Imagine Paul McCartney, divorced rather than a widower, but still remarried to a woman half his age. Imagine him feeling lost in a world that honors him but really isn't all that interested in him outside of a trivia answer. And imagine him trying to reclaim his glory days, to literally relive his youth. And there you have it, Vertigo Pop! London. Milligan tells an honest, raunchy story, and Bond's crisp, expressive artwork really makes the characters come to life.
Rocky Lamont was the front man for the Idle Hands, a 1960s rock band that even upstaged the Rolling Stones on stage on fateful. Rocky's had everything one could hope for... beautiful women, money, fame. And now he's 60 years old. He is walking nostaliga, not at all relevant on the music scene today, serving only as tabloid fodder. He wants the life he let slip away when he was a kid, when he was on top, and thanks to an unusual present from himself, he's found a way to achieve it.
Bond's artwork blends a bright cartoony look with a detailed sense of realism to achieve a thoroughly unique look. His thick linework is quite versatile, and I love how much we can learn of a character through his or her eyes. Compare Rocky's eyes at 30 and his eyes at 60. The elder Rocky's eyes are sapped of their energy, of happiness. It's an important plot element that is subtly injected into the art. I also enjoyed the sharply detailed backgrounds he brings to the book, but I also appreciate how he crystallizes certain key moments by leaving the backgrounds out.
The reason the book works so well is how easy it is to relate to Rocky's feelings. The fame and the money doesn't factor in. I think we've all felt that sense of wasting a key time in our lives. Sometimes I wish I could live my university years over again and make the most out of them with the knowledge I possess now, and I'm not just talking about education. Milligan taps into that universal sense of regret here to offer a story with which the reader can really connect.
I really didn't see the twist at the end coming, as Milligan downplayed any hint of something beyond the everyday until the last moment. It really packed a punch and hooked the reader, making him desperate to know what comes next. I know I'll be there for the second issue, and I expect anyone else who reads this opening chapter will as well.
