In Review: 100 Times by Katie Fleming and E. Kerr

By Antony Esmond on August 23, 2016

Created by Katie Fleming and E. Kerr
Black and white interior

The Story: Myran is a little restless and in search of love, so he heads out to a nightclub called ‘Howl’. This is no ordinary nightclub however: this is a one where humans and werewolves can meet. He doesn’t have much hope of meeting anyone and sits alone at the bar. He’s approached by Quill and the pair hit it off and begin a relationship. How will a romance between a werewolf and a human turn out? Only time will tell…

The Review: I’m not known for reviewing inter-species romance books and the first person to mention something called Twilight will get a punch. But 100 Times is actually a really sweet and a great fun read.

What the creators do so cleverly is play on certain prejudices and misconceptions held by the uneducated about same-sex relationships, by paralleling them with those between a human and a werewolf. In doing so we see highlighted how love is just love in any setting and between any adults. This is also a book that will draw a big smile on your face.

“Quill doesn’t like a fuss.”

It turns out that the problems of dating a werewolf are exactly the same as dating a human. We see the couple considering such every day things, such as moving in together, the problems of being accepted by another circle of friends and the dreaded moment that you meet the family for the first time.

100 Times is a comic that cunningly took me out of my comfort zone and got me thinking about gender stereotyping through what is essentially a human interest story – the setting is just a cool and funny coincidence. Werewolves are pretty cool – you have got to admit. It also tells a heartwarming story about the ups and downs of a real feeling romance in the real modern world.

The art has a sketchy D.I.Y feel to it and at moments could do with a tiny bit more rendering in my humble opinion, but in the most part it has some great set pieces and flows at a really well-managed pace. The pages are full of charm and character and whilst having a couple of moments of adult material never feels at all exploitative.

I’ve read this comic a couple of times now and in delving back into it, I began to realise there were a couple of extra themes that I hadn’t seen before. One of these moments I found to be very poignant. At one point Quill takes some pills. His boyfriend, who narrates much of the comic, comments to himself that “He doesn’t want to freak me out…He keeps that part of his life private…” I can’t help but wonder if this is a comment on the spread of the HIV virus and how you can live a healthy life with the disease with the use of medication. This may be a stretch, but if it is the intent of the creators I applaud their sensitivity and storytelling abilities.

This is a really sweet love story. I highly recommend you get yourself a copy as it was a genuinely lovely surprise to me to read something so insightful and different.

• Find more about Katie at her tumblr here and follow her on Twitter @Katiecanartgood

Many thanks for reading.