Pair It

By Jen Vaughn
www.mermaidhostel.com

While the cover may feature a bunch of sperm, the actual contents are less about the sperm themselves, and more about what they can cause.

Cari is your typical bitchy, only cares about money and her career type person. Her grandmother dies, and after missing the funeral (typical) it is discovered that her will stipulates that any babies Cari or her sister have during the next two years will be compared and the most beautiful will get millions of dollars.

Cari is determined to win, and sets about gathering lots of different genetic material so she can figure out the best possible match with her DNA and create the best possible baby through (dubious pseudo-) science!

Of course it all goes horribly wrong, and her sister finds true love (through Piers Anthony novels, really Vaughn aren't those supposed to be pretty misogynistic?), and you probably knows what happens next. Still I enjoyed Cari's ruthlessness and utter distaste for other people (she can't even remember her boyfriend's name), I just dislike ever meeting people like that in real life.

Vaughn's art is pretty good, and you can get a sense of what types of people Cari and her sister are just from the way they stand. I also really liked some of the transitions between panels and pages, and the use of a hospital curtain as a panel divider. Clever!