There is a specific alchemy required to make an adult comic work beyond its surface-level appeal. It needs a hook, a setting that breathes, and characters who feel like they walked in from a different (better) party. In the vast ocean of adult content, John Persons’ Pool Party (featuring the character XXX) doesn't just wade in—it performs a perfect cannonball.
The final sequence—set as the sun sets and the party thins out—is surprisingly melancholic. XXX is left alone, floating on a pool raft, looking at the empty cups and discarded towels. It’s a rare moment of vulnerability in the genre. Persons asks a question without words: Was that fun, or was it just exhausting? Is Pool Party for everyone? No. It is explicit, unapologetic, and specific in its tastes. Comics XXX - John Persons - Pool Party - Complete
A- (Minus for making me desperately want a cocktail and a day off) There is a specific alchemy required to make
John Persons has done something tricky here: he made a comic about hedonism that actually has a heartbeat. You come for the XXX branding, but you stay for the way the ice clinks in the glass on page 14. The final sequence—set as the sun sets and
