The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys #1

The Team
Writer Gerard Way Artist Becky Cloonan

Everyone has a different personality that they conceal from someone else. In the case of Gerard Way who happens to be a writer and a musician this take a very literal sense. The writer’s previous work known as The Umbrella Academy was a striking comic book masterpiece. Story and characters were essential to the piece of writing, as it was about a family of super powered people. This aspect is where The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys falls apart. As of the first issue the comic book seems more interested in setting up a world than giving the audience a real narrative. This may be because this story is loosely based on piece of music. This comic is a really strange beast for any reviewer to tackle because, it seems like there is a grand narrative that is trapped inside of Gerard’s head waiting to burst out onto the page.

The problems with the title stem, from the fact that what happened on the My Chemical Romance cd of the same name as this comic counts as cannon in the universe. It leaves this with a big continuity mess that does not make any sense. Also Grant Morrison is the villain of the comic which isn’t even a new idea thanks to some Morrison’s other work. Many of the characters here simply fall flat because they are not fleshed out all of the way. In the previous work of Way he wasted no time making the characters three dimensional. There is also no way to completely comprehend all of the background here simply because it is not adequately explained. A consumer should not have to listen to an album in order to enjoy the product. Many people are simply going to try this comic book out for the artwork of Becky Cloonan.

The real star of the show here is the art of the previously mentioned Becky Cloonan. The female artist brings a different perspective on the title than anybody else possibly could. Looking at her depiction of Grant Morrison is hilarious. The artist’s surreal style fits the evocative and slightly silly tone of the comic incredibly well. Colors by Dan Jackson are also a sight to behold. The credits page has this shade of pink that captures everything that is great about the artwork here. Which can be commended to designer Tony Ong who chose just the right font for the project. Also letterer Nate Piekos takes the care to hand draw some of the letters in this comic that give the entire package an incredible force of beauty. Even if the writing is contrived here Cloonan and company are giving this title there all!

If the album and the name of My Chemical Romance and Gerard Way make readers interested, picking up this issue can be recommended. If readers are simply looking for the stunning art of Becky Cloonan than this title is also worth a look. Anybody fascinated with Umbrella Academy and the writing of Gerard should steer clear of this idealistic mess until it is fleshed out further.