GRIP: THE STRANGE WORLD OF MEN #1
"The Grip of Fear, Part 1"
Neutral (4/10)
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DC Comics/Vertigo imprint
Writer/Artist: Gilbert Hernandez
Colors: Pamela Rambo & Zylonol Studios
Letters: John Costanza
Editor: Shelly Bond
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
Look at that... my hair's all mussed up. You know how it got that way? It happened when Gilbert Hernandez's story went right over my head, like a fighter jet. Though this book boasts strong characters and Hernandez's always unique and oddly pleasant artistic style, my reaction to the story and dialogue can be summed up with one word: "Huh?"
Mike Chang has no memory of who he is. He has no idea what he's supposed to do or where he's supposed to be. He has the suit and wallet of a man who's been missing for decades. He has attacks of nausea and confusion whenever he ventures anywhere near someone who can help him. There are those who seem to know him -- from the slimy Joe Hook to the kick-ass Mystery Girls -- but none of them give him any clue as to what is going on.
Hernandez's art is as strong as ever. His characters are sleek and sexy, and some are refreshingly down to earth. He conveys the surreal emotions -- from confusion to an eerie calm -- of the protagonist nicely, and he communicates the other characters' feelings -- cold efficiency, panic, empathy -- just as adeptly.
Though the lead character is rather difficult to fathom, members of the supporting cast are quite well conceived. I've met kind, quirky old ladies like Mrs. Gideon, and Joe Hook reminded me of the kind of likeable but shifty character one might see in a Quentin Tarantino flick. At times, the tone of the book put in mind of the weird quality of Memento, a film about a man without memory bent on revenge.
I can relate to Mike Chang's confusion. Just as he's thrown in the deep end of an odd story in a sink-or-swim situation, the reader is left to fend on his or her own without enough context to know what's going on. The surreal tone won't come as a complete surprise to those who have sampled some of Hernandez's past efforts (the seductive but weird Birdland comes to mind), but expecting oddities and understanding them are two different matters altogether. Maybe we're supposed to be drawn in by the mystery, but I was left just scratching my head, confused and only mildly interested in the real meaning of the dialogue and events.
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