What I'm Reading -- Graphic Novels

Scott Pilgrim (Vols. 1-3) by Bryan Lee O’Malley
23-year old Scott Pilgrim has to fight and defeat each of his new girlfriend Ramona’s boyfriends, so that he can continue dating her. And he still has his 17-year old girlfriend, Knives Chau, to deal with. This series is absolutely hilarious. O’Malley combines manga stylings with a contemporary realistic setting that throws in comic book and video game references into the plot for good measure. Scott goes through one of Ramona’s exes each volume, so there are four more evil boyfriends for him to defeat. These are sarcastic, crazy and great.

Moped Army by Paul Sizer
Sizer is the author of the very good Little Mouse Graphic Novel series. Moped Army is also set in the future but is based on the real Kalamazoo based group. In this tale, the Moped Army lives in the bowels of a city, where its respected citizens live in comfort suspended above the city. Simone becomes trapped between both worlds after her loser of a boyfriend plays a serious joke on some of the Moped Army members. Sizer takes a good look at making tough decisions in life and creates a solid story while doing it.

Banana Sunday by Root Nibot

This GN is about Kirby, who is in possession of the “Hear no evil,” “See no evil,” “Speak no evil,” monkeys. It is a bit goofy for my tastes but is still pretty funny. One of the monkeys is an intellectual, one is always hitting on the ladies and the other likes napping, eating and breaking things. Kirby is new at school and meets a scheming, though well-intentioned newspaper writer and a charming boy she starts to date. This is well done and illustrated by Colleen Coover in a hip, yet clean style.

Off Road by Sean Murphy

Kent, an art student, goes with his jock friend Gregg, to pick up Gregg’s new jeep. On a whim they pick up another friend and go off-roading. Of course, they have never done this before and have no idea what they are doing, which leads to them getting the jeep incredibly stuck in the middle of a stream. Some other great characters enter the scene before it is all said and done. This is a great and funny adventure with an accurate look at how guys communicate with each other. Definitely recommended.