Friday, May 15, 2009

Hopeless Savages v.1 by Jen Van Meter, Christine Norrie, Chynna Clugston


Hopeless Savages v.1
by Jen Van Meter, Christine Norrie, Chynna Clugston
Genre/subject: Graphic Novel, Family
Published: 2002
Paperback: 136 pages
Rating: 5

Inspiration: I picked this up from the library because it looked like a fun punk rock graphic novel.

Take a look at a 5-page preview at the ONI Press site.

Description from wikipedia:
The story follows the members of the Hopeless-Savage family. Parents Dirk Hopeless and Nikki Savage are old-school punks who were part of the 70's punk scene. They married and moved to the suburbs to raise their children. The three oldest, Rat Bastard, Arsenal Fierce, and Twitch Strummer, are grown and have moved out of the house; youngest daughter Skank Zero is in high school.

The thread running throughout the stories is a family which superficially doesn't fit the "norm" but which can still stand together and function better than most "normal" families.

The first miniseries deals with Dirk and Nikki being kidnapped and their children trying to find them. They suspect it has something to do with their parents' past; so Arsenal, Twitch, and Zero first track down their older brother Rat, who they believe would know more about the situation but who left the family ten years earlier. Zero is at first reluctant to find him, feeling betrayed when he left. They finally locate him using their father's real name as a pseudonym and working at a trendy coffee company's corporate office. After attempting to de-program him they unravel the mystery of their parents' abduction, which stems back to copyright issues and Dirk's embarrassing past as a teen idol.

My thoughts:
In-a-word: Oi!
You're in for a fun read. With character names like Rat, Arsenal, Twitch and Zero you can't go wrong. The kids are tough, creative and successful in their endeavors. They are superheroes in my eyes in their efforts to locate their kidnapped parents. The artwork was fitting and got you in that punky attitude. Loved it.

Series:
Hopeless Savages
Hoplesss Savages: Ground Zero
Too Much Hopeless Savages!
Hopeless Savages: B-sides: The Origin of the Dusted Bunnies
 
Imagination Designs
Images from: Lovelytocu