This conclusion unfortunately stands out as the most confusing issue of the limited series, marred by some choppy dialogue. Mind you, that doesn't rob the story of its emotional power. By the end of the issue, we have a thoroughly satisfying resolution to not just one love story, but three. I desperately hope we get to see these relationships develop in further Hopeless Savages comics.
Skank Zero is pissed. She's not allowed to have any contact with Ginger, the boy she's swooning over, due to a deal she made with the school administration to cover up Ginger's rebellious declaration of love. On top of that, she grounded and feels her mother's being a hypocrite. And if that weren't enough, Fame and Shame is broadcasting her moment of humiliation. But the show has something else, a clip Zero knew nothing about...
And suddenly, none of it matters.
O'Malley's squat, cartoony artwork really captures Zero's mood perfectly in the earlier half of the book. The simplicity of his style also brings out the younger characters' innocence so well. Again, I like the use of a second artist to render a radically different part of the story -- instead of a flashback sequence, this time, though, it's a TV document about the title characters. Unfortunately, the scene is rushed and crowded, and it makes for some confusing visuals.
That scene is also cluttered with disjointed bits of dialogue, adding to the confusion and frantic nature of the scene. What should seem like a half-hour TV show comes off like a 30-second fast-forward view of an entire family's life, and it just doesn't sit well. Honestly, I think Van Meter would have served the story better by taking her time with the Fame and Shame sequence and tightening up the opening act.
Mind you, that part of the story sets up what Zero and Ginger are willing to sacrifice for one another, and it makes the love story far more believable. And though the main plot revolves around Zero and Gigner (as the title suggests), I enjoy how other love stories -- Twitch's, and a story about a different kind of love, between mother and daughter -- are incorporated as well.
Yes, this conclusion was a little weaker than the issues that came before it, but Ground Zero still stands out as one of the year's most emotional, honest and down-to-earth stories of the year.
