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Friday, September 16, 2005
Local #1
With the first issue Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly give hope that their new series will seduce many readers with single comic magazines that are populated by clearly defined and compelling characters.
Most of the story takes place in Megan McKeenan’s mind. We learn about her by seeing all the fears and worries she comes up with while helping a dysfunctional boyfriend stay dysfunctional. As BeacoupKevin observed Wood and Kelly get the beats down just right so what seems like a gimmick comes across smoothly and accomplishes its real goal: making us interested in the main character.
Kelly’s art is in fantastic use here. He’s able to create all the complex emotions Megan’s going through appear on her face. The large panels aren’t dedicated to action in this comic. They’re dedicated to scenes where Megan’s expressions tell most of the story, with only a bit of dialogue filling in the rest. Wood crafts the basis of a great comic but the real enjoyment for me was seeing Kelly, whose work I’ve never seen before, deliver it in such a way that’s all about character and humanism.
Wood and Kelly are brewing up something that could remind people of Adrian Tomine’s Optic Nerve. Comics that take advantage of the pamphlet form by using short stories paced just so delicately and able to tell readers of the people all around them. It doesn’t hit you how powerful a comic like this is until you’ve finished it and absorbed every well constructed panel spread and every natural sounding bit of dialogue.
Read the Local blog.
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