THE STEREOS: BATTLE OF THE BANDS and THE STEREOS: IN THE GARAGE

the stereos: battle of the bands
by Brandon Hanvey
$5, The Geekout

the stereos: in the garage
by Brandon Hanvey
$7, The Geekout

At MoCCA, I picked up two books by Brandon Hanvey. I knew Hanvey as moderator of the Comic Book Resources independent and small press forum and enjoyed the links he posted for his web comic The Little Things, so I made a point to pick up the stereos: battle of the bands and the stereos: in the garage. The books focus on a small garage band making their way in the local scene.

Just looking at both books, one can see the impact Hanvey's gig as a graphic designer had on the production quality. Both books have the look and feel of a 7" record dust jacket that (at least, when I was still in high school) local bands put together to showcase their music. Not only is the packaging attractive, but it meshes the content with the format. The album vibe is enforced through the "track listings" on the back that track the plot points.

The real selling point of the story is Hanvey's sincerity. While the band members fit stereotypical modes (the stereos are comprised of a geek, a goth, a slacker and a punk), they don't come across more as archetypes than caricatures. The band's name even plays off the image they present; "the stereos" is an abbreviation for stereotypes. While the characters roles are fairly stock, Hanvey isn't presenting them with a knowing wink or an ironic detachment--they're presented simply as what they are, which gives both books a certain charm. The little touches in both books, like the similar opening sequences, make the characters and the story accessible; there's no need for a recap or information page to bring the reader up to speed--these are ground-level comics.

Hanvey's art is crisp and refreshing. In the stereos: in the garage, his line is more confident, and the background details are better illustrated than in the earlier book. Reading them together, it's fun to watch Hanvey's growth as an illustrator. Hanvey's strength is in using facial expressions, body language and other non-verbal cues to show who the characters are, as the cover to the right demonstrates (click on the image to see the full-size version at Hanvey's site).

The weakest point in these books is the dialogue. While the characters come across through what they are saying, they don't have distinct voices--everything feels slightly wooden. Jonas's slacker tendencies come across through the rhythm of his dialogue better than the other characters' personality traits do, but if one were to take a random line from any of the four characters and print them out of context, it would be difficult to attribute the quote correctly (although the lyrics capture the characters better than the dialogue does, particularly with Rain, the goth character). Also, Hanvey relies a little heavily on conversation rather than dialogue. The flow of the conversations is authentic--perhaps a little too authentic--but it doesn't move the story forward. I hope this doesn't come across as too negative, because I really did enjoy both books. With a little work done on making the words and rhythm flow as well as the visuals do, Hanvey could easily be one of the few cartoonists making books that just about anyone could enjoy.

The stereos: battle of the bands and the stereos: in the garage don't resonate. They're not "deep" books setting out to make a statement or to "change the comics industry." They're cleanly illustrated, accessible and comfortably familiar. By playing with the stereotypes the characters represent, Hanvey's doing the same thing one imagines John Hughes intended to do with his '80s teen movies--providing something most people can look at and find something reflective of their adolescence.

On the basis of the two stereos books, I'm looking forward to Hanvey's as-yet-untitled romance comic (a sample page in stages can be viewed at Hanvey's blog); as he grows and matures as a cartoonist and as a writer, his design sense and sincerity could pay off well in that genre.