David Lapham is insane. There is no way a sane person could come up with the plot and characters featured in this trade. It's brilliant, but it's mad.
Lapham has assembled a group of unlikable protagonists and placed them in an insane, impossible situation. While everyone involved is a big fan of music (each issue opens with some song recommendations printed on a mix tape), this series isn't as much about pop culture as it is about conspiracy, control, and spider aliens from Mars. Sadie is the star of the book, the crazy gal on the cover. She's got a bullet lodged in her brain, causing some re-wiring that has messed up her morals, sex drive, and adrenaline. She's constantly running at 120mph and is barely controllable.
Her boyfriend/controller is Danny, a manipulative jerk who seems like an ok guy at first, but becomes more and more despicable as the series wears on. They are surrounded by a group of oddities and broken folks, and together they're almost a dysfunctional family. While on wild chases for money, the group is also fleeing the Pinkertons, a group of sadistic goons sent by Sadie's father to bring her back home.
Lapham's art is great. His people look realistic, not like super-heroes or monsters. I especially appreciate the way he draws the different characters when they're just talking. They aren't posed like in a super-book, they are lounging and leaning and moving in natural ways. Which is why the unnatural plot is even more disturbing.
And honestly, I can't even go into the incredible, crazy things that happen. The details are crazy. The plot twists are mind-boggling. The narrators are unreliable. I find it absolutely brilliant.
While I would never want to live in the Young Liars' world, I find it a fascinating place to visit.
The cover has Sadie asking "Are you ready for this?" I can answer for you; you're not.
Excellent
2 comments:
If you think that first story arc was insane, just wait until you hit the next two. Young Liars is one of my favorite books, and sadly another victim of the comics marketplace that not only doesn't accept anything new, but actively fears it. And Stray Bullets, if you've never read it, is just as brilliant.
Can't wait!
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