Review of Fearful Hunter two on Gay Comics List

The second issue of Fearful Hunter takes us deeper into the mythology of the druids, showing us the price they all pay for their powers. Over the course of this 68-page installment, Jon Macy takes the time to draw lots and lots of (gay) sex, far more than in the previous issue. And he manages to integrate those scenes within his larger discourse on love and need.

Oisin the young druid is finally introduced to the god of his mentor Tavius, a many-tentacled entity who’s fond of human males. Cue the scene with Oisin being penetrated from every orifice. But what could be seen superficially as what’s now a trope of erotic comics becomes in the hands of Macy a comment on the differences between gods and men, where raw desire meets unquenchable lust. For Tavius has never been able to forget the sensations of his first and only sexual meeting with his god, and that makes him less than a complete man—while Oisin seems protected from the effects of the gods’ lust by his love for Byron, his all-new boyfriend the werewolf. The beauty of Macy’s writing is that this protection isn’t shown in a cheesy or naive way, but as something that’s as adult as Tavius’s behavior toward this god is childish, in its refusal to grow beyond the shadow of his father/lover holy figure.

Another aspect of this issue also proved that Jon Macy has thought a lot about his characters: Byron, who’d only be shown as rather carefree, now shows that he’s deeply insecure, fearing that Oisin will soon leave him, and that in his youth, he wasn’t a typical werewolf, to say the least (you’ll even learn where the title of the series comes from). I thought that was an interesting development, since it adds to the external threat of the gods (and of Tavius’s designs on both Oisin and Byron) an internal threat that the young lovers have to face.

Macy’s art is as lush and sexy as ever, with its depiction of a luxuriant forest and of impressively male gods. The sex scenes between the men and the gods vibrate with an energy that feels as dangerous as exhilarating, and the tenderness of the pages with Oisin and Byron making love is carried both by the poetic text and the sensual line that shows the male body as an integral part of nature.

I can’t finish this review without mentioning the extremely cute back-up, set in the same world, which shows what happens when a magical young fox steals the underwear of a hunky, hairy farmer. It brought a big smile to my face.

Whether you just like hot, gay sex in your comics or whether you’re attracted to intelligent love stories, this second issue of Fearful Hunter1 should make you happy. It certainly made me happy.