Don’t you like fun?
Well, Johnny Hiro #1 was so fun I almost cried. Seriously, I could have died and gone to heaven, happy to have had such a lovely 20 minutes of pleasure on this earth. It was definitely the most fun comic I’ve read recently. (For the BEST, click here.)
How did Fred Chao do it? Well, for starters, he’s with AdHouse Books, whose books have no ads. Chao even utilizes the inside front and back covers for his story.
It’s black and white, which I know may turn some people off right away, but trust me, Chao’s just removing the extraneous color so there’s more room for pure, unadultered action and fun.
Issue 1 is a sweet tale that features a giant monster attack no more than 8 panels into the story. Hiro spends the issue chasing the monster down the street, trying to save his girlfriend, Mayumi (who speaks with a cute, little affectation).
Hiro wins the day, through little fault of his own, and he and Mayumi have time for a few tender moments along the way.
What can I say? It’s perfectly balanced. It has a giant monster, but somehow the story is down to earth. Just enough sugar, but not too much. And nothing but all-natural ingrediants. (Like Jeni’s Ice Creams.)
Chao’s art is really charming. It feels like the way you remember Saturday morning cartoons in your head. Which is to say, it looks a lot better than they really did, but reading the book is that kind of escape.
Greg McElhatton wrote the following and I couldn’t agree more.
Every now and then, I hear people talking about the idea of going away from single issues of comics (in favor of strictly longer-form graphic novels) and I think to myself, “Would that really be such a bad thing?” What always makes me come to my senses, though, is coming across a comic that uses the single-issue format perfectly.
Can you guess what comic he’s talking about? Two words: click here.