Let’s get one thing straight about Money Shot – it’s not porn. It is not, as a friend of mine used to say, a “one-handed read”. It is about making porn – in space – and yes, there’s nudity and sex scenes and an alien with a ball sack the size of a bean bag chair. But it’s done with a fair dose of tastefulness. At the end of the day, I’d say it’s more R-rated than XXX. There are no erect penises (human ones anyway) and the art cleverly covers up any actual penetration. But yeah, there are boobies in space.
The first volume of the series was released earlier this year by Vault Comics, collecting the first 5 issues. Money Shot is written by Tim Seeley and Sarah Beattie, with art by Rebekah Isaacs, colours by Kurt Michael Russell, and lettered by CRANK!. All these guys are clearly at the top of their game; the comic looks brilliant and the writing sucks you in from the start. The main thrust (pun intended) of the story centres on a group of 5 scientists-cum-pornstars (their pun, not mine) who decide to fund their space exploration research project by making porn. The Triple X-plorers not only have sex with each other, but also a variety of aliens, all live-streamed straight back to Earth.
The story bounces back and forth between past and present, with our horny heroes embarking on their first adventure on an alien world and a few weeks earlier. These are set off nicely by using a cooler colour palette for Earth and a warmer one for the alien world. The flashbacks show how the idea of becoming space pornstars first came about. Approaching the idea as the scientists they are, we see them doing research on the history of porn as well as sleeping with each other. Each pair has to have sex, regardless of gender, no exceptions.
This montage in particular – of everyone having sex in different pairs – was one of the highlights of the book for me. The sex is mostly skipped over and instead, we see the aftermath; the characters open up emotionally rather than just opening up. It provides the opportunity for character development without it being shoved down your throat. It gives more depth to these characters, making them more than sexy scientists doing sexy things with sexy aliens.
The story itself is probably not so far from what you’d see in a Star Trek porn parody, but the creators find a way to make it their own. Yes, it does centre around sex and highly sexualised imagery, but it all fits the tone. I had no trouble buying into the fact that a planet could be saved by a mystical orgasm technique. The whole thing is funny and sexy and overall, it just works.
Okay, so let’s talk about the sex. There’s a lot of it – I’d say at least two couplings per issue. But, as previously mentioned, it’s softcore at best and always makes sense within the context of the story. It isn’t dumb or forced or just done for the sake of it. Isaacs is quite creative in the artwork for these scenes; framing things in a way to give it the feel of sexiness without being over-the-top.
For instance, one of my favourite splash pages (no pun intended) shows two of our human Triple X-plorers in a three-way with a blue alien tentacle monster. It’s easily one of the sexiest panels in the book, but everyone’s…parts…are cleverly hidden or shadowed. Isaacs clearly understands that it’s all about what you don’t show rather than giving up the game right from the off.
But for those of you who want it – (spoilers!!!!!) I can confirm there is a full-frontal nude shot of every Triple X-Plorer member (god dammit, that pun really wasn’t intended). So if you’re looking for porn, the internet is always there for you. But if you want to read a clever and sexy story about what it would be like to make porn in a galaxy far, far away, then Money Shot is the book for you.
You can get the first volume of Money Shot over at the Vault Store or read the first issue for free. If you enjoy, comment down below your thoughts or let us know on Facebook or Twitter!