Filed under: Comic Reviews, Indie Comics | Tags: Dogooder Comics, Glasgow Comic Con, Owen Michael Johnson, Raygun Roads, Reel Love
The latest release from Dogooder Comics sees writer Owen Michael Johnson (Raygun Roads) bring us a personal story of first time experiences of the cinema where the vastness of the screen, the escapism of the characters and the obsessive awe that gets sparked with this element of pop culture for almost every generation since movies began.
While comics today make a march into the cinema box-offices with dreams of joining the billion-dollar club a comic like this snaps us back from that over-glossy, CGI filled world to the far more basic elements of what cinema can represent. The journey of our main character is reminiscent of probably most peoples experiences of movies…..sometimes scary and overbearing but far more often inspiring, exciting and life-changing. It’s that influence on our main character that sees the shaping of a childhood as his every-day quotes of the most recognizable movies in the last 20/30 years merge with the days of acting out those movies with his best friend Joseph.
A summer filled with video games, exploring and more importantly movies brings home the sheer enormity of the impact the movies have on our characters and I, and probably most people can relate to that in some way. The course of real life can change though and the drifting apart of the two friends sees a home-made movie project go unfinished and an unfulfilled dream seems to be on the bring of becoming true……which gives this a slightly bittersweet feel to it. Inspiration is a powerful thing though and a return to one of the movies on the small screen rekindles the creative heart of our central character and we close out this issue with a montage of editing, filming and celluloid creativity that leads to the completion of his own project. The final page punctuates the poignant and solitary obsession that the movies can sometimes become but marks the end of a story that feels very real.
There’s something magical about seeing a GREAT movie in the cinema and Owen’s been able to grab a glimpse of that and pour it onto the pages. The fact that Owen writes with an air of honesty and refuses to hold anything back makes this a far more involving story than I was expecting and while comic book collaborations can create moments of true genius…..it’s the fact that Owen also provides the artwork that makes this a much more personal and powerful release. A perfect mix of highs and lows with the excitement of youth merging with the pains of growing up that combine to gift us the chance to share the experiences and take a moment to remember our own cinematic influences that rest in our memories filed under our very own “Great movie Moments”.
Reel Love will go debut at this years Glasgow Comic Con and then be available through the Doogooder website in print & digital.
9/10
G-Man
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