| [::..genre..::] |
|---|
| Wacky family adventure/adventures of a wacky family
| | [::..plot..::] |
|---|
| A married pair of punk rock stars are kidnapped and it's up to their kids to find them. |
| [::..style..::] |
|---|
| Sitcomesque family comedy, but better. |
| [::..similar to..::] |
|---|
| A punk rock Partridge family!
| | [::..you'll like it if..::] |
|---|
| you've got a family |
| [::..you won't like it if..::] |
|---|
| you hate your family |
|
|
Hopeless Savages #2
After reading this comic book, I kind of wished my parents used to be punk rockers. I mean, I love my parents and all that, but it sure would make things a lot more interesting if they died their hair purple and dressed in ripped clothing and spikes. In Hopeless Savages the main character is a 16 year old girl named Zero whose parents were big punk rock stars back in the day. Zero�s siblings Rat, Twitch and Arsenal are mostly grow up, at least in college, but they�ve all got to get back together in order to save their parents, who have been mysteriously kidnapped. Since they�ve been raised punks, they still foster their parents� anti-establishment ideals, except Rat, the eldest. He�s actually rebelled against rebelling and become a part of corporate America, working a desk job at a coffee company. However, the other kids need his help, so they set off to �liberate� him from his office building. The result is a lot of fun mixed in with some nice stuff about what it means to be a family.
In the end, it doesn�t really matter that the Hopeless-Savages (whose last name was obviously picked after the title was) are punks, because that�s not what makes them a family. It�s love that makes them a family (or it will be revealed to be so before the series ends), and the whole punk thing is kind of like a metaphor for what makes a family special. I know it sounds like blah blah blah, mush mush mush, but it doesn�t turn out that way. The nice thing about this book, though is that it doesn�t beat you over the head with its �message� and instead gives you time to care about and get to know the characters.
The art is vibrant and has that whole broad, messy brush stroke thing going on which really fits the story. There�s some flashback stuff drawn by a different artist in a different, more manga-influenced style, but it�s cool, too. Sometime the panel layouts are a little chaotic and a bit hard to follow, but at other times (such as the opening �monologue,� they�re brilliant.
written by Jen Van Meter and illustrated by Christina Norrie and Chynna Clugston-Major published by oni press
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