Introducing a comic that’s not afraid of its own awkwardness. It’s just another damn Labor Days volume.
Labor Days V2: Just Another Damn Day
Publisher: Oni Press
Writer: Philip Gelatt
Artist: Rick Lacy
Summary: In this globe-trotting comedic misadventure, Benton “Bags” Bagswell, charming loser, drunken prognosticator, and loutish every-man, has decided to track down the Face of History, shadowy leader of a vast conspiracy. To do this, Bags has enlisted the help of an expanding cast of odd-balls and misfits, including his troubled girlfriend Victoria and the ever-over-the-top spy Rick Stryker. But the closer they get to a final confrontation, the closer Bags comes to realizing that fate has more in store than any of them could anticipate and that he might not be the hero of this story at all.
Review: “Bags” and his saucy, freckled girlfriend Victoria Falmsion are ready to take on the world and punch out the Face of History. Just who exactly assumes the role of this mysterious baddie? That’s the question that lurks like a fat elephant (or naked dream prophet lady) throughout the majority of the 160-page, black and white graphic novel, but luckily for those jumping headfirst into Gelatt and Lacy’s adventurous world, that setback is accompanied by very few like it. Once it starts to warm up, the comic takes you on a bizarre yet delightful ride you probably weren’t expecting.
Teamed up with their old ladies’ man of an ally, Rick Stryker, Bags and Victoria set out to overthrow the allegedly villainous Face of History—whose nature and identity none of them are entirely clear on in the first place. Of course, it’s not long before the characters, seemingly two-dimensional, begin to question each others’ motives and ways of thinking in between the wild places they stumble upon and the fantastical events that transpire while they’re there.
The first few chapters are slow to charm, as the wacky characters and the comic strip-esque art style are enough to make your head spin. But let me put it simply: This comic has airships. And yes, the obvious acknowledgment to Final Fantasy wasn’t forgotten by the writer. In fact, there lies the magic (no pun intended) of Labor Days: the humor. Gelatt throws one crazy scenario at you after another, bottling it all up with colorful characters that defy the limits of the black and white pages they fill. In between totally nude dream sequences that rattle on about fate and overlord succession—clearly mocking and simultaneously reveling in the dozens of cliches that emerge out of it—the band of quirky individuals interact in a way that makes them feel dynamic and approachable while still remaining totally ridiculous products of fiction. Fantasy genre stabs are sprinkled throughout in a delectable manner, making it hard not to fall in love with such an eccentric and sometimes rather mature little book called Labor Days.
Sometimes dialogue slouches on, but overall Gelatt’s utterly confident insistence on delivering a fun comic that doesn’t hold back on the sugary humor and outlandish moments causes it to transform into something curiously engrossing. Even its central weak point—the dismissal of explaining the Face of History—gradually builds piece by piece until any remaining confusion lifts by the end. Labor Days might not be offering a comic of epic and intellectual proportions, but at least it’s not pretending to be something it’s not. And for what it counts, Gelatt and Lacy pull off their vision with the best of them.
Labor Days Vol. 2: Just Another Damn Day will be available tomorrow, September 30th.
Rating: 4/5
