OK, so as with most books, I'm a little late to the party. Girls was published monthly by Image between 2005 and 2007, and is probably on a great deal of people's radars already. Nonetheless, having read all 24 issues cover to cover in only a couple of sittings - it's that good - I feel compelled to share my thoughts with you, readers of this here blog. Once again, Andrew has kindly allowed me to do so.
The interesting thing about Girls, for me, is that I was spellbound from the art from the very first second I saw the trade covers out of the corner of my eye. There is something incredible about the way the Luna Brothers' Girls are drawn and coloured; simple, beautiful nude figures surrounded by minimal backgrounds. Each single issue cover, too, pictures one of the Girls in a slightly different framing, a variation on a theme, compelling and interesting... that's what you want your book to do though right? To leap out? Interestingly, overheard a conversation in my local store the other day where a guy and girl were discussing this very thing and pointed out the cover of Fatale #4 as leaping out of the rack with a startling, simple image - I wholeheartedly agreed - and that's what the art in Girls is like.
Luckily, there is a story to match the art, which expands upon its simple concept over 24 issues masterfully, growing from a seed of a story to a multi-layered set of separate conflicts. The structure of the story mirrors the plot itself, which begins with our main protagonist Ethan ostracising himself from the remainder of his 63-strong community of Pennystown by denouncing women in a bar while on a drinking bender. I have to admit, this put me off the book at first, as I was worried it might border on the misogynist, which it doesn't really. Ethan does get a pretty hard time during the remainder of the book for the crap he says. (Again - interesting aside - Joshua Luna's recent Whispers has a pretty unlikeable protagonist but judging by last week's issue 2 that story will expand and flesh him out too. Give it a read).
Following Ethan's outburst, he's driving home when he sees a beautiful nekkid chick walking along the roadside. Naturally he picks her up with the intention of taking care of her, but being a weak man who thinks with his junk, he ends up banging her later that night. Questionable morality is all over this book! Especially given the girl doesn't say anything very much apart from mimic others' words, making Ethan's decision to do the wild thing with her a little more iffy. But Ethan's opened a bigger can of worms than you might think, as when he wakes in the morning, his new girlfriend has laid a load of motherfucking eggs in his bathroom!
Instinctively he goes to get help from Sherriff Wes (bit of a dick in Ethan's eyes) and his old flame Taylor (who's spending an awful lot of time with Wes...) who accompany Ethan back to his bathroom, whereupon they discover the eggs have hatched... and instead of just one new girlfriend, Ethan has five! Original girl has given birth to four clones, and they seem angry. Pretty soon, the whole town knows of their existence, and from there, things just get weirder - and the girls get more violent...
Before long, we have some amazing set pieces and well-mapped splash pages, a giant sperm monster that swallows dead women, an impenetrable invisible wall that surrounds the town, but juxtaposed with incredibly well-written interplay between the town's array of characters. The interactions between the charcters are a backdop for an exploration of gender roles and dynamics. Each character is remarkably well developed, from the hapless men who know the dangers of their situation but can't keep it in their pants for a second, to the female characters who range from the level-headed Taylor to the mercenary Nancy. The groups in the town splinter and realign, from a male/female divide to more complex allegiances and rivalries, all while confronted by the murderous Girls.
Reading as a complete collection (I have the full 24-issue volume rather than the 4 6-issue trades), Girls plays like one long horror movie. The style and the feel reminds me of Stephen King novels from the '80s which I used to read as a teenager. The small-town setting serves as a perfect microcosm and the central premise is a perfect way of exploring relationships and gender roles. I'll be certain to pick up The Sword, also by the Luna Brothers, and continue to keep an eye on Whispers, currently being published monthly by Image. I'm also expecting someone to buy up the film rights for Girls sometime soon...
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