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BLUE MONDAY: LOVECATS Recommended (8/10)
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Oni Press
Writer/Artist: Chynna Clugston-Major
Letters: Bryan O'Malley
Editor: Jamie S. Rich
Price: $2.95 US/$4.50 CAN |
Clugston-Major offers up another entertaining tale of teenage weirdness, achieving a delightful balance between raunchiness and innocence. It's an easy-to-follow story that serves as a nice introduction to the characters for those who haven't sampled them before. Furthermore, Lovecats serves as something of an "origin" story for this group of friends for those of us who have been following them for a while.
It's Valentine's Day, and that means it's time for the high school's annual Valentine's dance. Victor desperately wants to go to the dance with Clover, but as usual, he's royally screwed things up. Clover refuses to go to the dance at all despite Bleu's pestering. Why's it so important to Bleu that Clover be there. Well, it was at the previous Valentine's dance that they met and their circle of friends first gelled.
I figured with a 32-page one-shot as opposed to a four-issue series, Clugston-Major might find herself pressed for space. Her style is a dense one to begin with, but the art is focused and clear while still boasting the carefree energy that's an integral part of the property. The artist captures the awkwardness and insecurities of these characters perfectly, and it's not hard to view them as real people despite the exaggerated features.
I was delighted to find a spotlight on Clover and Victor here, as in the last Blue Monday -- Absolute Beginner -- it was Alan and Bleu who were at the center of the story. Clugston-Major explores Clover as something more than an angry young woman, and seeing her vulnerabilities exposed here made for a great read. And as for Victor... well, it's clear that the writer/artist is well aware that guys -- especially teenage guys -- are complete idiots in their approach to women... but in a loveable kind of way. Any guy who doesn't see some of himself in Victor here is kidding himself.
I think another reason I enjoyed this issue so much is that we see some evolution in the relationships among these characters. Not only do we get to see their bonds forming in the flashback sequences, but the connection between Victor and Clover is a new element that promises to change the group dynamics in future issues.
Adolscence is a universally weird time in everyone's life because it's this limbo between childhood and adulthood, and Clugston-Major conveys that sense of dichotomy in her characters. Another seeming contrast is how these characters are comfortable with who they are, but they also boast genuine and endearing insecurities. Those contrasts have always been the greatest strengths of Blue Monday.
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