MattGrant
Friday, April 04, 2008, 04:52 PM
<img src="http://www.projectfanboy.com/images/reviews/white_picket_fences.jpg" align="left" hspace="10">
Title: WHITE PICKET FENCES: Double Feature OGN
Publisher: Ape Entertainment (http://www.ape-entertainment.com/)
Writer: Matt Anderson and Eric Hutchins
Art: Micah Farritor, Tim Lattie, and Brian Mead
52 pages, Prestige Format, $6.95
Diamond Order Code: JAN08 3353
Safety Content Label: About a PG. Mild violence but very kid friendly!
Publishers Blurb:
The critically acclaimed series returns with this one-shot featuring two titanic tales! In "The History Lesson", an aging mad scientist makes one last dastardly grasp for power! Then, in "Beetle Mania", giant bugs invade Greenview destroying everything in their path! You'll have more fun than a night at the movies with the hit series that Diamond Comic Galleries named as one of it's top 10 in 2007!
Reviewer Comments:
This giant issue White Picket Fences is actually a one-shot following the series, which somehow, tragically, I missed. Luckily, the stories and characters easy to jump into, and I found myself acclimated to the world of WPF created by Matt Anderson, Eric Hutchins, and Micah Farritor.
White Picket Fences is set in, what I would call, and alternate 1950's (I'm approximating) where all those B-grade monster movies of the era were real life occurrences. Set an the archetypical, "Leave it to Beaver", suburban town of Greenview, WPF follows the story of three boys and their adventures dealing with everything from mad scientists to giant insects. Ordinarily, this might be a hard thing to pull off well, but the crew if WPF does it so well that the world feels totally natural, and frankly, familiar.
Don't let the words "Double Feature" in the title fool you, they've actually managed to pack three stories into this 52 page one-shot: "The History Lesson;" dealing with a mad scientist, "What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up?;" brief but beautiful and exactly what it sounds like, and "Beetle Mania;" which deals with, well, giant beetles of course!
I could pour on and on about how great these stories are, but you really just need to get the one shot and enjoy them for yourself, a few times. What I will say is that Matt, Eric and Michah have built a seamless world for their characters that, at times, is scary, but you can't help but want to be a part of. Oftentimes, when writers center their stories around groups of children, the results are clunky approximations of what childhood is really like. Here, though, between the clever dialog and great artistic characterization, its perfectly nailed. You'll feel like a kid again, running into mischief with these kids, and poking fun at Pete's mom.
As if the story wasn't enough to carry the book, the art is impeccable as well. Each of the three stories have three different artistic interpretations, yet the flow of the book is uninterrupted. The "look" of it might be described as "cartoony" (or "cartoonesque" for snootier folks), which might be shortchanging it a little, but either way, the art suits the stories perfectly in all three cases. Well pulled off.
Does it seem like I'm gushing about this book? Well, maybe I am. This is just one of those books where, when you read it, you realize you've been missing out on something by not already being on board. So, if you haven't read any White Picket Fences yet, you might want to do yourself a favor and check this one out (and if you've already read some, you probably already want to).
Title: WHITE PICKET FENCES: Double Feature OGN
Publisher: Ape Entertainment (http://www.ape-entertainment.com/)
Writer: Matt Anderson and Eric Hutchins
Art: Micah Farritor, Tim Lattie, and Brian Mead
52 pages, Prestige Format, $6.95
Diamond Order Code: JAN08 3353
Safety Content Label: About a PG. Mild violence but very kid friendly!
Publishers Blurb:
The critically acclaimed series returns with this one-shot featuring two titanic tales! In "The History Lesson", an aging mad scientist makes one last dastardly grasp for power! Then, in "Beetle Mania", giant bugs invade Greenview destroying everything in their path! You'll have more fun than a night at the movies with the hit series that Diamond Comic Galleries named as one of it's top 10 in 2007!
Reviewer Comments:
This giant issue White Picket Fences is actually a one-shot following the series, which somehow, tragically, I missed. Luckily, the stories and characters easy to jump into, and I found myself acclimated to the world of WPF created by Matt Anderson, Eric Hutchins, and Micah Farritor.
White Picket Fences is set in, what I would call, and alternate 1950's (I'm approximating) where all those B-grade monster movies of the era were real life occurrences. Set an the archetypical, "Leave it to Beaver", suburban town of Greenview, WPF follows the story of three boys and their adventures dealing with everything from mad scientists to giant insects. Ordinarily, this might be a hard thing to pull off well, but the crew if WPF does it so well that the world feels totally natural, and frankly, familiar.
Don't let the words "Double Feature" in the title fool you, they've actually managed to pack three stories into this 52 page one-shot: "The History Lesson;" dealing with a mad scientist, "What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up?;" brief but beautiful and exactly what it sounds like, and "Beetle Mania;" which deals with, well, giant beetles of course!
I could pour on and on about how great these stories are, but you really just need to get the one shot and enjoy them for yourself, a few times. What I will say is that Matt, Eric and Michah have built a seamless world for their characters that, at times, is scary, but you can't help but want to be a part of. Oftentimes, when writers center their stories around groups of children, the results are clunky approximations of what childhood is really like. Here, though, between the clever dialog and great artistic characterization, its perfectly nailed. You'll feel like a kid again, running into mischief with these kids, and poking fun at Pete's mom.
As if the story wasn't enough to carry the book, the art is impeccable as well. Each of the three stories have three different artistic interpretations, yet the flow of the book is uninterrupted. The "look" of it might be described as "cartoony" (or "cartoonesque" for snootier folks), which might be shortchanging it a little, but either way, the art suits the stories perfectly in all three cases. Well pulled off.
Does it seem like I'm gushing about this book? Well, maybe I am. This is just one of those books where, when you read it, you realize you've been missing out on something by not already being on board. So, if you haven't read any White Picket Fences yet, you might want to do yourself a favor and check this one out (and if you've already read some, you probably already want to).