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ODDVILLE! trade paperback
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Oni Press
Writer/Artist: Jay Stephens
Editor: Jamie S. Rich
Price: $10.95 US/$17.95 CAN |
I'd read some of Jay Stephens's other storytelling endeavors... mostly his Jetcat Clubhouse work, also from Oni Press. It was light and entertaining, a cute, simple look at super-heroes with imginative characters. Oddville! may be what launched the Jetcat character, but it's a completely different kind of storytelling. Stephens tears into society and all of its sins, and it makes for thought-provoking and funny reading.
In the town of Oddville, a strange flying baby suddenly appears, captuing the attention of the entire citizenry, from mad scientists to the recently divorced matriarch of the Johnson clan. The flying baby launches a band to stardom, incurs the heavily armed wrath of the entire community and brings warmth to a typical American home. And then there's the little girl who's secretly a super-hero, an autonomous radio-controlled giant robot and a towering monkey. Hey, it's called Oddville for a reason, you know.
The simplicity of Jay Stephens's visual storytelling approach is in direct contrast with the wit and perceptive quality of his story. Mind you, though he boasts an exceedingly basic art style, it's not without its charm. This book features a multitude of characters, but one recognizes each one when they re-appear later on in the story. His simple style brings an innocence to the characters that, again, makes for an entertaining contrast with the darker ideas that lie beneath the images and lighter tone of the dialogue.
Based on the cover and the various characters designs, one wouldn't expect this to be a dark book, but it truly is. Stephens's cynicism lurks behind every character, every panel, every dialogue balloon. He examines just how flawed Western culture can be. He delves into racism, cultural obsessions with youth, violence, child neglect and so much more. He tears society as a whole a new one. He points to sin after sin after sin, screaming, "Look! This is sick! It goes on every day, and you're sitting there, doing NOTHING!"
If Oddville! is about any single idea, it might be a sort of universal selfishness that seems to permeate our lives and those around us. And what may be the most horrifying aspect of that selfishness is that there's no shame that comes along with it. The creator points out how blatant we are in our self-interest.
This book was not among this week's new releases.
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