By Levi Remington
Have you been clamoring for a mediocre, all-ages, punk-rock, pin-collecting adventure with a bevy of authentically juvenile jokes and shoehorned supernatural twists? Have I got the title for you! Read ahead for my thoughts on Coady and the Creepies #2 (of 4) while I name my cat Ichabod, finish my friend's sandwiches, and "double groan" the whole way through.
This book follows the punk group Coady and the Creepies as they go on the Pinmaggedon tour, battling other bands for collectible enamel pins. The band consists of three peculiarly-named sisters: Coady, Corey, and Criss. When they aren't engaging in or discussing their personal romantic expeditions, the girls are encountering strange, supernatural occurrences. One of which, unbeknownst to the other girls, is the fact that Coady is actually dead. This aspect of the story was most relatable to me, because by the time I had finished issue #2 I was experiencing such a cold apathy towards the characters that I was half-convinced the merciless death himself had come to claim me – though upon reflection this just proved to be a nasty side effect of the writing.
I can look past aimlessness and a bad case of the try-hard sillies as long as a book succeeds to be funny, or even just a good time, but I'm halfway into this miniseries and all I'm really getting out of it is an ever-intensifying urge to set myself on fire – to finally feel something. It's not that I'm allergic to all-ages fun, it's just that this isn't that. It tries its best to convince you that it's fun and quirky and has heart, but like any self-proclaimed punk band, it misses the point entirely.
The art is generally pleasing, but this issue lacks any dynamic energy (unlike the wonderfully expressive cover, for instance). Panels feel static and camera angles are repeated too often, resulting in a reliance on the characters to tell the story, but there just isn't enough life in the characters or in the writing to create any exciting flow with the story. The art doesn't thrill, and it never works as a punchline to a joke, possibly because the jokes don't work to begin with. The first issue had a great musical sequence where the style and the vibrant colors shined, but those heights aren't reached here. Everything about the aesthetic is suitable, but it lacks charm or anything special.
Scraped out of the bottom of the Boom! Box, Coady and the Creepies doesn't attempt to reinvent the wheel in any way, despite it's supposedly punk roots. Worse yet, it's just not funny; there are more soulless chimichanga jokes packed in one issue than in a Deadpool compendium. The best thing about this series – and ironically, the worst thing – is that it really does feel like you're going on a roadtrip with a bunch of sixteen-year-olds who act twelve. With nothing grand to say, nothing fun to celebrate, and nothing distinct about its execution, this book amounts to fleeting entertainment at best.
Score: 2/5
Coady & The Creepies #2
Written by Liz Prince
Illustrated by Amanda Kirk
Colors by Hannah Fisher
Letters by Jim Campbell
Published by BOOM! Studios