Customer Reviews

The Waiting Place Book One

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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.

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.