aware of.*

 

Book Tags:

Basic Info

Book Author:
Publisher:
Series:
Genre: , , , , ,
My Rating:
Series/Standalone:

More Info (Possible Spoilers)

Non-Human Type:
Relationships/Sex:

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

Have you read Chester 5000 XYV Vol. 1 by Jess Fink?
What's the most unique genre mashup you've ever read?

 
 
[shared_counts]
 
 
 

Your Thoughts

 

16 thoughts on “Graphic Novel Review: Chester 5000 XYV Vol. 1 by Jess Fink

I'd love if you'd share your thoughts, too!

 

Reading your comments makes me a very happy blogger!

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 
  1. Greg

    The steampunk part sounds kinda fun but the silent film part- eh not to sure. No dialogue? This though- “never would’ve gotten anything done” cracked me up. Poor Robert does sounds kinda sympathetic- I mean a workaholic, builds her a sex robot, and she falls in love with it lol. Guy can’t catch a break. 🙂 Although Priscilla has needs, clearly. 🙂

    Sounds like a fun take on the whole can-you-fall-in-love with a robot thing.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Idk, the silent thing was actually kind of cool. And it makes for a really easy read lol. But also, I think in most graphic novels I tend to focus mostly on the words and don’t always pay attention to all the details in the pictures. Whereas with this, I’m forced to pay attention to the details in the pictures. But I’m telling you, poor Robert, he was making all the money, his wife was insatiable so he built her a robot, and then she fell in love it!

  2. verushka

    I have absolutely no idea what to make of this comic, but I suspect I’d need to have book 2 at the ready to jump into after book 1. But a sex-bot. Heh.

  3. Lola

    That does sound like an interesting mesh of genres and neat it had a sweet romance even with the explicit scenes. I am kinda curious how the no dialogue thing works as obviously it still tells a story. And that’s nice you read so much depth into Robert and how that plays a bigger role in book 2. It seems book 2 gets a whole lot better, I am looking forward to your review of that one. It does sound like a good read if you’re in the mood for this type of read.

    1. Kristen Burns

      The new dialogue thing is actually kind of cool! It forces you to pay more attention to the pictures, the facial expressions, etcetera. I’ll be posting the review for book two next week 🙂

  4. Wattle

    I just visited the site and got totally sucked in, oops. I was all ‘wtf?’ when I first started reading your review, now I think I get it 🙂

  5. Danya @ Fine Print

    The tagline “erotic, robotic, Victorian romance” has me totally intrigued, especially since this is a comic; that said, I’m a bit apprehensive about just how explicit this sounds? From what you’ve said, I think this might be a *little* too OTT for me. The lack of dialogue really intrigues me, though!

    1. Kristen Burns

      It’s got to be the strangest genre mashup I’ve ever seen lol. I can see how it might not be for everyone, I can see how it might not be for everyone, but I kind of like the no dialogue thing because it puts more focus on the pictures!

  6. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    I love how you’ve updated with a note that it gets better in the second volume. That often happens as the first volume is all about setting the scene and introducing characters, the story doesn’t get quite as much chance to develop as it might. This sounds like the weirdest comic and I am kind of intrigued but I’m pretty sure I’m going to give this one a miss. It does sound interesting, though, you’ve definitely got me intrigued.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Whenever a sequel gets significantly better, I always feel like I have to mention that in my review of the first book because I don’t want people to be scared off of reading it! You should check out my review of Book 2 next week, it might change your mind 😉

  7. Olivia Roach

    This sounds like quite an interesting combination when it comes to genres and what it included? However, in the end I don’t think this is one which would work for me. Mostly because I am someone who needs words in my graphic novel, and this one not having any would bother me too much :/

    1. Kristen Burns

      Actually, I ended up thinking the no words thing was pretty cool. It forced me to pay more attention to the pictures instead of relying on the dialogue. But I can see how this just might not be for everyone.