The Waiting Place Book One [Paperback]

Sean McKeever (Author), Brendon (Author), Brian Fraim (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2001

Laced with humor and rooted with depth, The Waiting Place tracks the lives of a handful of teens and young adults who do their best to deal with their isolated surroundings, and with one another

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...take this book somewhere quiet for a few hours and digest the little slice of life it represents." -- Paul Jenkis, from the introduction

"A very impressive debut." -- Kurt Busiek

"As clever as Northern Exposure wanted to be and sharper than Dawson's Creek could ever hope to be." -- Warren Ellis

A powerful work. -- Comic Buyer's Guide

A very impressive debut. -- Kurt Busiek

As clever as Northern Exposure wanted to be and sharper than Dawson's Creek could ever hope to be. -- Warren Ellis

Somebody got it right. -- Comic Shop News

From the Inside Flap

The new kid, pulled from his suburban world and dumped into the middle of nowhere. The freshman girl who is way too eager about becoming an adult. The clever young woman who isn't. The twenty-something video clerk who spends his present looking to the past. They're all searching for a way to escape the dead-end, tourist-trap town of Northern Plains in The Waiting Place, an atmospheric of spinning wheels and racing hearts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: SLG Publishing (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0943151368
• ISBN-13: 978-0943151366
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,241,348 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After writing indie comics (such as the ensemble teen-drama The Waiting Place) for six years, Sean got his big break writing an issue of The Incredible Hulk for Marvel Comics in 2001. Since then, Sean has written hundreds of comics, including notable runs on Sentinel, Inhumans, Marvel Adventures Spider-Man, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane and Teen Titans.

Best known for delivering introspective, character-driven work, Sean received the Eisner Award for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition in 2005.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More of my favorite "subgenre", September 30, 2001

By 

Ron Tothleben ([e-mail]) (Tilburg, Netherlands, Europe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Waiting Place Book One (Paperback)

It's nice to know that next to things like 'Box Office Poison' and 'Strangers in Paradise' there's more like it available in my favorite subgenre, namely 'The Waiting Place' (this books collects #1-6 of the series).
I compare it mainly to Strangers in Paradise because it really is a lot like it, only it centers around more and more various young people. Where it differs from Strangers in Paradise is in the fact that it doesn't try to built a humorous factor in it. It just 'reports' everyday, typical life.

It's about:
Jeffrey just moved with his parents to a place far away from where they used to live. He came from a big city and now has to live in a minor village full of rednecks, with all their presumptions. Needless to say he's having a hard time at it. In the meanwhile the other youngsters there are also trying to create some movement in their lives, since their habitat in itself offers little.
Most of the time all the characters are dealing with typical problems you face at their age (the phase between youngster/young adult), like insecurity about oneself and about girls, wether you're gonna fit in, and how you're gonna tell your parents your "awful" secret. Some of them start realizing the difference between what things used to mean to them when they were kinds and now. It has a high "Deja-Vu' factor.

This book collects the first 6 issues, like I said, which are not a completed arc. That is not a bad thing because there ARE no arcs really, it's more like watching an ongoing tv-series. Little subplots start and end all the time, but they are intertwined, there are no 'real' endings anywhere.
Another, what I consider, strong point is that Kelly (he writer) tells it like it is, no romanticized elements. This makes it unpredictable all the way, you never know what is going to happen next. Artwise it's pretty nice. It's no Terry Moore but that's mainly due to the difference in style, not in skill. It's very clear and more than sufficient. My conclussion shall not be a surprise: if you like Box Office Poison and/or Strangers in Paradise (for those who haven't read those: comicbooks about 'real life', in all its aspects with as little as possible exaggeration) this will probably be to your liking.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing., May 23, 2007

By 

Nolan J. Werner "Writer" (Chicago, Ill.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Waiting Place Book One (Paperback)

This book is simply amazing on every level.

The characters are well defined.

The dialogue actually sounds like real people speak it (trust me, that is a rarity for a comic book).

The art captures the characters perfectly.

The hopelessness of small town America is captured perfectly.

Highly recommended.