"Fun" seems like such an odd choice of words to use in a story about a depressed country, infidelity, human slavery and prostitution, but I'll be damned if Vankin doesn't bring a sense of quirky fun to the book. I'm still having a hard time caring one way or the other about the protagonists, but the situations and setting are unusual and engaging. Transvestite boxers, buddhist monks, a random elephant and a relationship that doesn't follow the normal storytelling standards makes for a book that is unpredictable and, as a result, pretty intriguing.
While Vankin's lead characters aren't terribly likable to me, I can't deny that they've become interesting. Part of that is the situations they find themselves in, and we really get to see what these characters are made of when they're up against some strange obstacles, but part of it also comes in Vankin's dialogue and characterization. Tuesday's cynical, almost weary narration of the events of the story are a nice contrast to the alien-ness of the whole thing, keeping Bangkok more grounded than Vankin's previous story, Vertigo Pop!: Tokyo. And I was interested to see Marz reacting to the injustices he sees, showing a little more backbone and decency than I had previously expected, even if he does still come off as pretty shallow thanks to his cocky attitude and focus on sex.
Really, what got me about the second issue of the series is the way Vankin blends a variety of elements to give the book its quirky and variable tone. There's some real danger for the characters, and also a strange sense of beauty from the monks or genuine emotion from Tuesday and Marz, but there's also fun to be had, whether it's the elephant that figures into the story, the tourist trap the characters find themselves drawn into, or the boxing match. The notion of a transvestite boxer who can get away with his (her?) odd tendencies because he's capable of kicking anyone else's ass is weird enough to be interesting, but not so weird enough to be unrealistic.
I enjoyed Camuncoli's work on Hellblazer, but his work on Bangkok uses a different style, and I find I like that one even more. It actually reminds me somewhat of Philip Bond, with clean lines and a sort of iconic, "animated" approach that still leaves pretty of room for emotional nuance or detailed backgrounds. The double-page splash of the Muay Thai ring is particularly impressive, although the shots of the streets of Bangkok are also evocative and effective.
It's strange, because Bangkok breaks a lot of the rules that I generally have for stories that I enjoy. The characters aren't all that sympathetic, and the plot is basically secondary to the characterization anyway. However, while Bangkok hasn't grabbed my attention the way Vertigo Pop!: London did, the second issue of the series draws me in more, and I'm curious to see where the story goes from here.
