I honestly don't know where Chynna Clugston-Major is going with Scooter Girl, but maybe that's because the story defies genre. On the surface, it might seem like a romance title. But it's not. It's not really a coming-of-age story either, or even a straightforward slice-of-life tale. This oddly Shakespearean book is deliciously unique, and that should be enough to get it noticed.
After his life went to pot in northern California, Ashton Archer headed south to San Diego, and once again, he's living the life of Riley. Women are falling over themselves to be with him, and he's regained his popularity. But four years after his obsession with Margaret Sheldon ruined him, she turns up in his life once again. She and her twin brother, Drake, are now calling San Diego home as well, the clumsy and unfortunate cycle of Ashton's life begins anew. Meanwhile, Drake spurns a girl he knew years ago, as he believes himself to be the butt of everyone else's joke.
Scooter Girl continues to stand out as a far less crowded and frenetic black-and-white storytelling effort for Clugston-Major. At times, her work shows the influence of Jim (Grrl Scouts) Mahfood and even the Archie house style. The opening panel is stunningly detailed and realistic, and it serves as a nice balance to the artist's cartoony, manga-influence style.
The greatest strength of the book is the creator's ambiguous cultural setting. Scooter Girl is set in the 1960s, the 1980s and today. It's all over the map, but those different pop periods all converge seamlessly here. Some references place the story in a more modern context, but the fashions take the characters back 40 years. In some ways, the story is a celebration of pop and hip, of youth and revelry.
The most intriguing aspect of this issue is how Clugston-Major begins to explore a different character's story. Drake, the title character's twin brother, gets a fair bit of time in the spotlight, and he serves as an excellent contrast to Ashton, the main character. I think Drake feels eclipsed by his popular, easy-going sister, just as Ashton does. on the other hand, he's meek and lacks self-esteem. He assumes no women are interested in him, while Ashton assumes all are. Those perceptions are polar opposites, but they're equally false. The story isn't about the "scooter girl," but rather how she acts as a catalyst in the lives of these two different men.
