Bonding: A Love Story About People and Their Parasites is a science fiction romance that unfortunately doesn’t manage to pull everything together. Written by Matthew Erman, drawn by Emily Pearson, colored by Kaylee Davis, and lettered by AndWorld Design, Bonding is published by Vault Comics. 

The subtitle, “A Love Story About People and Their Parasites,” gives you a good idea of what Bonding is about. But to be more specific, there was an invasion by these slug-like parasites called Aeolids. Though humanity fought back, they ultimately lost the war. And now everyone has to bond with a slug that lives on their chest, feeding on their body. Congratulations on your new lifelong “partnership.” But don’t forget that if you and your slug become unbonded, you will die unless you can bond with a new one. And the slug will also die. It’s a real “can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em” situation.  

Book One: The Dependency of the Future follows Marcus and Laura, two lost, sad people who fall in love and try to find meaning in a strange world. While they both have trauma and struggle to live day-to-day, they struggle together. They keep going because they care so much about each other. 

Book Two: Sad Props for Elegant Coats follows Marcus and Laura’s son, Ira, and his long-distance girlfriend, Elegant. Ira and Elegant have matching slugs and believe this makes them special–as though they’re connected more deeply than anyone else. However, Elegant is addicted to a drug called Clarity that harms the slug bonded to her. And when the slugs start growing uncontrollably, taking over teenagers’ bodies in a devastating phenomenon called “The Blooming,” it understandably causes Ira’s mental health to spiral out, putting more pressure on his relationship with Elegant.  

In many ways, Ira and Elegant’s relationship parallels Marcus and Laura’s. Two deeply sad and traumatized people finding love and trying to make it day by day. But while Marcus and Laura make each other better, Ira and Elegant make each other worse. 

Bonding is happy, but it’s also sad. It’s hopeful and hopeless. Characters mourn the world that could have been while celebrating the world that is. It’s a weird story that occasionally strays too far into being weird. Erman has written such an intense story that it can be a difficult read. It’s the kind of story you need to stop and sit with for a few moments, processing what happened before moving on. 

The character designs are strong. In Book Two especially, Pearson makes interesting choices with the Blooming and the slug/human hybrid look. Kind of gross, kind of pretty, in a strange alien way. 

Unfortunately, the colors in Bonding are a mixed bag. There are multiple pages where the sheer brightness of the colors combined with too much text and busy backgrounds is almost headache-inducing. Thankfully, this isn’t the majority of the book, but it happens enough to be a nuisance. 

Though Bonding didn’t live up to its potential, to the credit of the creative team, it’s a unique love story that took risks. If you’re into sprawling sci-fi narratives with slight body horror, I’m sure you’ll love it. But save yourself the headache, and don’t read this all at once. 

GRADE: C+