REVIEW: Young Liars #1

Reviews

9053_400x600.jpgWriter/Artist: David Lapham

Vertigo / DC Comics

Sex, Drugs, and Rock n Roll in the Big Apple? Along with a cliché premise, this book is a role call of cliché characters- the painfully super-cool girl with the checkered past, the down to earth narrator who loves her, the anorexic girl, the shady, get rich quick guy, the bitch and the transvestite. Can Lapham take all of these various characters and make them stand out? Can he put them in an original situation that will belie their archetypical status?

The big twist is the amazing Sadie, the cool girl, has a bullet in her brain that makes her erratic. Danny, our main character, has an element of control over her because of that. Every other part of this story is straight out of the cliché bargain bin. No one gets a real character, just various traits. What’s more, as a New Yorker, while certain folks aspire to be this level of going-nowhere, very few reach this level and even fewer are likable or relatable enough to be worth reading a series about. It’s good that these characters are cliché, because the type of person they represent is a rather shallow one.

It seems that going on the run or going on a treasure hunt is going to be the impetus for the plot moving in this. Likely, with the characters so vacant now, this is intended to leave them room to grow and learn. Without an interesting start point, I’m unsure why I’m to care about their growth, but at least the promise of growth is present. If this is the culture you’re into, barring a major reassessment, this should be a good enough introduction to hook you. For anyone else, I’m not sure why you’d bother.

The title indicates that we’re to know that these characters are rather fake and lacking substance. That doesn’t change the fact that it’s a poor way to get the reader to care about a new series. They’re all but unlikable now. Reading their adventures is likely a chore to those who realize that these are all “young liars” while those who relate might be alienated by the mocking of their lifestyle. This is played over the top enough to be a clear intended mockery, but more than farce is needed to make a book like this work. If you’re into this culture, check it out. If you’re a fan of the author, wait for a trade for a complete experience. For everyone else, this is an early skip.

4/10

Glazer is a former senior editor at Pulse Wrestling and editor and reviewer at The Comics Nexus.