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HOPELESS SAVAGES #3
Recommended (8/10)
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Oni Press
Writer: Jen Van Meter
Artists: Christine Norrie & Chynna Clugston-Major
Letters: Andy Lis
Editor: Jamie S. Rich
Price: $2.95 US/$4.50 CAN |
I had a much clearer sense of the characters in this penultimate issue, and as a result, enjoyed the story even more. On the surface, this seems to be a story about typical notions of being cool -- clothes, music, attitude -- but in reality, Van Meter is saying that one needs to be true to oneself, not what others say will serve you better.
The children of kidnapped musicians Nikki Savage and Dirk Hopeless follow their leads to their parents' former manager, Norwegian Blue. He not only tells the kids of his parents' past -- including his father's connection to an annoying pop hit -- but suggests a TV producer, of which he and Dirk once ran afoul back in the 1970s, as a possible suspect. It turns out, though, that there's more to Blue's story than he lets on.
Light tone of both Norrie's and Clugston-Major's art is an important key to the tone of this story. The basic plot elements -- kidnapping, betrayal by friends -- could be interpreted as being somewhat grave, but Hopeless Savages seems to be more about having fun. These characters seem to be rough around the edges, but there's also a refreshing innoncence to them as well. The cartoony tone of the art reinforces that.
The flashbacks continue to stand out as my favorite part of the book. I don't know what it is, but those scenes just seem to give me a better idea of what these characters are about. It was also nice to finally see some serious flaws in one of these characters (Nikki).
In her presentation of this unusual family, Van Meter's message is clear. The Savage family is not about pretenses. They are who they are, and they don't apologize for it. If one of them is pissed, you can be damn sure she'll express it, one way or the other. They are honest about what they feel and who they are. Even better, Van Meter doesn't make the point in a preachy way. She simply tells her story and lets the characters demonstrate their genuine nature, and in the process, the title's central theme.
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