Buster Bunne has one goal: to create the next ice cream sensation! In Unsexy Nude Tales From Pretty Beach! The Day the Pool Became Ice Cream!, we follow this ambitious ice cream man on the nude beach as his attempts at coming up with a stellar new flavor turns into calamity when a poorly timed polar vortex sweeps into the nude beach, driving everyone indoors.
For this ambitious comic, Tito Adler established a number of rules for himself, as well as a long list of nudist tropes to avoid, and he shares these at the beginning of the book. I’m not going to list them all here, but some notable tropes include proselytizing the benefits of social nudism, prudish villains, textile allergies, and the age-old Doris Wishman plot device of romance between a nudist and a newcomer. He set up a strict, twelve week schedule to work within, and most daring of all, set to work without any real plotting or structure, making the whole story up as he went along and following the golden improv rule of “yes and.”
The results are absolutely delightful.
Bunne’s great adversary here is Dijon Mustardsen, the local hot dog vendor planning to set up at the indoor rec center where the nude beach residents have retreated. At the same time, surf instructor Sunny has her own conflict thanks to the winter storm, one which leads to her butting heads with the local lifeguard Kai. Seeing as how this is an all-new comic, I don’t want to go too much into detail about the plot or the antics that these characters wind up getting into, but with the way it’s structured like a daily newspaper strip, along with Adler’s clean and energetic art, it makes for a fun, quick read. The improv nature of the storytelling also leads it to some unexpected and very funny places that I just don’t want to spoil!
It’s Adler’s art that brings me so much joy more than any other element. The character designs here are wonderfully cartoony, reminding me of shows I grew up watching in the mid-to-late nineties, all drawn with a wonderful (presumably digital?) brushlike line quality that gives it so much life. Like a daily newspaper strip, the comic is predominantly in black and white, with the first strips and some later ones in full color, along with some fun little illustrations thrown in as little segues. They’re like an extra treat! This one in particular is a personal favorite:
I keep coming back to those nudist tropes and the decision to avoid them altogether, and how that leads to this being such a fun and refreshing read that’s unlike most other nudist media. It’s something I’ve been taking into account when making Asada & Mischa strips, and I’ve joked about it being the least nudist strip on Planet Nude, but the Day the Pool Became Ice Cream! takes this to a whole different level. The nudity here is never once commented on, and none of the jokes have anything to do with it. It’s a story that didn’t need to be set at a nude beach, it simply is. I can’t help but applaud that! It also makes me wonder how it will appeal to those dyed in the wool nudists who crave those tropes, but, you know, not everything is made for everybody.
Unsexy Nude Tales From Pretty Beach! The Day the Pool Became Ice Cream! is available on Amazon’s ComiXology for a mere $3.99 and it is worth every penny of that low price. Check it out for yourself and let us know what you think! I hope to see more from this setting and of these characters in the future. 🪐
Buy the book!
Check out Unsexy Nudie Tales From Pretty Beach! The Day the Pool Became Ice Cream! on Kindle for just $3.99.
I tried my local comix shop, and also a bookstore with a large section of graphic novels. Neither one stocks it, nor could they order it for me. I'm guessing this is self-published and available only on Amazon, is that correct? I try very hard not to buy anything there.
Now ice cream inside of the pool? SMILES. My two favorite past times. Plus the top of this ice cream sunday in the pool is that it doesn't matter if the sticky ice cream is on you. You just go under the water while in the pool and you're all cleaned off. SMILES. But no clinging sticky swim suit to stick to you. count me in. Just my two cents on this topic. A awesome ideal.