An underrated piece of graphic fiction.

books:


	• Serenity Rose, Vol. 1: Working Through the Negativity Aaron Alexovich SLG Publishing, 2005 - 144 pages average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

An underrated piece of graphic fiction.

Serenity Rose is of obvious interest to anyone looking to fill the need for similar graphic novel works in the vein of Jhonen Vasquez's "Johnny the Homicidal Maniac" or "Squee!", which seems to be an extensive portion of SLG (and other publishers') interests in the wake of Vasquez's unfortunate post-Invader Zim creative paralysis.

But enough about comparisons, this book is much better than to simply get lost in the wake of unfortunately stifling Jhonen Vasquez comparisons.

Serenity Rose has a uniquely strong density of emotion and intellectual content. Whereas other "goth" niche comics (Gloom Cookie, Nightmares and Fairy Tales, Courtney Crumin, and others) chose to stick to a more poetic narrative feel, Serenity Rose is possibly the only "goth" comic to make its storytelling idiom centered around a verite' description of the characters and their circumstances. There is a continuous narrative thread throughout the issues, but the drive of the story is through situational and character exploration. The magic of this story is in the details, not so much in the need to get simply from point A to point B in a storytelling sense.

The setting of Crestfallen gets a significant amount of exploration throughout the story. This isn't merely an intriguing exploration of Serenity Rose's universe, it helps maintain the verite' feel of the comic. The satirical sense of humor floats in the details, such as the Ogre pile, quirky gnomes that are occasionally used as meta-narrative (not merely comic relief) and extended, nuanced ideological explorations through characters like Vicious Whisper.

Aaron A. doesn't just puppet the gothic content of his book, he really understands what the lives of these people involve. He buys into his book's image enough to keep some sensibility about it--certainly he does highlight the hilarity of certain aspects of gothic culture, but it doesn't permeate the narrative of the book. At the center of Aaron A's book is a very warm heart, and it's a shame that this book hasn't achieved the more significant market interest it deserves.

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an amazing achievement

By the time I started reading Serenity Rose, I was already deeply in love with the works of Jhonen Vasquez (the Slave Labor artist/writer who wrote such benchmark "goth" works as "Johnny the Homicidal Maniac"). I'd also pretty much determined that JTHM was my favorite comic of all time. And while I read some pretty grand titles since (including Watchmen, Preacher, 100 Bullets, and the Sandman series), I've never had anything rival it...except for this.

At first, it just resembles your classic Slave Labor title. Spookiness abounds in the small town of Crestfallen, home of one of America's five true witches, Miss Serenity Rose. Extraordinary ethereal powers aside, she's a pretty normal girl. More than a bit antisocial, and really poured into her hobbies (which includes a perpetual stream of disdain for those around her), the only real connection she seems to have at all is a fairly awkward friendship with her childhood friend, Tess.

In her typical shrill manner, Tess manages to drag Sera to a concert, where after an embarrassing opening act, the headliner's lead singer overdoses on a fad drug called "curse" sending him into a monstrous rage that only Sera can end. From here, the reader gets a little more insight, meeting her fellow witches, all of whom seem to be using their powers for some real purpose, and through one way or another have made their lives extraordinary...something Sera's life definitely isn't. And as Sera makes her way around, she can't help but question every facet of her life.

And this is where Serenity Rose excels. Of course, the comic has lots of inside jokes and hilarious pop culture references. But much like the fourth issue of JTHM, the fourth issue of S. Rose is what really exposes the depth of the main character. Sera is no longer just a little goth girl, but a deeply nuanced individual with real needs and desires AKA she's no different than any of us. When Tess finally calls Sera out, and Sera responds with a full-page rant...those two pages alone are worth the price of this book. It was at this point that I began to really read what I was reading.

This trade is volume 1 and contains the first five issues of the series. For some reason, SLG is no longer publishing individual issues of the comic, and I'm pretty sure they're just going to release volume 2 when they're ready to add more to the series. I definitely find this disappointing, since December was the last time I read a new storyline, but I'd be willing to wait another year for Volume 2 if I have to. I don't know anything about Aaron Alexovich (writer/artist), but from what I've seen, he's a hell of a talent, and I can't wait to see where Miss Rose ends up.

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BEST COMIC BOOK EVER!

Serenity Rose is a phenomenal comic book chock full of vampires, cute lil goblins, ectoplasm and WITCHCRAFT OF COURSE! My mom found this book for me in a local comic book store and the second i saw it, it was love at first sight. The "gothic" style artwork and the clash of different character personalities as well as their various tendencies and witticisms make the story come alive with a dark humor that you will want to experience again and again!

The Witch at Life's Crossroads

Serenity Rose,a witch who can do almost anything would rather be a recluse in her house in the town of Crestfallen. Events follow when she fights a drug crazed vampire and a representative of a another witch tries to buy her services. At the end of the book,Serenity makes a life-changing decision. The comic is funny and gothy and cute. Get this one.

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Aaron A. and Serenity Rose

The writer/artist, Aaron Alexovich, is nothing short of incredible. His writing is fantastic, his composition is stunning, and his art is an exquisite solution of dark, cute, astoundingly intricate, and just plain beautiful. The use of grey tones in the book will make you forget that it's not in color, and to think that Aaron A. used a regular mechanical pencil.
Serenity Rose is a "20-whatever" aged witch, living in the creepy little town of Crestfallen. She tries to have a nor mal, quiet life, but try that when everyone know's you and you're one of the only 52 witches in the world.
An amazing piece of art and literature, Serenity Rose Vol. 1 should be on the shelf of everyone who has any sort of appreciation for graphic novels. Buy it. Buy it now.
...
Now!

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reviews: page 1, 2

When you can float through the air and conjure up monsters out of ectoplasm, you're bound to attract attention. Come stare at Ms. Serenity Rose, local witch, as she spends the day dodging goblins, goths, and a bad case of social phobia in the spookiest lil town in America. A Booklist Starred Review - Serenity "Sera" Rose tries to live a quiet life. She has her friends Tess and Kelton and her art. For the most part, she is happily sullen among Crestfallen's gothy not-quite-subculture. But the fact that she is a witch makes her dreams of anonymity seem out of reach. It's bad enough trying to avoid becoming a tourist attraction and dodging the goth wannabes, but when vampires start turning up and rock star-witch Rivet Hed's creepy manager wants something from her, she knows her life won't be quiet much longer. There are a lot of words to read in Serenity Rose, but in the first collection of it, they're all worthwhile. Aaron A. (for Alexovich) isn't afraid to take time to develop a plot, which means there is also time to get to know the characters and appreciate the full-on snarky sarcasm of his humor. While the setting is an urban gothic subculture, plenty of potshots are taken at the cliches of cool among its inhabitants. A.'s artwork is beautiful, a sort of dark homage to animation genius Chuck Jones with a splash of Ameri-manga for good measure. Even in shades of gray rather than color, it has enough attitude to stop a truck, making it a nice contrast to all those stuffy superheroes on the graphic-novel shelves.

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