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Writer: Rick Remender, Brian Posehn
Artist: Brett Parson
Colorist: Moreno DiNisio
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics
Much of Grommets thus far has been about the freedom of youth. A very specific time and place when a kid could escape into a world of loosely defined rules with reckless abandon fueled by the desire to escape society’s doldrums.
That classic sense of the rebel without a cause but a need to have fun by any means possible. What this issue did is show the fragility of that freedom, because without notice the world you know can be completely changed and there’s not a thing you can do about it.
This issue is built on conversation. Opening with Rick talking to Samra who clearly likes him, but that does not make him any less awkward during their phone call. You can tell he is conflicted based on what his friends have said about her, but a part of him likes her too. There’s also something about a conversation that you are tied to via cord that brings back a great deal of memories. Plus hanging up just meant more when you had to physically do it.
That is the first of a series of conversations and it is the next that adds a level of drama we have not gotten from the book since it first began. Rick’s Dad sits him down for a conversation, and based on that phone call I thought I knew where this was headed. I was guessing his dad could see his son had plans to meet some girl and wanted to do his parenting duty. This was not a time for the birds and bees diatribe rather Rick was informed that their current stay was a temporary one as they would be moving to Arizona. With those words, Rick’s entire world begins to crumble down.
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What caught me off guard with this reaction was how good Rick was at verbalizing his emotions and the way it made him feel as a person. Speaking to how these constant moves make him feel like a piece of luggage hit hard, and seemed like a statement above his years. At the same time that can also speak to the life he has led having to grow up much faster than most kids. There has been this sense of a darker underbelly regarding these kids’ lives and we got a glimpse of it here when Rick dared to question the decision-making of his father. You can see why he would feel so defeated and alone with the way his family treats him.
Feeling dejected Rick turns to the only person he can think of in Brian but does not get the response he was hoping for as he realizes how selfish people can be without trying. It helps demonstrate the power of a conversation. It can fill you with hope and anticipation over the possibilities of a unique connection with another individual, while at the same time, a simple conversation can destroy everything you hold dear. The power of words in all their glory and destruction.
This issue is coming at the perfect time because at this point we know these characters. If this was the opening issue it would come off as forced and a bit boring. At this point though you cannot help but feel just as devastated as Rick is regarding his situation. You get to do an issue like this when the work has been done in establishing characters. Rick, Brian, and their friendship mean something so seeing that possible end hurts a great deal.
It should not have taken me this long to talk about the tremendous work of Moreno DiNisio, Brett Parson, and Rus Wooton. ‘Best Looking Book on the Shelves’ is a tagline I would feel comfortable placing about this series. As mentioned much of this issue was just conversations, and considering the visual nature of the comic book medium that should be a nightmare for an artist.
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Parson made it look easy. His characters are so expressive in both their grief, delight, and anger. Love so many of the small details as well, like a TV dinner on the table to provide a sign into the home life these kids are living. The rooms in each of these scenes say as much about the world these people are living in as the words they are saying.
DiNisio’s colors are the perfect wingman enhancing every major beat on the page. Do you have a scene of extreme anger? He is the color designed to sell that anger.
As hyperbolic as it may sound Grommets is a comic that makes the industry better because it shows the monthly issue format can be used to tell different types of stories, and I’m not just talking about stories that do not involve superheroes. This is not a genre story but one propelled by human drama and well-executed comedy.
It can be serious without being melodramatic and brazenly funny in a way that does not make you feel ashamed to be a comic book fan. It is simply confident in its existence, even if that is an attribute none of its characters share.
