Jess Fink’s ‘Chester 5000′ Explores Victorian Robo-Sexuality [Preview]

The summer of Top Shelf continues with Chester 5000, a beautifully stylized and distinctly weird graphic novel from cartoonist Jess Fink. An adults-only period drama illustrated in a charming cartoony style, Chester 5000 is the story of a woman's relationship with a sex toy that happens to be a steampunk robot. But is there more to this basic pleasure model than meets the monocle?

Described by the publisher as a whimsical love-child of steampunk, silent film and erotica, Chester 5000 is the Top Shelf debut of Jess Fink, whose clever work has been famously ripped off for a wide range of merchandise. Chester 5000 would appear to be a shot to the heart of pure Fink, who's also known for her erotic webcomics and brilliant comic strip recaps of Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes. Obviously, it would make sense that such a dedicated fan of the android Data would ask, can a humanoid sex toy have feelings too?

Below you will find two scenes from Chester 5000, whose silent storytelling is so excellent that they need no explanation. Do not be confused by the black bars in the following images -- we have censored them for your protection!