Customer Reviews

Zero Girl

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4 star:		(2)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Zero Girl" is a great, quirky series. Sam Keith is a man with insight into the weird, with an emphasis on the private worlds of outcast girls.

The story of "Zero Girl" is a dream fantasy, where Circles are locked in a war with Squares. Our hero is at the center of this war. Circles protect her. Squares attack her. Her feet get wet. Somewhere locked inside this war are half-faded memories trying to get out.

An off kilter romance appears in the form of a high school girl in love with her school councilor. This is not a bad thing, in context of the story.

The art, of course, is Sam Keith's usual brand of goodness. He takes all of these strange story elements and welds them into a cohesive story by the force of his art.

And, as a topper, "Zero Girl" has an introduction by Alan Moore praising it. If you don't take my word for it, take Alan's. "Zero Girl" is great comics.

The pieces are familiar: a high school girl dealing with the ultimate family dysfunction, high school bullies, and high school crushes. The crush-ee, in this case, is a high school guidance counselor achingly aware that Amy Smootster isn't a little girl any more - a fact that Amy is equally aware of, and brings clearly to his attention. But she has real problems at home, such as it is, the kind that a counselor is supposed to involve himself in.

But there's something very special about Amy, more than the fact that wet puddles form under her shoes when embarassment becomes its worst (which it does often). And the high school bullies, even the thugs in that dark alley have something even darker behind them ...

It's more complex than Emily the Strange, and more for teens than for Emily's `tweens. The artwork is good, sometimes angular, and it does better with expression and narration than literal representation. Maybe not for everyone, but I'm coming back for more.

//wiredweird

While the artwork in this comic is excellent, the writing is nothing short of frustrating. The story's circle-vs-square mysticism is entertaining, but the two central characters sorely lack engaging qualities. Most of the comic barrages us with Amy's angst and whining about how mean old society won't accept her and Tim's relationship. The problem here is that said relationship has no firm basis and can be summed up thus: narcissistic Amy wants to have sex with Tim (she is not interested in Tim as a person, only as a sex partner), and Tim, a totally bland character whose sole trait is being wishy-washy, is mildly interested in Amy's strange situation while also being turned on by her being a slut. There is nothing to make us care about the supposed protagonists (Amy is introduced as being bullied, but this is a cheap ploy to engage some emotion).
Since the events remain unexplained by the end, the characters are the only ones holding the story together, and so the story itself falls flat. The most interesting character is the antagonist, who explores the ongoing mysticism and actually does something dynamic for the plot (instead of bumbling around and whining). She becomes intent on killing Amy; we are given no firm evidence that this would be a bad thing, but Kieth makes Amy emerge a victorious "good guy" for reasons unknown.
The dialogue ranges from inane to absurdly-stilted & forced. There is an absence of sincerity or relatability. I could see the story appealing to angst-ridden 13-year-olds, but for anyone above that maturity range, the artwork is the sole rewarding aspect of the book. It's a shame such a talented artist was so incapable of creating characters of depth.

Anyone at all familiar with Sam Kieth's previous work (The Maxx, or his Marvel work) already knows what they're getting into when they pick this up. For the uninitiated, here's what you'll find:
1) a unique story...Kieth never tells a "standard" tale, and Zero Girl is certainly no exception. Circles good, squares bad. Foot sweat. Trust me, it all makes sense.
2) Great art. Any excuse to view Kieth art is worth the price. His characters look like no one else's. His style cannot be duplicated easily, and those that try fail horribly. Think Frazetta on acid for a general idea.
Zero Girl is a good read and was hailed as one of the best of 2001 by many in the industry. There's a reason. READ IT!