GROUPIES – ComiXology’s Sacrifice To Rock And Roll (REVEIW)
The new series from ComiXology just hit shelves last week, from writer Helen Mullane (Superstate) and artist Tula Lotay (Supreme: Blue Rose). Set in the 80’s world of sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll, Groupies follows the aspirations of five girls to live the high life on the road with up-and-coming band Moon Show.
Warning: this series does depict drug use and sex scenes.
Lisa Storm and her friends Amina, Vera, Gaia and Morgaine are obsessed with looks and love, and when they meet the members of Moon Show at the Fox Club, they feel an instant connection and attraction. However, there is something sinister in the shadows and corners, it may even have something to do with their meteoric success.
Overall, the writing on issue one feels pretty standard. The setup, dialogue and narrative are predictable and standard. The characters are shallow and stereotypical, but this isn’t indicative of a lack of creativity, it is quite obviously intentional. They have to be naïve and innocently obsessive for the plot to work. The band themselves are particularly fleshed out in the first issue, however since everything is told from Lisa Storm’s perspective, this is more indicative of her naivety, as she is convinced of a reciprocal love between her and the lead singer, Si, even though she knows nothing about him as a person.
Lotay’s artwork is what really makes this title stand out. Each panel is drenched in the magenta, psychedelic haze, colours and lines bleeding together. The depth of colour and clarity of the images is always set by how high or emotional Lisa is in any particular scene, which is a great visual language that helps set the scene and pace in a way that you will hardly have to think about. Most of the issue feels like a dream, with brief snatches of clarity, based whatever catches her focus.
Though the broad strokes of the story seem pretty cliched and potentially predictable, there is a lot of potential for at least some surprising twist and/or inventive lore. However, this does feel like a title that is more for those who like this style of art, partly because if you really don’t it is more likely to irritate as the series progresses.
Groupies #1 is available now through Amazon and ComiXology Unlimited.
Stay up to date with “The Dark Side Of Pop Culture” by following Macabre Daily on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
