Soap Opera

Posted: Tuesday, December 30, 2003
By: Darren Schroeder

Creator: Emily Blair
Publisher: (Self Published)
Address: PO Box 558, Brooklyn, New York 11211, USA.
Price: $2.95(US)

Megan works in a thrift shop in her hoe tome. She's taking some time off after high school and thinking about what to do next. Her friend Natalie is at college studying photography and has a new group of friends. The two of them used to enjoy watching the soap opera's. But Megan can see that they are drifting apart and feels left behind.

Media studies academic are always suggesting that people use soap operas in a more complex way than passively watching the stories unfold. Viewers can captivated and at the same time derisive of the shows. This comic is a perfect example of a viewer using the shows as more than simple-minded entertainment. Meagan knows the shows are trash but gets something more out of them. She identifies with the strength she sees in one actress and contrasts this with her own behaviour.

I’m guessing that Emily has used an intaglio technique on her artwork, trimming away a black coating to reveal the white underneath. This produces some eye-catching work that has a woodcut look to it. With this approach Emily somehow manages to produce images that have a very realistic quality to them, especially in some striking close-ups on characters faces.

All the elements of good storytelling come together to produce a work that is infused with melancholy. The way Megan's life and that of the soap opera actress' interact makes for a memorable comic.

In a Word: Lonely

---

Got a comment or question about Small Press?
Leave at message at the Independent/Small Press Forum.

---