|
While I would have picked up Three Days
in Europe anyway, on the general principle that it's a
miniseries from Oni, I suppose I should do the obligatory
disclosure of interest: Three Days is written by Antony
Johnston, who is one of the editors at Ninth Art.
Antony has a shaved head and a website
called Mostly Black, and so naturally his début for Oni is a
romantic comedy. I quite enjoy a romantic comedy now and
then - my favourite film is Grosse Pointe Blank - but
there's no denying that it's a genre which has been in a bit
of a rut. The traditional romcom plot, for some years
now, goes like this: Boy meets girl, they fall in love,
obstacles are placed in their path, love conquers all.
It's actually the same plot used for romantic tragedies, but
with more jokes and less suicide. See in particular the
Nora Ephron Variation, where there is no external obstacle but
the characters shy away from their destiny. Thrilling.
Three Days uses a
completely different plot, which is a nice start. Jack
Pentura and Jill Bascombe are already a couple as the story
starts, and things aren't going too well. Jack decides
to book a romantic weekend in Europe as a surprise. So
does Jill. Unfortunately, it's the same weekend, and a
completely different city.
Contrived, you say? Well, of
course it's contrived! It's a romantic comedy, for
god's sake! In fact, it's a classic sitcom
misunderstanding plot, leaning on farce. I'm all for
more longform humour comics. There's a desperate
shortage.
Personally, my sympathy is entirely with
Jill. Jack is an arrogant sod who works in advertising,
and she is plainly too good for him. Fortunately, it's
not entirely obvious where this story is heading, so I can
still hold out hope that she will buck genre conventions and
leave him in favour of somebody more suitable. We can
but hope.
Mike Hawthorne's art gives Jack
and Jill the look of Hollywood leads from fifty years ago.
Despite the contemporary art jokes in the opening scenes, this
feels strangely appropriate - the book has a strangely
timeless feel. After all, romantic comedy is timeless.
That's sort of the point.
Good start, and the sort of comic you
really could give to somebody who doesn't read comics.
Rating: A
back | continue |
