TOUR: Bonding by Matthew Erman & Emily Pearson

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the BONDING by Matthew Erman & Emily Pearson Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

Title: BONDING: A Love Story About People and Their Parasites

Author: Matthew Erman, Emily Pearson (Illustrations)

Pub. Date: January 31, 2023

Publisher: Vault Comics

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 208

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/BONDING

“Wear your heart on your sleeve.”  That’s the saying. But in BONDING, people wear their anxiety on their chests – in the form of a  parasite that shows everyone just what you’re feeling on the inside …

WEAR YOUR LOVE ON YOUR CHEST

A man, a woman—and their parasites. Marcus has been alone since the loss of his closest friend and has just recently entered into the dating scene, while Laura has drifted in and out of relationships since high school. They meet, they have a great first date, and Marcus almost dies—because the slug-like parasite that everybody carries in this world nearly rejects him, its host. BONDING is a funny, quirky, and honest look at love, in a world where everyone wears their anxiety, not on their sleeves, but on their chest like big ol' leeches.

Fans of Matthew Erman's work on Vault Comics' WITCHBLOOD and Archaia's JIM HENSON'S THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE will find lots to love in BONDING. Fans of Image Comics' ICE CREAM MAN VOL. 1, DC Comics' COLLAPSER and even books like THE HOST by Stephenie Meyer and THE PARASITOLOGY TRILOGY by Mira Grant will enjoy this foray into all the stressors of dating...where a parasite is the least of your worries (unless it kills you, that is.)

 

MY REVIEW

      First, let me start by saying that I loved this concept a lot! I think Bonding is a great blend of sci-fi, "romance", and bigger discussions on the unsolved mysteries of life and the human experience. The world-building was slowly developed in a way that did not feel like info-dumping paired with beautiful visuals. I liked that the story covered a lot of harder topics, and for me, the anxiety representation was especially really well done. I did find some of the time jumps and interwoven stories to be confusing at times but I was still able to keep a good understanding of the characters and the problems they faced. I only wish I could have learned more about the history of the contact with the aliens and the original war, which was mostly mentioned in passing. This is a love story on the surface but it really delves into coming to terms with embracing yourself and all the baggage you carry. 

 

About Matthew Erman:

Matthew Erman is a comics writer from Columbus, Ohio. Alongside Lisa Sterle, he co-created the critically acclaimed comic horror series, Long Lost, which was optioned for Film/TV by Producer Jenny Klein (The Witcher, Daisy Jones and The Six). Erman has since worked on the comic book series Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and graphic novel Power Rangers: Sins of the Future with BOOM! Studios, series Care Bears: Unlock the Magic with IDW, the upcoming  science fiction/ horror / humorous romance original graphic novel BONDING, with artist and co-creator Emily Pearson for Vault Comics, and the smash supernatural action adventure comics series (with artist/co-creator Lisa Sterle) from Vault Comics, WITCHBLOOD. His short work can be found in anthologies such  as Corpus (2018), Dead Beats (2019) and Everything is Going Wrong (2019).

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon

 

About Emily Pearson:

Emily Pearson is a freelance comic book artist from Davis, California.
She has previously worked for Black Mask Studios; “The Wilds”(2018) and “Snap Flash Hustle”(2018-19), Oni Press’s “The Vain”(2020), and the upcoming “Bonding” coming to Vault Comics in 2022.

In addition to comics series, she drew a short story for the Ringo Award Winning “Mine!” an anthology for Planned Parenthood, Vault Comic’s “Cult Classic Zero Short”, “CORPUS” curated by Nadia Shammas, and “Everything is Going Wrong: Comics on Punk & Mental Illness”.
She has illustrated various covers for comic books including: “Stranger Things: SIX” from Dark Horse Comics, “Calexit: Emmie X”, “The Devil Within”, “Sweet/Vicious”, “The Wilds”, “Snap Flash Hustle” from Black Mask Studios, “Going to the Chapel” from Action Lab, “Atlantis Wasn’t Built For Tourists” from Scout Comics and many more.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

 

Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive a finished copy of BONDING, US Only.

Ends February 18^th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/16/2023	Sadie's Spotlight	Excerpt/IG Post
1/17/2023	Bookish Trisha	Excerpt/IG Post
1/18/2023	Writer of Wrongs	Excerpt
1/19/2023	The Clever Reader	Excerpt/IG Post
1/20/2023	A Dream Within A Dream	Excerpt
1/21/2023	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post

Week Two:

1/22/2023	Nagma | TakeALookAtMyBookshelf	IG Review
1/23/2023	Jeff_of_allmedia	IG Review
1/24/2023	GryffindorBookishNerd	IG Review
1/25/2023	@bubbles_books09	IG Review/TikTok Post
1/26/2023	travelersguidetobooks	IG Review
1/27/2023	Eli to the nth	Review/IG Post
1/28/2023	Nerdophiles	Review

Week Three:

1/29/2023	@coffeesipsandreads	IG Review/TikTok Post
1/30/2023	Brandi Danielle Davis	IG Review/TikTok Post
1/31/2023	brittreadsalattebooks	IG Post
2/1/2023	Jenguerdy	IG Post
2/2/2023	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
2/3/2023	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic
2/4/2023	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Review/IG Post

Week Four:

2/5/2023	See Sadie Read	Review/IG Post
2/6/2023	Mallory Books	Review/IG Post
2/7/2023	@just_another_mother_with_books	IG Review
2/8/2023	Nonbinary Knight Reads	Review/IG Post
2/9/2023	Novel Novice	IG post
2/10/2023	Two Points of Interest	Review
2/11/2023	The Momma Spot	Review/IG Post

Week Five:

2/12/2023	onemused	IG Post
2/13/2023	@jacleomik33	IG Review
2/14/2023	@thebookishfoxwitch	IG Review