Week of 3/4/2024
Cil and Midae have fun at the amusement park on The Shapes, I give more shop availability announcements, and review the first issue of Scout Comics's new series Granite State Punk, all this week!
The Shapes
Struck v. Struck 18-19
News
The Shapes #4 Availability
The Shapes #4 is currently available in four more stores:
Emerald City Comics — Clearwater, FL
Wilson’s Book World — St. Petersburg, FL
Munjo Munjo — Raleigh, NC
Partners & Son — Philadelphia, PA
Sammy the Critic
Granite State Punk #1 Review
In the New Hampshire town of Rochester, meet Zeke, a young man under house arrest who lives a soul-crushingly monotonous cycle of going to AA meetings (the only place he’s allowed to go outside) and debating his worldview with friends with benefits Ember before getting to the benefits part. One day, out of a mix of curiosity and sheer routine boredom, Zeke digs a hole in his inherited home's backyard only to discover dark family secrets of a supernatural nature that completely change (or should I say call back to) life as he knew it.
If there’s one thing I can commend Tavis Gibb’s writing for, it’s its element of unpredictability. The book’s first act feels like a down-to-earth, gritty character drama before it stabs you (those who read it will get my choice of word) with a historical fantasy twist that makes perfect sense. Upon a second glance, the foreshadowing was already there on the front cover, but it was subtle enough to write off as an aesthetic choice. Another laudable quality is the historical angle the lore takes, using the Salem witch trials and connecting them to the story’s setting rather than confining itself to the notorious setting along with a sliver of colonial elements. The issue concludes perfectly with Zeke at the AA meeting seen in the beginning where he finishes telling the wild account of what happened to him. From a character study perspective, the final scene solidifies him as a cynical and disillusioned yet audacious and devil-may-care personality who’s prepared for whatever’s ahead, the same way I’m prepared for what direction the subsequent issues will take.
Meanwhile, Patrick Buermeyer's art really sells it. He appropriately uses pale colors to convey how depressing the environment is while using increasingly darker colors as the plot becomes grimmer. I’d say more, but then I would be spoiling too much.
Overall, Granite State Punk is another new series that shows a lot of promise. While it didn’t blow me away the same way Hable Con Ella or I Hate You, Please Die did, it was still pretty enjoyable and worth reading if you like dark historical fantasy.