I’m not the world’s biggest fan of My Chemical Romance. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they are bad by any stretch of the imagination, I’m just only really into their last two albums (The Black Parade and Danger Days).
So when I heard about this comic coming out based off one of the albums I like, I was kind of curious. Then when I learned that co-founder of the band, Gerard Way, had previous experience writing comics before and the artist was Becky Cloonan, I grew even more curious. Was it worth my curiosity? Is it good?
The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys #1 (Dark Horse Comics)
From what I gathered, this comic takes place after the story in the Danger Days album, focusing on the little girl that the Killjoys protected and saved, apparently sacrificing themselves in the process. It’s several years after the fact and the girl, all grown up now, and her cat are wandering around trying to survive. On one particular day, she meets an odd group of fans of the Killjoys and encounters other curious characters.
Now I said I like the album Danger Days, however, it’s been a while since I heard the whole thing. As such, reading this comic, I have absolutely no idea what’s going on. I have no understanding of who these characters are, the locations, the villains, the ideas and slang, and so much more. The comic in no way tries to help with that fact either, just tossing all this stuff out there at the reader and hoping that they know what it all means.
And therein lies the fatal flaw of this comic. It’s hard to explain without revealing too many things, but there is too much information and concepts being tossed around and this comic in no way outside of the tiniest bit tries to help you understand. Some of these ideas sound interesting to me personally (like the legacy left behind by the Killjoys and these Draculoids), but I need some more background or some basic knowledge here. It’s all too vague. Combined with the fact that there is not much characterization going around that could help you get to know any of the characters (what little there is makes you end up not liking some of them, like Val), this whole comic could easily turn off most potential readers.
The art here is the saving grace though. Becky Cloonan draws some nice looking characters and scenery, which does help the audience get a sense of how different the world and its people are. The colors and shading do help with setting the tone and mood for what is happening in the scenes, with a particular highlight when the Draculoids appear for the first time and what they exactly do.
5.5
- The artwork is very nice and appealing.
- There are lots of interesting ideas and concepts floating around.
- Not new reader friendly.
- Does not explain anything at all about what is going on.
- Underdeveloped to unlikeable characters.
Is It Good?
It could possibly be for a true, hardcore fan of My Chemical Romance and if they are familiar with this world. However, for everyone else, it’s not at all. With a lack of information to help get new people acquainted with the world it is presenting and underdeveloped characters that the audience cannot connect to, there is little to offer besides the artwork. The best bet is to check out the album and then try the comic itself to see if it makes a difference.
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