NIGHT FISHER
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS
CARTOONIST: R. Kikuo Johnson
ISBN: 1-56097-719-1; paperback original; graphic novel/fiction
144 pp., B&W, $12.95
Six years ago, Loren Foster moved to the island of Maui, Hawaii with his father, a dentist. Loren has never really fit in at Winthrope, the prep school he attends, but he has one longtime friend, Shane. The end of high school is near, and his friendship with Shane has grown a little distant, but mostly awkward Loren, however, moves deeper into Shane’s circle of friends, a group of petty thief and addicts, and it is an act of theft that leads to arrest and test Loren and Shane’s friendship.
R. Kikuo Johnson’s debut graphic novel, NIGHT FISHER, goes beyond the normal. Imagine Fast Times at Ridgemont High not done for laughs and coolness. This high school drama lacks the slick sentimentality that usually defines stories about that time – a period between adolescence and adulthood that is nothing if not problematic.
Johnson (born on Maui in 1981) is a confident storyteller, who seamlessly mixes Loren’s interior drama into the framework of an ensemble piece. While much of the drama deals with character issues, Johnson subtly establishes the Hawaiian setting by dropping in a bit of the islands’ geographical, evolutionary, and social history, here and there. These are adventurous choices by a comix voice with, hopefully, so many more good tales to tell.
A good cartoonist should be a good visual storyteller. While Johnson still has places to go and things to learn – sometimes his drawings are vague, the action undefined, and occasionally extraneous panels hurt particular sequences – Johnson understands that in comix, the art must establish plot, character, and setting no matter how many word balloons he uses. His black and white comic art is a juxtaposition of light and dark spaces, shapes, and contours. It’s like using Film-Noir techniques to create a mystery tale about growing up. It’s all very appealing to the eye, and draws the reader into Loren’s world. If Johnson’s art reminds us of David Mazzucchelli (Batman: Year One and Rubber Blanket), it’s because Johnson studied under Mazzucchelli at the Rhode Island School of Design, from where he graduated in 2003.
Mr. Charlie #72 reminds you that Night Fisher hit the shelves on November 9, 2005, and might be available at your local comic book shop. If not, visit your online bookseller (like Amazon.com) or visit such bricks and mortar places as Barnes & Nobles and Books-a-Million. Night Fisher is also available directly from the publisher, Fantagraphics Books.
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