Review: AIRBOY #1

airboy-1-cover

AIRBOY #1
Written by James Robinson
Art by Greg Hinkle
Published by Image Comics
Release Date: June 3, 2015

Prepare yourself. This book is not what you think it’s going to be.

Golden Age character Airboy has entered the public domain and it’s time for writer James Robinson and artist Greg Hinkle to take a crack at it. Only thing is, they don’t have any ideas. Thus begins an evening full of debauchery and danger that will bring Airboy to them… literally.

I’m almost at a loss for words when it comes to this book. Partly because it feels so raw and true that it makes me uncomfortable to laugh at the funny bits, even though I know I’m expected to. Partly because it’s so beautifully constructed that it makes me question how true it could possibly be. And partly because it has one of the best dick shots in comics that I’ve ever seen, dangling in front of the face of a guy whose hand I’ve shaken many times.

Yeah, this is weird, wild stuff, and I honestly can’t get enough.

There’s very little left to the imagination in issue #1, as we see our main characters — the creators of the title themselves — in a variety of NSFW (like, really not safe for work) scenarios ranging from the sitting on the toilet to double penetration, heroin use to very indecent exposure. But to be honest, those are just the trappings of a comic that feels very raw in its illustration of the creative process.

The genuineness of thoughts shared between James and Greg in the process of their initial adventure is the real shocker here: feelings of creative inferiority, self-doubt, and career panic pepper the scenes to the point where I can’t grasp what’s making me more uncomfortable: the sheer honesty of what it’s like to have to always have to be on that next idea, and realizing that you may be on the downside of your career arc.

It’s ironic, as Airboy #1 is perhaps the freshest, most challenging (and fascinating) piece of work I’ve encountered from Robinson, and it’s unlike anything else I’ve read before. Lots of books take a semi-autobiographical tact, usually with a bit of whimsy and a wink. But there’s a difference when you’re displaying what’s quite possibly your worst side for an audience, versus how you want them to think of you. It makes for a powerful book and elevates everything in it accordingly.

The art style employed by Hinkle, from line all the way up to color palette, is absolutely exemplary, and gives the book a rough feel it absolutely needs to be taken seriously. The facial expressions are certainly caricaturistic, but capture the quiet moments more carefully than dialogue in some cases. Any panel without a word balloon becomes an opportunity for revelation, and any panel with suddenly becomes infused with a depth that you rarely see on the page.

The coloring of the piece is, of course, dependent on this idea of the fusion of two worlds — that Wizard of Oz trick that I’ve no doubt is going to be undermined in months to come. But even without the arrival of a four color interruption, Hinkle’s colors give us a beautiful sense of the differences between place to place, reflects the change from drug high to harsh reality, and renders scenes that are necessarily banal with a subtle power. It’s fine work, and meshes beautifully with the overall scope of the book.

A brilliant start with some of the most challenging creative self-reflection I’ve come across in a printed piece, Airboy #1 is a true joy to read, re-read, and re-re-read. I’m on pass #6 and am probably not going to stop any time soon. If we’re in luck, neither will Robinson and Hinkle. Next month, get in my pants already. I’m already jonesing for you.

The Verdict: 10/10

 

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