In Daytripper (Vertigo, 2011), twin Brazilian brothers Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba have created a comic that is both innovative and classic. Overwhelmingly rewarding -- with minor exceptions -- it offers stunning artwork, involved and imaginative storytelling, lessons in how comics should be read, examples of how serialization can be used to advantage, and contingent realism that, in its presentation of diverse realities, qualifies as fantasy. Daytripper is the story of a single life that ends in multiple ways. It does what comics do best. It visualizes possibilities. At the end of each but the last chapter, readers are left with one thought: if only he had lived. Picture the possibilities:
Daytripper is the story of Bras, a "miracle child" born in a blackout's darkness, an aspiring writer writing in the shadow of a famous author father. Moon and Ba introduce Bras in the first chapter on the way to a celebration of his father's 40 years of achievement. It's also Bras' birthday. The day gives him opportunity for taking stock of family, of friendship, of love and his career. Bras, at 32, can't help but compare his father's success to his own role as an obituary writer. Before entering the theater where his father will be honored, Bras goes to a tavern for a pack of cigarettes where he is killed during a hold-up. His life is cut short. Or at least until the next chapter when it's cut shorter.
This time, Bras and his friend Jorge are traveling in Salvador, looking for experience. There are touches of magical realism and symbolism. This earlier chapter in Bras life ends in a way that makes the first chapter's story impossible. This time, with the promise of new love, he dies at 21.
And so it goes. Over the book's 10 chapters, Bras dies at 28, 38 and 41. He dies as a child and as an old man. No matter the age of his passing, the event of his life take a single course. In each death, and as the story develops, we see what is realized and what is missed. Before each death, nearly all unexpected, he has a chance to discover what is important, what is meaningful in life.
Each of the ten comics collected in this edition tell a complete story. Yet the complete story isn't realized until all have been read. Serialization often detracts from a collected work because of its repetition of facts and not-so-subtle reminders of the baseline story. Moon and Ba have avoided this, developing the narrative of Bras' life, looking both forward and back, in an engaging chain of revelation. Recall that Dickens and Dostoevsky, among others, had works serialized in publications of their day. While that serialization may have lengthened their works (which meant they made more money) it hardly compromised their achievement. Moon and Ba capitalize on the use of installments much like the unwinding scenarios in made-for-TV series like The Sopranos or Mad Men.
How does Daytripper show us the way to read comics? By making us consider the visuals as equal to the words. Writing comics means more than filling bubbles with words. It requires designing the panels so that there is flow and meaning in what's depicted even as its subjects and backdrops remain motionless. It means drawing in such a way that the reader's imagination creates movement. Examining the panels, appreciating their composition and color, the way they carry emotion and to discover what they reveal is more rewarding here than in most comics.
The book capitalizes on comics' ability to create contingent realities. The genius is that these contingencies coalesce into a single story. At times, the story may be overwritten in its embrace of life, place and family; too maudlin and sentimental as in the chapter on Bras the child. But don't listen to a cynic like me, especially on these subjects. Even as a cynic, I found Daytripper to be an amazing experience.
(NOTE:The names Fabio, Ba and Bras all contain accents on the "a." My apologies to the authors and their fictional character for not fully representing their names. Any code experts out there who can instruct me in placing the accents?)
ILLUSTRATED IMAGINATION BUSINESS: Thanks to George for guidance on installing images. If this guy isn't some kind of instructor -- if he is a guy -- then the world is missing out on one of reality's great contingents.
Has anyone out there read GB Tran's Vietnamerica: A Family's Journey? It's reviews have generally been good. I'd love to hear from anyone who's read it.
That said, I'm still hoping someone (or ones) will add their voice to THE ILLUSTRATED IMAGINATION by contributing a diary (or several). Our last installment before returning to the rigors of our day job (not to mention jobs two and three) will be Thursday, August 25. This could be extended with contributions; heck we might even be able to keep the series going with enough contributors. Picture it...
THE CABBAGE RABBIT REVIEW OF BOOKS AND MUSIC