The gap between panels / Repetition repetition repetition

Latest column for the London Graphic Novel Network is ostensibly about creators repeating themselves, but mostly spends its time being nice about Phonogram and less nice about The Wicked + The Divine. That despite not have read the third vols of either book. Kieron Gillen found me out on twitter, which has got me worried that I've been insensitive if not outright wrong about WicDiv, but there we go. Read it here.

Casanova: Luxuria

It's not all surface, apparently. But I'm not clever enough to see beyond the surface, so that's where I'm going to have to start.

And the surface gets more fun with each issue. The first couple are a little shaky, with some infuriating script slip-ups that make the reading rather more confusing than it should be. I'll give an example that illustrates my horrible pedantry as much as the flaws in the writing:

'He's impressed by confidence and someone not kissing his ass is novel'

Either scrap the last two words, or put a comma after 'confidence'. I swear I read that line about five times before I understood how it was supposed to read.

There's the thing. Casanova's script is busy, and in the first two or so issues it gets quite clogged up and difficult. The funnies don't really take off (I have a similar problem with Gillen's S.W.O.R.D.) This may just be about me being obtuse. But then again, there is a definite pick up as the series went on. By the final two issues, the madness started working for me. I started laughing at the zingers. Did the comic start balancing the clever and silly better? Or did I just finally learn how to read the thing? I honestly don't know.

But really now, is it about very much? A lot of wacky ideas get thrown up (sex dolls, colonialism, meta) but the turnover is so fast, nothing sticks. The only thing I can latch on to is the protagonist's family drama. And amid all the insanity, I can't really feel the emotional punches Cass takes.

Just a sidenote on the art. I'm a terrible judge in this area, but I liked it. Ba does the retro sci-fi sexy poppy silliness very well. It's a good fit with Fraction's hyperactive writing.

Apparently, a revelation awaits at the end of the second volume. A clarity. Of purpose? I'm curious enough to go find out...