November
29
The Awakening
Creators: Neal Shaffer, writer; Luca Genovese, artist
Oni Comics, 104 pages, black-and-white, $9.95
Reviewed by Erin Maxwell
So?: In the comic "The Awakening," writer Neal Shaffer ("One Plus One," "Last Exit Before Toll") and artist Luca Genovese pose the question of the ages to comic fans: How many D-cup teenage girls can be killed in a single story before it gets boring? "The Awakening" is Shaffer and Genovese's attempt to pay homage to the Italian giallo, an early '60s film movement that represented the early stages of cult filmmaking. Unfortunately, their attempt falls flat. The horror in "The Awakening" is run of the mill and predictable. The story of transfer student Francesca started out well, but everything soon fell apart once the comic got going. While it's always fun to watch unsuspecting, innocent teens get hacked to pieces by evil forces, the characters were one-dimensional and the dragging story made "The Awakening" anything but. Genovese's drawing style is probably the best part of the comic, but again, that's not really saying much. The lack of explicit detail does not bother me unless it comes to characters. That said, most of the female characters are interchangeable, like an "Archie" comic. There isn't a memorable character in the bunch. The comic had the potential of becoming a good, trashy read - all-girls school, unnecessary nudity, tons of blood, sex-starved teens, etc. But in the end it goes nowhere. Hey kids, it takes skill to make sex and violence this dull and uninteresting.
Grade: C-
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I don't think there is a publisher out there called "Omni Comics". I've heard of an Oni Press.
Looks like somebody is asleep at the wheel;)
Posted by: Tim Greene | November 30, 2004 at 11:08 AM
C'mon , did this person read the same book? I loved the "Omni Pess" thing too. LOL!
Go here http://newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15910
and check out an interview with the writer and sample pages. I for one loved this book!
Posted by: Luke Glowacki | November 30, 2004 at 01:55 PM
Just because the author didn't lay everything out for this reviewer on a silver platter does not mean that the story isn't interesting, it means that the reviewer obviously wants intellecutal meals pre-chewed before the author massages starchy fast-food ideas down her throat.
The art is great and definitely puts us in the world of the comic while the story asks the reader to mentally wander around a little bit in the environment the author and artist have created.
Beyond that, if the author had ever seen a giallo, Suspiria for example, she'd know that Shaffer and Genovese definitely accomplished their goal.
Posted by: Transit Nomad | December 08, 2004 at 05:18 AM