"Emo Boy Volume 1" By Steve Emond SLG Publishing 176 pages Now available
While many of us try and deny it, we all wanted to be emo kids during our junior high and high school years. High school was a drag. The opposite sex didn't pay attention to us and all we had to combat this was bad poetry and our Get Up Kids albums.
Author Steve Emond catches this spirit with his semi-satirical graphic novel, "Emo Boy." It is the story of a freshman semi-superhero in high school battling the evils of jocks, dodgeball and the most feared enemy of all, girls.
The graphic novel is in fact a superhero tale, but it is not typical. For one thing, Emo Boy does not have any cool powers. He has "emo powers," which include writing terrible poetry, crying, puking a lot and growing like King Kong whenever he is embarrassed or aroused in any way. Needless to say, this isn't Superman.
The best part about this graphic novel is that Emond manages to juxtapose Emo Boy with situations that, while seemingly normal for a high school kid, turn out to be overdramatic instances in the life of Emo Boy. For one thing the name of the novel, "Emo Boy, Volume 1: Nobody Cares About Anything Anyway So Why Don't We All Just Die," is both hilarious because of its content, but also tragic because it encapsulates the utter despair of the protagonist's life.
The poetry that Emo Boy writes is also hilariously bad. Quotes like "I defecate my pain for you" and "I am that volcano" will have the reader laughing at the sheer stupidity of this second-rate superhero.
Another positive thing the graphic novel has going is its core story. While the graphic novel is a series of short story strips, they are connected as characters from the past stories come back and play pivotal roles in the growth of Emo Boy.
Also funny is the parody within the story. Bands like "Cheezer" (bad guys) and "Daschbord Flughafenal" (good guys) makes it more modern and relatable for the people reading it. Humorous events such as a suicide attempt with Tic Tacs and giving screamo singing a try, make for an enjoyable read.
The only way in which the novel falters is in its overall meaning. While we are led to believe that this is a satirical piece about kids in high school, at times it seems as if the novel takes itself too seriously.
It might confuse the reader to find quotes that seem as if they are trying desperately to find some sort of life meaning. It seems that although Emond might deny it, the real Emo Boy in the story might be him.
Though Emo Boy is not a fully functional superhero, he acts well as a protagonist just trying to survive against evil jocks and evil emo bands such as "Cheezer."
While he might not save the day, he still manages to gain some sort of acceptance from people he loves and ultimately accomplishes his diluted goals.
