 American
Virgin #1
"Head" Part 1 of 4
DC Comics / Vertigo
Writer: Steven T. Seagle
Art: Becky Cloonan
FC, 32 pgs w/ ads
$4.00 CAN / $2.99 US
Faithquake
by Jason D. Fedorchuk
Had you asked me to recite a list of comics that I bought, say, a year ago
-- before DC's Master Crisis Plan thing really brought me back into the whole
superhero thing again -- it was pretty much all Vertigo. It's a longstanding
thing with me and DC's Mature Readers books, reaching all the way back to The
Sandman, and really kicked into high gear when Doom Patrol went 'Mature'.
It's a good word, mature. It implies a mental readiness and ability to cope,
at least with the word "readers" thrown in (though, oddly enough,
our forum involves the word 'readers', and doesn't necessarily imply a mental
readiness at all). While the label allows Vertigo teams to approach Sex &
Violence with a good helping of whatever profanities the writer prefers, what
usually sets them apart is the way these things are *not* the stories themselves.
There's always been a deeper exploration of something, be it Madness, Dreams,
Loyalty, or all the things covered in The Invisibles.
The latest Vertigo debut, of course, is American Virgin. It promises
to be about Sex. If the title didn't get that across, the big, slick, purple
logo should. Failing that, there's an amazing cover by Frank Quitely, who manages
to make me want to both give up drawing and try harder. Take a look at it. It's
an invitation, all right.
 But
you know what they say about books and covers, don't you?
Adam Chamberlin is an extraordinary young man. Sure, he's the virgin in question,
but he's also proud of it, and resolute that he'll remain that way until his
wedding day to his long-time girlfriend, Cassandra. He tells crowds of kids
this during his lectures, and elaborates on it in his latest book. Adam is a
young man of incredible charisma and persuasion; his good looks, coupled with
his unwavering faith and enhanced by a gift for public speaking have pretty
much ensured Greatness. The guy's even a whiz at stunt-biking, fercryin'outloud.
Yes, Adam Chamberlin is a Man of Great Faith, and as good as that's been for
him, it also makes him a great protagonist. And that rarely goes hand-in-hand
with a charmed life...
While Adam frets over Cassandra's working in Africa, he's getting propositions
from schoolgirls who don't seem to get his message. His parents want him to
help out their floundering TV Ministry, and you can almost smell his mother's
sweat as she declares him a Prophet for a New Age. His brother, Kyle, is perfectly
content to be the Black Sheep of the family, but is going to have some work
to do if he wants to catch up with some of the other relatives we see.
But through everything, Adam's faith remains unshaken. It would take something
almost...catastrophic to shake him. Fortunately for us, a catastrophic Faithquake
hits just around the end of this issue, and as bad as I feel for Adam, I'm terribly
interested to see what happens next, where it takes him, and how he copes. How
will Adam's journey change him? Because that's what a story is really all about.
Sex and Faith are vessels in all this. Leitmotifs, possibly.
It's good to see Steven Seagle back in the Vertigo stable; I loved House
of Secrets when it was around, and this book is off to a great start. He's
managed that great, early, Vertigo setup, where he gives us not only the Protagonists
and scenario, but manages to introduce a fair number of supporting characters
who will, I'm sure, become important to varying degrees later on. And I'm also
sure that several future storylines have been cleverly seeded along the way.
Drawing all this is Becky Cloonan (Demo),
whose style here totally sells it for me. The people aren't all attractive;
they're real, unique. The art has an urgency about it, and it contrasts with
the cover quite effectively. Quitely's cover is the glossy, clean and lurid
promise; Cloonan's interiors are more truthful -- even Adam, for all his charisma,
isn't as polished as Quitely portrays him. I'll drop the comparisons now, and
just say that I like it and it fits the book.
Like I said, a strong beginning to what I hope will be a hell of a journey,
and I can only hope that it does well enough that we, and the book's creators,
get to see it through to the end.
4.5 of 5
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