Paying for It is coming to theaters soon so we check out Chester Brown’s graphic novel it’s based on
Paying for It was the most talked-about and controversial graphic novel of 2011, a critical success so innovative and complex that it received two rave reviews in The New York Times. Chester Brown‘s eloquent, spare artwork stands out in this new paperback edition, tied to the release of the film adaptation co-written and directed by Sook-Yin Lee, Brown’s longtime friend and the director of Year of the Carnivore and Octavio is Dead!
Paying for It offers an entirely unvarnished exploration of sex work through Brown’s own life story, showing him as a timid john who rides his bike to his escorts, wonders how to tip so as not to offend, and reads Dan Savage for advice. The book demystifies an experience that is so often sensationalized, revealing a world of online reviews, seemingly willing participants, and clean apartments devoid of clichéd street corners, drugs, or pimps. In it, Brown combines the personal and sexual aspects of his autobiographical work (I Never Liked You, The Playboy) with the polemical drive of Louis Riel, as he explores one of the most hotly debated issues in the world and advocates for the importance of legalizing sex work.
Now with an introduction by Lee, expanded notes discussing the film adaptation, movie stills and behind the scenes shots, as well as a new cover by Brown and artwork that he created for the production, Paying for It: The Film Edition is an unmissable edition for fans of Brown and film-making alike.
Story: Chester Brown
Art: Chester Brown
Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.
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I saw the movie in 2025 when it was at a local film festival. I’m glad to see it’s getting a wider release. There is a DVD/BluRay of the movie but it appears to be difficult to find for sale at this time.
And yes, Chester does make an appearance in the movie.
Yeah, I saw it was at some festivals. What’d you think of it?
I thought it was good, but not great. The stable relationship at the end did not “feel” real to me, the actors didn’t have that chemistry. That said, the movie was done on a shoe string budget and was shot in 4 days. I don’t think Sook-Yin Lee could be too picky about the actors she got. She did say for the sex workers she got people who had some involvement with movies/documentaries about them as they would have a better understanding of them.
With all that being said I think it’s worth seeing, especially if you like seeing movies based on comic books/GNs and would like one that’s not a superhero movie. We used to have more of those and it seems like we hit a dry spell for a while.