WHAT'S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE #8 - Review

 

Somewhere in Between

 

I’m not sure if this series is pure genius or pure lunacy. I think it may be somewhere in between. Oh, that’s what they do in this comic. They have a black page with a line or word or two from the scene about to happen before they happen. Scenes can be as short as one or two pages. I think I thought it was cool the first several issues now I’m like ‘Oh Shut the fuck up just go to the next panel’

 

Oh Shut the Fuck Up

 

No, no, it foretells the upcoming scene. That’s wrong. The line would have to be ‘That’s Wrong’ for it to be consistent with what they’ve been doing, unless of course I go ‘Oh shut the fuck up’ for no reason…which I just did. Hmm, creepy how that just worked.

 

Strangle one of Them

 

I think the creators of this comic are either some of the coolest people you’ll ever meet or possibly the most annoying. I can see myself sitting at a café near them as they drink their Cortados and Flat Whites and laugh really loudly at their jokes about physics and fly fishing while I stew in my loneliness and wonder how to waft my sardine fart over to them. Or maybe I’ll just hop on the table and strangle one of them. I mean, I bet all these guys would do is film it or go ‘Hey man, hey, what’s your favorite vinyl, stop that dude’

 

I haven’t dropped $120

 

I’m not sure if they’re still doing this but the first several issues all had a Vinyl Option where you could purchase a variant with a 45inch vinyl with cool art that would have songs that I assume were either written for or inspired the material. I wanted these variants but my comic shop never got them. They were 15 bux each so I think it’s a good thing I haven’t dropped $120 on this comic series especially not knowing what kind of music would be on each 45.

 

Black Puke Gizzard Balls

 

I can see the music on the 45s being all weird punk stuff from bands I’ve never heard of and then I’d have to at least pretend to like it a little bit which would be lying to myself. At the very least when I would meet one of the many tatted up nose ring black leather jacket chicks that wobble around LA I can look at one of the patches on their jacket and go ‘Hey, Black Puke Gizzard Balls. I like them a lot! Especially their song ‘Huuuurrrggghhhh’ 

 

Dystopian Post Virus type Death World

 

One of the groups of kids in this ‘Lord of the Flies in a Dystopian Post Virus type Death World’ identify each other by pulling their favorite vinyl out of their pants. Oh, and they also live in a record shop. I think that’s a leeeeetle over the top with the vinyl references. I mean don’t get me wrong I’m all in and have always been all in with the 33 1/3s but dudes, like, reel it in. The last issue was great because they backed up and gave us a backstory as to how this world they’ve depicted got to the point that it did which was insanely necessary because as a reader I was flying blind trying to figure out what the fuck was going on.

 

What the Hell is Going On Here Mode

 

That is one thing I will give this comic. It has me completely in the ‘I want to know what the hell is going on here’ mode, which is a mode you want an audience to be in. I’m invested in knowing even if I feel like the story has veered off of the tracks, and veered it has, until last issue where they capitulated and explained a bunch of stuff. This issue however was a Jackson Pollock dump on my eyeballs. It was like looking at Rembrandts for 7 issues and then for this issue they went all drunk Sean Murphy doing Peyote on me. I don’t know who this Lopez Ortiz artist is but I think my emotionally unstable Ex-Latina Fiance may have something to do with them/they/alltogethernow messing with this comic book. Or maybe the original artist went ‘Wait, this isn’t genius, this is pure lunacy!’

 

Face Pampers and Jabs

 

So each cover of this comic foretells a location that gets touched upon in each issue. This issue had a location of a sex shop. Me and my ‘haven’t had a date since before the time of face pampers and jabs for all’ was a bit excited to peel the pages open. The only thing that got peeled opened were my eyeballs from the art which was completely different from all the previous issues. I mean, you’re watching a Mel Brooks movie and then all of a sudden Tarrantino gets his hands onto an action sequence type of jarring. What the hell? And the art is really on the abstract side, wild lines, grotesques features, blurry action, a complete departure from all of the previous books. Not only that but after a while I realize they’re giving us another back story of the main kids this time. What??? You don’t do that. You don’t give me back story of the world in one issue and then give me another one on characters the next issue. I mean, it’s nice but now I’m completely distanced from what’s actually going on. Dude, do you ever watch a TV show or Movie and they give you a flashback only to immediately give you another flashback right after??? No. No you do not.

 

Los Angeles Catchphrase

 

Despite the visual smorsgasbord of a comic I actually think their back story of how all these kids came together to form one of the existing ‘Kid Groups’ of this comic was well thought out. Overall, the creators have done an excellent job of weaving a menacing world outside of the confines of these teens/kids doing and legislating wacky things to each other. When I saw the first issue of this comic I thought it was going to be the new Los Angeles Catchphrase since people have been fleeing this dumpathon in droves the past few years. Like, they see a homeless person taking a dump in front of their business and go ‘What’s the furthest place from here?’.

 

Impromptu Toilets

 

I hear in Studio City they’ve set up ‘Take a Number Dispensers’ all over so the homeless could line up properly before taking a dump in front of businesses. At least the impromptu toilets are being organized properly: ‘Number 22? Yeah, so Starbucks was just pooped on you can do CVS parking lot entrance or Trader Joe’s. No, sorry, CVS street entrance already has 5 poops’.

 

Cortado/Flat White Gang

 

Now that they’ve established a bunch of the underlying structure of this series, this comic has a real chance to be superb and memorable provided that the Cortado/Flat White Gang steer it into a satisfying conclusion. I’ll be along for the ride for sure.

 

I’ll be along for the Ride

 

No I already said that. You’re late.

 

You’re Late

 

Oh fer goodness sake.

 

Oh fer -

Shut the fuck up!

 

 

Rating: 7.7

 

Verdict Pull

 

Verdict: Pull