American Virgin is a comic about a boy who is the head of a abstinence program for teens, where they write on a piece of paper to pledge their virginity to a certain person on the day they get married.
*SPOILER ALERT!*
His girlfriend dies while volunteering in Africa, and he goes there to collect her body, but instead tries to get revenge on her murder. The comic follows him on his quest, and he goes to all sorts of places in the world and looks at how they treat sex and the human body. He goes to gay clubs and topless beaches all in the name of revenge but tries to keep his virginity intact, all the while having visions of his dead ex-girlfriend.
Here is a panel.
American Virgin
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i was really surprised at the illustrations in the comic. Before I read the entry, I tried to figure out what it was based on the front cover. I saw "From the Bible Belt to the Chastity Belt" and even then I couldn't guess. It looked more like a mockery of Christianity than a useful tool for Christian youth. This comic does more to sexualize women than give them reason to stay chaste. It also gives a nod to the concept of patriarchy in purity. The man is asking her to sign a chastity vow. It is also the man who gives the daughter away and the man who takes her "innocence". But even looking at the protagonist on the front cover oozes sex. His body is on display: legs spread, heavy gaze, shirt exposing skin, arms out. And what's with the mouth? It's as if the creators of the comic supposed that the only way to get kids to look at it would be to make it look tantalizing.
As a strong christian I feel this is a terrible idea on getting kids to think about chastity. The first reason is because the cover. A mouth wide open with a boy having his legs open and a shirt saving "save yourself" is not something parents would let there kid read just by the cover. Second this comic is showing other places of the world having sex and I'm sure willingness of the women to sleep with this boy so the message could be do you wanna marry a girl that is willing to sleep with you after first meeting her, and if you want to call yourself an American boy you can wait on having sex.
I find your reactions quite interesting, but it isn't a book aimed at children to think about chastity. It is more aimed at older teens coming from Christen homes to learn about how sex is treated in other parts of the world. It kind of mocks Americans who pull away from sex.
*another spoiler!*
The boy on the front cover actually never has sex through the whole comic, he waits, gets married, pisses off his wife, then dies in an explosion.