Writer, Illustrator & Letterer: Luana Vecchio
Translator & Editor: Edward Caio
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $17.99
Release Date: July 16, 2025
Madeleine’s mother named her after Mary Magdalene. But Madeleine doesn’t feel like a saint. Nor does she want to grow up. At twelve, she may be on the cusp of becoming a teenager. But in her heart, Madeleine believes she will always be a child. Partly, this is because the other girls are mean to her. But she also fears growing up because her mother is cold and distant. How will Madeleine’s outlook change as she grows? Let’s grab our diaries, leap into Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale TP Vol 1, and see!
Story
Madeleine's mother sees corruption everywhere. No one can match Gloria's high standards. Perhaps her husband is good enough for her. But then, Johann stands staunchly by her side. He listens as she criticizes others, and comforts Gloria when the world and her daughter let her down. She expects Madeleine to be self-reliant. Although Gloria attends to Madeleine’s physical needs, she does nothing to make her daughter feel cherished.
All this changes when the authorities find a body in a trash bag. Madeleine had walked past the spot where, hidden inside the black plastic, the girl had bled out from numerous wounds. Madeleine had sensed something was wrong. But she had also been scared by a stranger who asked for directions. And it had been cold and snowing, so she hurried on to ballet practice.
Madeleine blames herself for the girl’s death in Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale TP Vol 1. The local girl had been alive when dumped like illegally discarded refuse. But Madeleine had been so intent on pleasing her mother, and so insulated from the evils of the world, that she had rushed on to practice an art and sport she dislikes. Madeleine also realizes she could have died. The stranger who asked for directions could have raped, wounded, and hidden her. In Luana Vecchio’s story, Madeleine determines that she will no longer be a ready-made victim. She will determine the course of her life.
In Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale TP Vol 1, Madeleine investigates the evil that people do. She peers into dark corners of the internet, where people post photos and videos of violence and brutality. Her friend, Adam, aids Madeleine's growing fascination with gore and snuff films. By holding her at arm's length, her parents also deserve some of the blame. Whatever the cause, Madeleine strips away the cotton wool in which her parents wrapped her to arm herself against whatever the future brings.
Art
While the other girls in ballet smile, Madeleine frowns. Her dark bangs frame her face while everyone else’s hair betrays styling and the uncontrollable nature of life. Madeleine's mother shops in her coat and scarf, while Daisy's mother smiles in a long-sleeved blouse exposing her cleavage. As they ride home, Johann drives wearing a shirt and sweater, while Gloria criticizes and fingers her rosary.
Adam glances back at Madeleine in class. He smiles as the teacher returns Madeleine’s assignment. But instead of glowing from the top marks and the teacher’s encouragement, Madeleine works on her drawing. Her colored pencils and eraser surround a drawing of her mother with orange slits for eyes. Fires rage behind Gloria’s pointed teeth. Later, Madeleine draws Adam with a long-pointed nose in Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale TP Vol 1. She labels her friend as a character from a 19th-century children's novel and a 1940 Disney film.
As Luana Vecchio adorns Madeleine’s childhood with soft colors, she places uppercase black words in white and colored dialogue balloons. While Madeleine finds a bloom of red on a pink undergarment and spies a rosy shape clutched with a gloved hand on a man's lap, the words grow bold and swell with heightened emotions. Yet like the clothes she often wears, Madeleine shares her waning feeling of self-worth in scraps of white paper intercut with a pink grid. Thanks to Image Comics for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
Madeleine is an only child. Her parents take little interest in her. She has few friends. So, she clutches fiercely onto the things that have always made her happy. While her peers begin adapting to meet their teenage years, Madeleine retains her charm bracelets, writes in her diary, and creates art.
Friends like Daisy believe Madeleine could pursue her gifts and make something of herself. But Madeleine's parents make her feel worthless. So while others delve into what life has to offer, Madeleine seeks out punishment. In Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale TP Vol 1, Madeleine embraces the shame she believes she deserves. Haunted by the memory of a porcine mask, Madeleine does her best to make nothing of her life whatsoever.
Rating 9.8/10
For cover art from the series see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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