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POUNDED #1
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Oni Press
Writer: Brian Wood
Artist/Letters: Steve Rolston
Editor: James Lucas Jones
Price: $2.95 US/$4.50 CAN |
I'm no punk rocker. I've never had an underaged girlfriend. And I've never passed out in a toilet. So what I can't figure out is why I enjoyed this comic book so much. Wood and Rolston guide us through a North American subculture of rebellion, irresponsibility and indulgence, and it's far more engrossing than I would have expected. Thus far, this stands out as an excellent character study, and I can't wait for the book's themes and conflicts to crystallize over the next two issues.
Heavy Parker has a trust fund and a condo. The world is his oyster and he can do anything he wants. His choice: to head up a punk band and live life to its fullest. He's also got a girlfriend -- 17-year-old Missy -- and though she's fallen for him hard, he's been far from the most noble of boyfriends. The coming together of his latest gig and a sexy transgression from the not-too distant past forces him to improvise to keep Missy in the dark.
I thoroughly enjoyed Rolston's art when I was introduced to it on the opening story arc on Oni's Queen & Country. His stuff on that book was nothing compared to his work here. He combines his simple style with a stunning array of detail in the backgrounds and key scenes. I've been in that apartment he takes us through in the first scene. His depiction of the Vancouver skyline and urban landscape is thoroughly realistic and even enticing. He not only captures the youth of the characters, but the varying degrees of youth that they represent. It's clear that Missy is a young girl in a Heavy Parker's "adult" world.
Heavy Parker shouldn't be a likeable character. He's a liar. He's a cheater. He's messing around with a girl who's way too young for him with little regard for her feelings. He's spoiled. But damn, he's charismatic. Despite his loathsome side, the reader can't help but want to be him, just a little. One can't help but be envious of the lust for life he and his friends share. There's a dichotomy of sleaziness and innocence to Parker that makes for a well-rounded character.
Sure, we get a strong introduction to who Heavy Parker, what makes him tick and what the nature of his world is, but what this story is essentially about really hasn't come into focus yet. I can't wait for the next two chapters in the three-part series. If the introductory issue is this good, I'm betting the core of the plot and further examination of the characters will be even more fascinating and entertaining. Fans of the late, lamented Deadenders series from DC/Vertigo can get a new fix here.
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