I must confess that I struggled writing this review as this comic hits a bit too close to home for comfort. Filip's work is so much more beautiful and layered than I could ever express, but I'll do my best to share this wonderful tale with you because when I had the luck of finding it I couldn't help but fall in love.

AD, our anti-hero, is gay and lives in Poland in a fairly heterocentric climate. He used to bartend while going to college, and he seems much younger than his age. There is beauty in his small and slim frame, which gives him an air of fragility. This cute redhead has milky skin covered in a constellation of freckles, and he sports a punk rock allure that makes him incredibly endearing. Of course, like a fool, he fails at seeing how attractive he is, barely hiding his low self-esteem behind a little smile and a self-deprecating attitude.

He’s been surviving his depression for a long time, and this struggle has occupied such a big space in his life that it has started to meld with his own sense of self. AD is currently unemployed, and it's hard to blame him, it's not easy to hold a job when some days even getting out of bed seems as tough and unlikely as to climb a mountain with a broken leg.

However, not everything is doom and gloom in AD’s life, he has a charming saving grace in the person of his supportive husband Johan, who has been his rock since his college days, after a couple of bumps on the road of course. Following such an introduction, dear reader, I might have misled you into believing that Mr. Husband is a Saint, a flawless man who stoically stays by the side of a « damsel in distress », but that isn’t quite right.

Johan is a bisexual German expat, an adorable jerk, an asshole with a golden heart. He can be as tender and loving as he can be oblivious and blunt, and that's okay, it's part of what makes him relatable, because as lacking as he is in social graces, he never intends to be mean, and you can feel how true his love for AD is.

The strongest point of this story is the delicate equilibrium that the artist lovingly created between the heavy issues at hand and the fluffy moments of laughter and tenderness that their main characters share; their bond is unshakeable, their love is palpable and is beautifully conveyed by Filip's art and narrative.

Presenting this as just a drama is not really fair to the author and their characters. This is a slice of life, populated by so well fleshed-out and « alive » characters that I feel like I could invite them over for Sundays brunch ; their lives just feel that real, and like life itself there is both softness and harshness to be found here, but there are so many laughs to be had, so much sweetness to savour, and so many precious memories to cherish that I hope that you enjoy this lovely ride.

This is for you if:

You enjoy a realistic story

You'd like a peek at the life of a well-established couple

You are seeking LGBTQ+ representation

You are struggling with adulting

You like laughs and friendly banter