I had reviewed Jeffrey Brown's previous graphic novel, "Clumsy",
last May and was
happy to see some new works by him
at Million Year Picnic
("New England's Oldest + Best Comic Store", in Harvard Square)
including "Unlikely", a graphic novel that cover similar romantic
territory.
The book is alternately titled "How I Lost My Virginity" and
details his romance with Allisyn, from its tentative beginings through
Jeffrey's first time, all the way to its sad end.
. Allisyn has had a wilder
life than Jeff, and her past and present use of drugs
and her sexual history are stumbling blocks in their romance. Also, things
don't always go smoothly for them in the sack, a detail from
life the possibility of which you rarely see mentioned in Pop Culture.
Jeffrey Brown is an emotionally honest story teller and doesn't
hold back details.
Like "Clumsy", the artwork is a bit simple and scratchy, but
it echoes how Jeffrey presents his life, as an artistic and honest
and maybe sometimes a little naive sensitive guy. In "Unlikely", the
story is presented with a traditional kind of narrative flow, and I
think that works a bit better than "Clumsy's" tendency to jump around.
(This probably reflects how "Clumsy" was started while the romance was
still going strong.) Obviously, "Unlikely" chronologically comes before
"Clumsy:.
In short, this is a beautiful quick read that you're going to want to come back to. I found it eerily reflected some of my high school romances with the "bad girl" type, though none of those relationships ever reached the intensity of what Jeffrey Brown has recorded. It's really worth getting a copy of this book, either from Amazon, from his page at "The Holy Consumption", or my favorite option, your local neighborhood comics store, the one that has a range beyond the superhero and japanese porn stuff.
