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A review by bluehairedlibrarian
The Complete Phonogram by Jamie McKelvie, Kieron Gillen
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I love Kieron Gillen, so I found this collection extremely disappointing. The lead is a character so insufferable as to almost be a villain, and clearly is also some sort of stand-in for Gillen. There is an unspecified magic system that rarely actually results in any magic and lacks any sense of consistency. Also there are so many music references from the 90s Britpop scene that if you are not familiar with that time period of music, you will likely be very, very lost.
It feels like Gillen was trying to write a story about aging scensters trying to hang on to their youth and control of popular culture as a rising younger generation really came on the scene. If that's what he was doing, he really needed to work on the overall concept and the need for magic was an idea that didn't make it out of its embryotic state. Most of this book is annoying characters being annoying.
With that said, the second volume in this collection is a series of stories telling the same time period from different character's points of view, and it's the best thing about this book. Specifically the issue about Seth the obnoxious DJ and Silent Girl, who quickly became the only characters I liked or cared about. This series of stories had seeds of what eventually became the much better, more interesting, well-written Wicked + the Divine.
McKelvie is clearly a beginner artist in the first pages and his creativity and skill clearly increases as the story goes on. I enjoy his use of fashion to say things about character, and there's a lot more evidence of growth within this one project than with Gillen. Which makes me sad. Because I REALLY love Kieron Gillen.
It feels like Gillen was trying to write a story about aging scensters trying to hang on to their youth and control of popular culture as a rising younger generation really came on the scene. If that's what he was doing, he really needed to work on the overall concept and the need for magic was an idea that didn't make it out of its embryotic state. Most of this book is annoying characters being annoying.
With that said, the second volume in this collection is a series of stories telling the same time period from different character's points of view, and it's the best thing about this book. Specifically the issue about Seth the obnoxious DJ and Silent Girl, who quickly became the only characters I liked or cared about. This series of stories had seeds of what eventually became the much better, more interesting, well-written Wicked + the Divine.
McKelvie is clearly a beginner artist in the first pages and his creativity and skill clearly increases as the story goes on. I enjoy his use of fashion to say things about character, and there's a lot more evidence of growth within this one project than with Gillen. Which makes me sad. Because I REALLY love Kieron Gillen.