I actually picked this graphic novel up a few weeks ago based some good buzz, but I hadn't gotten around to reading it. And then Jeff Mason at Alternative Comics sent a copy along for review as well, so with two copies beckoning me, I had to take a look. And I'm glad I did. Corman may boast a somewhat crude art style, but her characters ring incredibly true. Corman explores the petty, uncomfortable and confusing side of life in an unflinching and honest look at a teenage girl growing up in the city.
Tina's surrounded. On one side, she's got James, her pseudo-boyfriend who's left New York to attend college, but he comes back for visits. And on the other, there's Evan, the guy who's teaching her how to play guitar... and for whom she's falling, bad. The problem: when James is around, he's a jerk, and Evan's taken. If that weren't enough, the girls who purport to be her friends do little more than judge and mock her behind her back.
Corman's style is a simple one, even a little crude, but those simple lines are able to communicate a lot. She captures the growing sensuality of the young protagonist, and she personifies the inner ugliness of the nastier characters on their faces. The thick linework conveys the downtrodden atmosphere, the sense of Tina's struggle and confusion.
Though Tina is apparently a high school student, the story strikes me as being relevant beyond just a teen audience. A lot of what Corman has to say here applies to the lives of 20-somethings as well. I can relate to Tina's search for herself. She's not looking for direction in life, just something or someone that feels right. Essentially, she's torn between what she is and what she thinks she should be. She tries to fit at the parties and to date the kind of guys everyone else is dating. But what she really needs is the atypical guy like Evan. She feels comfortable with him, feels comfortable playing guitar, as opposed to hanging out and gossipping like her supposed friends.
Some readers may feel the answer to Tina's problems are simple, that she just needs to tell Evan how she feels, to tell him to choose her instead of the absent girlfriends. And it is simple. But it's not easy either. It's a notion to which any reader -- from teenager on up -- can relate.
Note: This graphic novel was not among this week's new releases.
