Alone amidst a crowd of Southern California mods obsessed with scooters, soul and style, nobody takes Ken seriously. He mooches everything from rides to cigarettes to meals - usually from his best friend, Steve. But that's all about to change. Ken has just met the girl of his dreams. Too bad she only has eyes for Steve. It's going to be a long, hot summer.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
NICE COOL READ,
By
This review is from: Long Hot Summer (Paperback)
LONG HOT SUMMER is an exceptional graphic novel about real people in a complex situation. It begins as a standard love triangle: uncool guy (Ken) meets very cool girl (Ashley), introduces her to his cooler friend (Steve), and a rivalry develops. What sets LONG HOT SUMMER apart from other books in this genre, though, is its honesty. The reader's sympathy is not diverted to the usual, expected places. Rather, writer Eric Stephenson holds back any moral judgments in favor of showing his characters merely as they are, warts and all. Ken has deeper emotional issues than your standard put-upon no-hoper, while Steve is essentially a good guy who doesn't always follow his best instincts. And Ashley? Well, Ashley is still a bit of an enigma, but that could be because neither of the boys takes the time to understand her. This is a story about guys, and so the flaws in her portrayal are the flaws in their perception. It's a difficult line for the writer to walk, as it could be viewed as a cop-out by those who don't want look deeper themselves and see how the choice comments on the overall theme.
Another unique aspect of LONG HOT SUMMER is its setting. Stephenson doesn't nail down a date, but judging by certain references, we can assume it's the early to mid-`80s. The boys are part of the Southern California mod scene, meaning they spend a lot of time fixing up old Italian scooters and digging through record bins for obscure soul 45s. Steve, in particular, is one of the main scenesters, known for his impeccable taste in tunes and his stylish wardrobe. This is where artist Jamie McKelvie gets to shine--in the many details of the trio's social world, from the posters on the wall down to the stitching on the breast of a shirt. Such attention to detail is also his failing, however. Oftentimes a gesture or an expression can appear too labored over, making the characters stiff and lifeless. Thankfully, the dialogue is so crisp, it keeps such moments moving and the story never stops cold.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Girl Who Can Be Bad,
By
This review is from: Long Hot Summer (Paperback)
The Long Hot Summer is about a Mod-group of early-twentysomethings who seemed to be having difficulty growing out of old skin that is high school. Steve is a nice guy who tries to stay a nice guy even when Ken's suppose-to-be girlfriend, Ashley, comes between them. Only incidentally though, she wasn't expecting Ken to have such a cool, attractive best friend. Niether did Steve think that Ken's girlfriend was going to be so hot. The best he could do is distance himself from the pair and nobody seems to let him. Pushing and prodding by his whole group makes him doubt his better judgement. He ends up lying to everyone about everything. Ken, as well, is so needy of everyone he comes to contact with that he can't stop thinking about Ashley (who can't take Ken seriously, by the way) and Ken can't stopping mooching and manipulating his best friend Steve. Ashley isn't hard to understand, she thought Ken was cute (mind you when a girl thinks your cute she could mean one of two things- 1. she could think that your attractive in the cute sense or 2. you're has cute as a puppy. The bad-cute. Guys don't want to be bad-cute, their pretty much disposable. Ken was bad-cute. Who can blame Ashley for thinking that? Ken is in a sense bad news and for more reasons than Ken's and Steve's circle of friends can point out. Though she does decide to go for Steve although his problems are less obvious. Steve comes to a conclusion that he wanted to avoid about his long hot summer about the whole mess reluctantly. The writing and graphics never skip a beat from each and the characters stay true to form. A good read I can't get enough of The Long Hot Summer.
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