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In this special Book Of The Month episode, we focus on the LOCAL hardcover from Oni Press. Written by Brian Wood and art by Ryan Kelly, this truly is a ‘must read’ for comic fans of all colors.

Book Of The Month – June

LOCAL

Written by Brian Wood

Art by Ryan Kelly

Oni Press

I remember when I went through my whole “punk rock oi oi oi!” phase in high school. Rebelling against society by wearing this ridiculous torn-up vest with patches and pins covering every square inch, along with whatever punk band t-shirt I had in the closet. I went to the concerts, hung out with the kids who always got in trouble, played my music really loud, and just didn’t give a flying fuck about the world. Back then, this was my escape from reality. I didn’t have a drivers license, so I couldn’t travel the country like I wanted to and really get out of the whole California mindset. When college happened, all my friends dispersed across the country (and even the world) going on great adventures, and just living life to the fullest while I was back home in San Diego going to classes at the local community college.

What am I getting at, you ask? I’m almost there, not to worry.

What Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly have done with this marvelous collection is bring the outside world to me in 344 beautiful black and white pages spanning across twelve issues. We start out in Portland, Oregon and end in Vermont, hitting many other cities along the way. We follow a young girl named Megan, and watch her slowly grow a year older and a year wiser every issue, as she travels constantly throughout North America.

Even at a young age, Megan was always on the run. Her mom simply allowed it because she wanted her daughter to live life to the fullest and take chances and learn from mistakes. Something she herself might have lost when she hunkered-down and got married. So while Megan appears in every issue, she’s not always the main character. Sometimes she’s just in the background, but easily fits with the setting and story.

• Issue 1 – “Ten Thousand Thoughts Per Second” – Portland, Oregon
• Issue 2 – “Polaroid Boyfriend” – Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Issue 3 – “Theories and Defenses” – Richmond, Virginia
• Issue 4 – “Two Brothers” – Missoula, Montana
• Issue 5 – “The Last 10 Lonely Days at the Oxford Theatre” – Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Issue 6 – “Megan and Gloria, Apartment 5A” – Brooklyn, New York
• Issue 7 – “Hazardous Youth” – Tempe, Arizona
• Issue 8 – “Food as Substitute” – Wicker Park, Chicago
• Issue 9 – “Wish You Were Here” – Norman, Oklahoma
• Issue 10 – “Bar Crawl” – Austin, Texas
• Issue 11 – “The Younger Generation” – Toronto, Ontario
• Issue 12 – “The House That Megan Built” – Vermont

Many of my friends still travel around constantly, so I’ve had the pleasure of nicknaming them such gems as ‘Carmen Sandiego’ and ‘Willy Loman’. While reading Local again after it originally ended last year, the thought occurred to me that these same friends would enjoy this comic. This series shows that comics don’t always have to be about superheroes and capes, but they can actually tell a marvelous and powerful story about a variety of real life topics, including a journey of self-discovery. Light-hearted at times, and very dark in others, this series falls in the catergory of something both comic fans and non-comic fans will enjoy throughout time.

After reading it again for the show, I really felt the urge to just get in a car and drive wherever the road took me, leaving this geeky life of mine behind (for a while, anyways). Then I realized I don’t have the balls for such a spontaneous adventure. Perhaps I’m better off finding that old punk vest of mine and listening to some Misfits and Anti-Flag while rocking the fuck out.

I cannot highly recommend Local enough, and urge you all to go out and try something new, and skip DC and Marvel for just this once.

Discuss this pick on the forum!