While the concept sounds like the plot to one of those excruciating Mary-Kate and Ashley comedies that ABC Family insists on shoving down the my throat when I'm just trying to catch a second-season episode of Smallville, Brandon Hanvey's two comics about The Stereos are loaded with enough charm and unabashed innocence to make sure that you don't actually gag on the sweetness they exude. See, there's a geek girl, a slacker, a goth, and a punk that form a band because hey, that's what people in Study Hall together end up doing.
Hanvey actually did The Stereos: Battle Of The Bands first, and it shows, as his line is not quite as strong and the story is a little too obvious. However, the characters are all fairly clearly defined thanks to an opening sequence (which he recycles to great effect in the other comic) and dialogue that, while it's not going to cause Grant Morrison or Alan Moore to run for the hills, is crafted for each character fairly well. I may have mentioned the predictability of the story, but I should note that I was glad to see he didn't make the most obvious choice in regards to who wins the title bout, even with a "twist" that any reader familiar to the genre known as Comedicus Teenagus will see coming the second a certain character is introduced.
The Stereos: In The Garage is the untold origin of The Stereos and it maintains the affability and wit of the first volume while showing that Hanvey didn't spend the intervening year between titles idle. His art and design sense are much stronger (I love the cover), and his writing takes the (again) fairly rote storyline and makes the reader care about the formation, near-demise, and resurrection because it's obvious that he cares a bit. His enthusiasm drew me in and made me a fan of this band I've never heard.
This is going to sound like a bit of an insult, but there's a lack of sophistication in both of these books that make them easy reads, accessible to all ages. Sure, he could have mentioned that the Punk probably drinks a fair amount, or that the Goth Girl has cut herself a few times to make sure that she still feels something, but the need is not there - we have enough comics like that out there already, don't we? Brandon Hanvey's plainly a good-natured fellow and I'm glad to see that he's making the comics he wants to make, which I happen to enjoy reading.
You can buy these two books at his online store, or look for him and his charming wife (MoCCA was their honeymoon! Awww!) at shows around the country.
Hanvey actually did The Stereos: Battle Of The Bands first, and it shows, as his line is not quite as strong and the story is a little too obvious. However, the characters are all fairly clearly defined thanks to an opening sequence (which he recycles to great effect in the other comic) and dialogue that, while it's not going to cause Grant Morrison or Alan Moore to run for the hills, is crafted for each character fairly well. I may have mentioned the predictability of the story, but I should note that I was glad to see he didn't make the most obvious choice in regards to who wins the title bout, even with a "twist" that any reader familiar to the genre known as Comedicus Teenagus will see coming the second a certain character is introduced. The Stereos: In The Garage is the untold origin of The Stereos and it maintains the affability and wit of the first volume while showing that Hanvey didn't spend the intervening year between titles idle. His art and design sense are much stronger (I love the cover), and his writing takes the (again) fairly rote storyline and makes the reader care about the formation, near-demise, and resurrection because it's obvious that he cares a bit. His enthusiasm drew me in and made me a fan of this band I've never heard.This is going to sound like a bit of an insult, but there's a lack of sophistication in both of these books that make them easy reads, accessible to all ages. Sure, he could have mentioned that the Punk probably drinks a fair amount, or that the Goth Girl has cut herself a few times to make sure that she still feels something, but the need is not there - we have enough comics like that out there already, don't we? Brandon Hanvey's plainly a good-natured fellow and I'm glad to see that he's making the comics he wants to make, which I happen to enjoy reading.
You can buy these two books at his online store, or look for him and his charming wife (MoCCA was their honeymoon! Awww!) at shows around the country.
