7 Days to Fame isn't what I expected. The book caught my eye because I thought it was going to be an over-the-top satire of the reality-TV fad. I was ready for gags aplenty and biting humor. Instead, we get a rather grounded story that evolves at a far more natural and believable pace. Scalera is making a commentary on reality television, but he's not doing so with jokes or spoof as his tools. The plotting is slow but methodical, and it's smart. The title's liability is the art. Nick Diaz offers some clear storytelling, yes, but he's clearly employing a simpler style designed for super-hero action, not grounded human drama. His work is in need of some polish, but there's definitely potential there.
Overnight Live, a local late-night talk show, is in the ratings toilet, and its host, Marc Fililano, and his best friend and producer, Richelle, know the show's days are numbered unless they breathe new life into it. An experience they shared on the way to work one day inspires Marc to try and new format. He invites an elderly woman on the show five nights in a row to share her life story. What's so special about her? She's a terminal cancer patient, and she's decided she no longer needs to keep the secrets she's amassed over a lifetime. The new format is a hit, but the woman's final appearance leaves viewers and the show's staff reeling.
Diaz distinguishes the various characters rather clearly, but there's a stiffness in the way they all move. There's a slightly amateurish tone to the visuals, but not so much that it's distracting. Inker John Statema brings a certain level of polish and professionalism to the visuals, but ultimately, the book needs a more grounded look. The characters look as though they've been plucked from an ordinary, conventional super-hero book, not a slice-of-life title or satirical piece. The cover boasts a striking, disturbing image that may not reflect what actually unfolds inside the comic, but it does get to the heart of what Scalera seems intent on exploring.
The story seems to plod along rather slowly at first, but Scalera grabbed my attention quickly, but it wasn't with the suicide scene early on in the book. No, it was the woman's suicide note -- the tone of it, her decision to make multiple copies. It all seemed so differnt yet so plausible, and it established quickly that Scalera wasn't playing his ideas for laughs.
One might expect that catalyst to speed up the narrative, but that wasn't the case. There's a natural, slow evolution to the concept that finally takes hold by the end of the issue. Scalera doesn't speed through the early stuff just to get to the nitty gritty. He gives us time to get to know the characters. At first, Marc seems like too muych an opportunistic oaf, but the writer shows us the character has some dept when it comes to the tone of his conversations with the cancer patient. The banter between Richelle and the engineer works well too.
This inaugural issue may spotlight the need for strong artwork, but the ideas are so intriguing that one can't help but what to read what's next in the Overnight Live saga. Scalera's writing is far more gentle and natural than I would have imagined, and that's enough to put the next issue of the series on my reading list. 7/10
