So, I changed my mind about Daytripper. When I first started this series, I felt that it was deep and moving and thematically rich and varied. Now, I feel as though I am stuck in the most emo comic book series ever. Every issue is a depressing romp in the life of an underachiever who has a constant battle with dying. Gabriel Ba tries to plumb the depths of the human soul with every issue, but he is repeatedly tracing the same avenues and now the streets are littered with uncaring garbage.
In the first issue, Bras learns a hard lesson about family and gets shot in the face. In the second, he falls in love and then drowns. The third issue he is dumped and then gets hit by a car. And the fourth his dad dies on the same day his baby is born and then Bras has a heart attack. When you list them in rapid succession like that, don't they sound lame? Daytripper doesn't challenge my emotions like I thought it would after reading the first issue. It seems to be constructed of the saddest possibilities that Gabriel Ba could conceive of, and that isn't good enough for me. If you want to make a authentically sad comic, you can't do it by throwing a pile of unending sadness at the readers. It just doesn't work that way.
The art is beautiful and consistent (no complaints there), but the story is really starting to lack. I am going to give it two more issues to redeem itself. After that, its out of the holds box for good. Sorry Gabriel.
Chad de Lisle is a newly married college student in Utah. He spends much of his day with his wife Hilary and their dog Bobby Dylan. He spends his weekends as a Dungeon Master for his friend's Dungeon's and Dragon's games.
His website:
http://www.resmirch.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment