In the graphic novella LSBN, Emma Jayne (Trans Girls Hit the Town; Pseudo Slut Transmission) deftly balances elements of science fiction with romance and erotica to deliver a powerfully emotional story, with expert pacing enhanced through placement of close-up panels and aerial views. The story opens as a war between humans and colossal creatures ends via a peace treaty. But for members of a special military project called L.S.B.N., peace means the inability to test or use the giant machine they've poured so much time into building. They all expect to be fired now, too, given that there's no longer a need for their services. As the rest of the crew heads out to celebrate the end of the war and drink away their worries about the future, Mischa Polyakov and Commander Sugimoto find another way to mark the moment.
The characters of LSBN--with their intense personalities and palpable emotions-- jump off the page as Jayne's use of close-ups and irregularly shaped panels combines with Sloane Leong's manipulation of warm and cool colors to make the charged moments leading up to the two women's sexual encounter exciting and titillating. Mischa and the Commander support and encourage each other as each one falters, and the explicit sex scene is simultaneously hot and tender. The novella focuses on the romance between two trans women while the surrounding story develops themes of leadership, sustainability, power, and the illusory binary between destruction and creation. LSBN is a fantastic story about queer support, self-confidence, and the joys of transformation. --Dainy Bernstein, literature professor, University of Pittsburgh