Wild Children One-Shot (Image)

[Sean M.]

It's very rare that I impulse buy a book these days. Usually, I've read the solicits/news/hype about a book months before it comes out, so when I go into my LCS, it's the pull-list plus maybe 1 or 2 books. Today I picked up 'Wild Children' from Image not because I liked the sound of the title (I didn't), nor because I'd heard of the writer (Ales Kot) not even because I enjoyed the artist's work on Proof and Cowboy Ninja Viking(Riley Rosmo) but because the graphic design of the cover was so stark, minimalist and thus according to my taste; perfect.

The set-up for the story is that a group of intelligent teenagers take over/occupy their school. The actions and events that follow clearly take their influence from the Invisibles and the sources Morrison plundered for that series, such as the Lindsay Anderson film 'If', Philip K Dick, David Bohm and Terrence Mckenna. Nevertheless, despite this, the book still feels refreshing, uplifting and original.

When Grant Morrison wrote the Invisibles, he always imagined it as a literary hand-grenade, exploding his ideas and creating a generation of star-children. It's taken 12 years but 'Wild Children' this seems like the first fruit of those admitedly improbable ambitions. This book feels like it was written just for me and I loved it. If you haven't done so already, I strongly recommend you pick this up ($7.99- 56 pages- prestige format). I'd also love to know if I'm alone in thinking that this is, by some margin, the best comic this year.*

_{*all hyperbole above is intended- I cannot stress how much I enjoyed this book. If I read a book and it's just okay, I don't tend to write about it.}

[Farrell]

I will try this.  Thanks, Sean.

[Sean M.]

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

[slurmo]

I like the design sense but the Magritte Homage isn't working for me. 

looks good though

[elemental]

Sounds good I'll have o check it out, assume it will be available digitally

[Sean M.]

Yes, have seen it on Comixology. Strangely the copy I got from the LCS was cheaper (only because it was under there discount card scheme).

On a side-note, it definitely rewards re-reading.

[Farrell]

I read it last night.  For me, it had a bitter shell, but a chewy center.  Lots of interesting ideas in there, and Rossmo did a good job.  I always prefer when ideas in a comic are presented in story form, which this was not (the characters were barely distinguishable from each other, and were all mouthpieces for the author's viewpoint, to the extent that additional notes even appear as footnotes.)  I will re-read it.  Thanks for recommending it, Sean. 

[Koete]

Ordered, looking forward to reading it.

[Sean M.]

Koete: Thought of you after I'd read it (and all the other Morrisonians I know). Hope you dig it.
Farell: I didn't have the same problems with plot/ character you did but I can see where you're coming from. Since my initial post, I've read it another three times. Mainly, I think, to make sure that I hadn't oversold my opinions and got lost in a hyperbolic wilderness. Pleased to say it's got better on every re-read. This said, glad you liked it enough that I hadn't encouraged you to waste $7.99.

[Farrell]

I didn't have the same problems with plot/ character you did but I can see where you're coming from. Since my initial post, I've read it another three times. Mainly, I think, to make sure that I hadn't oversold my opinions and got lost in a hyperbolic wilderness. Pleased to say it's got better on every re-read. This said, glad you liked it enough that I hadn't encouraged you to waste $7.99.

Generally speaking, I only feel like I've wasted my money on a comic if it offers nothing I haven't seen before & doesn't have a level of competence and entertainment value to make up for it.  This definitely didn't fall into that category.  I haven't re-read it yet, but I do think I'll get more from it when I do.