By: Brian Wood Publisher: Minx Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Minx Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 176 Publication Date: July 22, 2008 Reading Level: Young Adult Release Date: July 22, 2008
Lukewarm. After reading "The New York Four," I could really take it or leave it. Lots of potential and good story work, but it gets bogged down until ultimately the comic's not all that great. The main idea of a traditional coming of age story that takes place in NYC really isn't all that bad. Riley, our heroine, is struggling to enter the adult world, figure out how to actually interact with people, and find her own place in the world.
It's the little things that drag this story from a four to a three star. First off, it's a little trendy. It has that whole NYC worship going on, occasionally encourages that hipper-than-thou, I heard that band first attitude, and titles each chapter with the name of a Cat Power song. The book's trying a little too hard to be cool. Secondly, at least half of the group of girls that composes 'The New York Four' have serious issues, that seem to get brushed aside as small, quirky personality faults. One of the girls is described as dating five different guys concurrently, while also dating another guy in order to keep her job. Another of the girls is actually a stalker. Full-fledged, possibly scary movie stalker. Developing her own secretly taken photographs and everything. Additionally, the major plot twist of the story can be seen coming from a mile away. And taking the mystery out of the ending is one of the quickest ways to kill interest in a book.
These flaws overpower Riley's story. Between Riley trying to become an adult and reconnecting with her family, Wood has a pretty solid storyline. Ryan Kelly's art is also very solid. While in the beginning it's somewhat difficult to visually distinguish Riley from the protagonist of Wood and Kelly's other series "Local," that feeling gradually diminishes as Riley's own look subtly changes through the story. One thing that Kelly excels at are the detailed backgrounds and cityscapes. Through these, he's incredibly successful at letting the reader feel completely immersed in the actual streets of NYC.
To best sum up my feelings: Eh... it was alright. If all of Minx's titles were like this, I can see why the imprint was canceled. Probably won't be buying "The New York Four" sequel.
The New York Four The New York Four (MINX)
To be honest, I originally wanted to hold off on getting this book because of its target demographic, but as soon as I saw the preview art on it I was sold. The art was every bit as good as Local's and Brian's writing was just as good.
I loved the format as well, I've always wanted to read a manga sized American comic. It has the same feel as a manga volume and it has the structure of one too. It's broken down into bite sized chapters, much like in manga, and you can easily finish reading it in about an hour or so (if you're a slow reader like me).
Like in Local, we have a female protaganist, Riley, who has just enrolled into NYU. She's a quiet character though and that dynamic soon comes into play; she has to fend for herself right from the get-go and she soon finds that university is just the beginning of her struggles. But, thankfully, she has help in the form of her girlfriends. Before long, this book unfolds pretty much the way you expect it to, 'girl' problems abound.
In other words, its just like Local but with a lighter tone. And that's great if you want more of that kind of storytelling. If you aren't looking for another Local, then I'm afraid you may find yourself getting bored very quickly. My suggestion would be to read the preview first and see if you like it; that's what I did and that paid off big time; this book will be a permanant fixture on my bookshelf.
Something for the geek in all of us The New York Four is a book that is actually worthy of the title graphic "novel." The story and characters are as complex and interesting as in any prose novel or movie.
Riley Wilder is a shy introvert, a feature which her parents have actually fostered because her wild and unruly older sister ran away from home. Riley's social life consists of texting with people she's met online, but has never met in person. But now that Riley is commuting from her home in Brooklyn to college in Manhattan, she's ready to start coming out of her shell. Of course wanting something and actually being able to make that drastic a change in personality are two different things.
Riley finds and makes contact with her long lost older sister through her myspace page. Riley also reaches out to some other freshman girls who are looking for work, recommending they try the job she works at beta-testing SAT and PSAT tests.
Unfortunately, even though Riley has made some real human connections, when somebody slips an e-mail address into her pocket, she finds herself back in old habits, obsessively texting with an anonymous friend, rather than spending time with her real ones.
The story is written by Brian Wood, wirter of DMZ, Channel Zero, Local, and Demo. If you've read Demo, you know he's good at handling real world characters.
The art by Ryan Kelly is amazing. His characters are individual and recognizable. His scenery is detailed and real. There's somthing in the background of every panel. And his zipotone (that's those dots used to make different shades of gray for any new comics readers out there) is some of the best I've ever seen.
My only real complaint about this book is I want it to be longer than the 152 pages. There's so much story, so much personality to each of the characters, that there are parts that I really wish had been fleshed out more. To be fair, most of the Minx books are less than 200 pages, so the creative team may have had size restrictions.
The Minx line was started to get American comics into the hands of people who were only reading Manga, or to appeal to people who read books but not necessarily graphic novels. I've read most of the Minx books and, so far, this one is the most solid. I think this book shows the potential for depth of story that comics have in a way that is accessible to new readers.
Four stars for New York Four The New York Four is about Riley Wilder trying to make it though her first semester in college, and the three girls she befriends during that time.
This was a good book. Was it the Citizen Kane of comics? No, but it was a fun read, that rang true with what it is like during your first semester in college, as well as the landscape of New York City. The city felt alive in every since of the word, it felt as much as a character as Riley and her friends and family do.
I was unaware until the end that this is the first of what will be a line of books. Which I am very happy about, I cannot wait to see what happens next in the girls' lives. There are story elements that felt unfinished at the end, like Lona's story with her teacher. This will, I assume, be resolved in a up coming book, but felt like some kind of closer should have been put in, even if it ended up being a cliffhanger.
Ryan Kelly's artwork is wonderful, the panel flow is great, but still has stuff in the background that is interesting to look at. My only problem is that the girls look older then the college freshmen they are suppose to be. But Kelly's use of zip-a-tone has, and still amazes me.
I did find it a little tacky how ever that the book had 24 pages of previews for other Minx books in the back.
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