Originally posted on Irish Comic News (26/Sept/2017)
Written by Carly Usdin.
Pencils by Nina Vakueva.
Inks by Irene Flores.
Colour art by Rebecca Nalty.
Letters by Jim Campbell.Seventeen year old Chris is one month into her new job at the music store, Vinyl Mayhem. she’s an energetic newbie eager to be accepted as one of the team. Usdin has a good mix of characters in the store that at times reminds me a little of Empire Records. Fond memories of that film, so for me, this is a plus for the comic. In addition to trying to find her place in the store, Chris is also trying to work out if Maggie (one of the music store staff) has feelings for Chris like she does for Maggie. The story has a lot of the ingredients of what makes the early adult years awkward, exciting and frustrating all at the same time.
The team of Vakueva on pencils and Flores on inks give life to the cast. The line art really excels when it comes to character expression. Chris runs through plenty of emotions before we hit the closing pages. Costumes for the cast is also well chosen for a comic set in the 1990s. The line art looks great in the opening issue with a focus on developing the characters. It’ll be interesting to see how the line art team tackle the fight club aspect of the story.
As with the line art, the colour art is really well done. Nalty has a lovely effect on the faces where the colour is deepened every so slightly to give a sense of depth to the faces. While the comic does have Fight Club in the title it is a fun comic with a dash of romance. The colour art reflects this really well.
Much like lettering in a lot of comics I’ve been reading lately, it’s the sound effects and the letterers interpretation of them that I’m really enjoying. Campbell does a good job with the dialogue and effects throughout the comic. But the panel where Logan (store staff Kennedy’s boyfriend) enters the store did raise a chuckle just because it was so on the nose.
To be honest, this comic might have passed me by if not for the Irish comics connection. Which would be a shame having read the first issue. It’s a charming and fun story with great looking art. Exactly the sort of stuff that I like. Worth taking a chance if you’re looking for something different in the monthly reading pile.