The Show Review by Jed McPherson and Joseph Velasquez
Reading time: 2 minutes
In a nutshell this four issue comic series is about Johnny Tevee living by himself as part of a reality show controlled by a deranged punk. In issue 1 we are introduced to the three main characters Johnny, Nursey and the Punk and each of the characters is an intriguing mystery in themselves. Even by the end of the series I don’t know everything about them and want to know more. Throughout each issue our hopes are with Johnny as he suffers more and more to the point that he thinks his teddy bear is talking to him. Issue two is the highlight of Johnny’s insanity with his teddy bear leading him through a TV show, guiding him through multiple aspects of his personalities and away from the giant blue rhino, octopus type guy. If that sounds insane it’s because issue two totally is but it’s crucial for Johnny realising what’s really happening. Issue three and four focus on Johnny’s attempt for freedom but are also great examples of world building and reveal a neurotic side to the Punk to the point he reminds me of Arcade from the Marvel comics. Even his relationship with Nursey reminds of Arcade and Miss Locke. The ad breaks to sell whatever Johnny was using in that episode is interesting for showing what the next step in reality TV will be and also how heartless the Nurse is. This cynicism and grimness is a recurrent theme throughout the story and the use of a punk like character in charge of the proceedings exemplifies this nicely. One final positive from the writing side is along with issue two’s craziness I really didn’t expect the ending of issue four.
There were some drawbacks to this comic series though. Part of the reason for the mystery of the characters is there’s no backstory or occasionally depth to them, to the point we don’t even know the Nurse or Punk’s names. I’m also unsure why the reality show would have been a big hit as Johnny Tevee lives a very ordinary life, there’s no big brother like tasks, he doesn’t have life or death situations until he decides he wants his freedom. Probably it’s because of the state of the world and Johnny reminds them of a simpler time, I don’t know. Art wise whilst I love the colours particularly in issue two and each character design is very individual, the art style and shapes of people remind me a lot of Huberto Ramos’s Spectacular Spider-Man run. Which unfortunately wasn’t my cup of tea.
Overall, this comic series is unusual in parts, vague to the point of being mysterious and has an interesting nihilistic world setting.
Next week I chat with the writer Jed McPherson about this series and comics in general. Stay tuned.
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