Writer: Brian Wood
Artist: Kristian Donaldson
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Brian Wood has a very interesting talent as a storyteller. The look of a Brian Wood project is constantly striking and distinctive, the way he constructs a tale is worth noting. A central theme is prevalent in the work that comments on the world that he sees, and by utilising an emotive protagonist that the reader can care about, the bait is set for the audience to invest their time. Finally so that things don’t feel too stuffy, there are some flashes of a deep love for yakuza and teen melodrama films. His new story, Supermarket has all this on display and is worth a read.
Supermarket is the story of a young woman named Pella Suzuki. She lives in the suburbs, has an average life of a family of affluence, goes to a private school, has a convenience store job for kicks, and is full with observations on the consumption culture surrounding her. The observations help set the place where Pella starts off. Pella thinks she knows it all, but when a violent event happens due to her father’s employment, she is left without any of the old comforts, placed in mortal danger from an unknown foe and is on her own in a large city that is called the Supermarket.
The story is told in a first person voice that is distinctive and concise. The narration gives you both an exploration of the characters beliefs before the action starts and as events unfold the audience is sucked into the confusion with Pella. One of the strengths of the writing here is the ability to convey first person narration that is honest and fitting to the story. The external elements and the reaction by Pella ring true and gives a sense of place and emotion to the tale as the luck of the protagonist gets worse.
Kristin Donaldson’s art for Supermarket reminds me of Steve Rolston, Tomer Hanuka and Andi Watson, yet carries a distinct appearance that catches the eye. The line art is detailed and things look like they are supposed to. A bus looks like a bus, the Yakuza look scary and Pella looks like a girl. The colour of the book stands out. The series uses green, pink, orange and browns to drive the eye of the reader into the story. The line art could have worked in black and white, yet the colour brings an extra level of attraction and skill to the work.
For a publishing debut, the art is astonishingly professional, beautiful and manages to look far more polished than you would expect. Supermarket scratches the itch for those who want eye popping visuals, dramatic, real characters and a story with meat to it that may look familiar, yet is wildly and interestingly different.
- Francis Davis a career drunk with a love of comics and movies, lives in and works for the City of Chicago. Confidentiality agreements prevent him from saying exactly what he does, but it is important.