Oni Press has had a pretty good track record with these original graphic novels like Cheat and Dumped, and Days Like This is another success, although it does feel like it could have used a few more pages to spread out. Torres is working off a familiar story here, one that will be familiar to anyone who has seen That Thing You Do!, American Dreams or other stories surrounding the music of the mid-1950s and 1960s. Days Like This is all about dreams and finding success and independence on your own terms, and while I was left feeling like it could have used a stronger third act, the story is a very enjoyable read.
Torres juggles an impressive-sized cast of characters here, giving each of them obstacles and rewards as the story progresses. The story of Christina and Lillian's struggle with Luther is no more or less important than Karen Prince's attempt to fit in at a young age or Anna's desire to prove herself as both a single mother and a producer. Newly independent producer Anna Solomon is the driving force of this story, but without the supporting characters like Christina and her mother Lillian and Karen Prince, the book wouldn't resonate anywhere near as strongly. Torres comes at the story of finding your independence from several angles, ages and life paths, and while it will resonate most strongly with women thanks to its emphasis on the changing roles of women at the time, anyone who has wondered about embarking on a new path in life will find something to relate to.
It does feel like a little more focus wouldn't have hurt, perhaps cutting out Prince's quickie romance or Anna's difficulties with her daughter, as none of the stories really gets resolved so much as we get a hint of how it will all work out OK, leading me to believe that another 20-40 pages would have resulted in a stronger finish. As is, Torres finishes on a strong image but doesn't really give answers to a lot of the questions raised within the book.
Mind you, the upside of this is that Torres doesn't take the book on the predictable and now-cliched ambition to stardom to excess to crash and burn that has become so well-known in this type of story. Days Like This has its characters facing real struggles and personal difficulties, but it's an optimistic read that presents singing and stardom as something kind of neat, rather than simply dangerous, and I found that refreshing.
While I knew of the talents of J. Torres from previous projects, Scott Chantler is a new find from Oni. I especially like some of the subtleties of his storytelling, such as when he uses musical notes instead of lyrics to indicate that the characters are singing, or when the girls at Harmony Plaza make faces in reaction to Ben Solomon. Plenty of the story takes place in small gestures or important details in the art, and while Torres's love of this era of music is the guiding force, it's definitely a true collaboration.
