Comics : Comic Reviews : DC Comics

Last Updated: Oct 20, 2009 - 7:25:21 AM

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The New York Four Is A Blast Of Hip Energy By Henry Chamberlain Jul 26, 2008 - 12:02:20 PM Publisher(s): DC Comics Writer(s): Brian Wood Penciller(s): Ryan Kelly Inker(s): Ryan Kelly Cover Artist(s): Ryan Kelly ISBN: 9781401211547 $10 US, $12 CAN

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The New York Four is the current release from the DC Comics Minx line and provides a blast of hip energy from the writer/artist team of Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly. If you're already familiar with their work in the series, Local, then this book is right up your alley.

Wood has a way of conveying the thoughts of bratty and ratty youth. And Kelly has a way of drawing the likenesses of the fast and young crowd who don't sit still for too long. With a natural flair already built-in, it's with The New York Four that the Minx line kicks it up a notch.

There are guidebook tips, popping up like hyperlinks, throughout the book with advice like riding the Circle Line ferry is actually cool. They're fun and help frame a story of young people finding their way in the big city. Also popping up are various video clips of each of the four girls in the story being interviewed. And the ultimate techy symbol of our times, the cell phone, holds everything together. It acts as a defense against the world for Riley, the shy college freshman, and the story's protagonist.

Riley should be having the time of her life. She's just made some awesome new friends who prove to have her back and she's about to score a very cool and affordable apartment for the four of them in the hip part of the city, near NYU. But there's a catch. And then there's a horrible misunderstanding. And then her cell phone becomes her worst enemy!

If you followed the misadventures of Megan in Wood and Kelly's Local, you know these guys are for real. That story of a girl on the run has a refreshing authenticity.  Here's the thing: the character of Riley in The New York Four happens to look and act a lot like the character of Megan in Local. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. There are differences but the vibe is very much the same. It's that of a girl who is too clueless for her own good. It made for an interesting ride in Local and maybe it will work again. Since The New York Four ends on a cliffhanger, we'll have to see how Megan deals. At least she still has some cool friends to help her out.

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