In Review Of: Local #11 by Wood and Kelly

With the penultimate issue of Local, Kelly and Wood have given us yet another interesting slice of Megan's life, this time one in which I'm sure many other reviewer will point out that she appears to almost be an ancillory character in, when in reality she is there from the cover.

Megan for all her travels, her of the small rucksack and the desire to bolt at a monents notice, has been always had things with her, psychic and physical baggage, that she has lugged around from city to city, place to place. The girl least likely to be tied down by posessions is, in fact, defined by stuff. The postcards from her brother, the polaroids from the guy in issue #2. More than that, we're with her, and we have defined Megan by her loot as well, so we feel some of her pain at having her life pinned like a dead butterfly up on a gallery wall. Very few of us would like to have that happen to us. Its an act of violation.

And yet, as the finale shows us, its also an act of freeing her from her past. Much like spring cleaning with a disinterested 3rd party who can really be brutal, Megan has chunks of her past taken away... and its liberating in its own way. Kelly's art if quite good; he's grown tremendously as a storyteller from the first issues, and in subtle ways. Wood's story and dialog is on, and conveys quite a bit without overplaying his hand in any one scene.

Local has been a really nice read, and I'm quite happy to pick this up in the trade so that I can have it on the bookshelf. I liked this series enough to violate my "pamplet" policy, which says something. I have no doubt that it will read even better as a trade actually. The chapters will flow together and there will, no doubt, be better continuity that in the irregularly spaced floppies. If you've not been buying this, then wait and pick up the trade. Its worth the money.