A review by jonwesleyhuff
4 Kids Walk Into a Bank by Matthew Rosenberg
2.0
I'm very torn on this one. I've been wanting to read it forever, and was glad to get around to it finally. It started off great. It's not that is is a bad book. Not at all. I think it's just not for me.
I really liked the intros where everyone was a "character" in whatever they were doing—D&D, video games, etc. It was a good way of shedding some light on the characters in a less direct way. The characters are quickly sketched out. But they never really break out of that quickly drafted sketch. For example: Walter is quiet (and his dialogue is rendered in an annoyingly small typeface) and remains quiet by the end. Oh, and he barfs a lot, and might have some non-binary tendencies. Or something to that effect. This is interesting, but he doesn't really grow in a way that we get to see in the story. I suppose it's possible the last scene of the story is meant to lead into a second volume where maybe we see the impact the story had on everyone's lives. But it's been a while since this came out and I haven't heard a peep about it.
The art is wonderful and really appealing. The colors adding to the overall mood of the story a lot. But what is that mood? Here's where we get to the part I struggled with the most. It's almost all stylistic. Kids who are too clever for their years is a staple at this point. But these kids are pretty young. Younger than your average CW shows for instance. And the things they say or do stretch credulity. So that mix of sheer capability mixed with the very dumb central idea of Paige's to help her father clashed for me. Also, there was a point where i just wanted everyone to quit being so quippy for two damn seconds. But, again, this is just a personal taste thing.
If you can just go along for the ride and not worry about the "sense" of it all, I think you'll enjoy this. It clearly takes place in a sort of heightened reality. But the fact that it relies on a whole set of very bonkers scenarios and actions but then ends by running into a wall of THIS IS ALL VERY SERIOUS NOW felt weird to me. I am all for clashing tones. I admire the abrupt ending and what it does and how it makes you feel about the rest of the comic. I'm just not sure it left me very satisfied.
I really liked the intros where everyone was a "character" in whatever they were doing—D&D, video games, etc. It was a good way of shedding some light on the characters in a less direct way. The characters are quickly sketched out. But they never really break out of that quickly drafted sketch. For example: Walter is quiet (and his dialogue is rendered in an annoyingly small typeface) and remains quiet by the end. Oh, and he barfs a lot, and might have some non-binary tendencies. Or something to that effect. This is interesting, but he doesn't really grow in a way that we get to see in the story. I suppose it's possible the last scene of the story is meant to lead into a second volume where maybe we see the impact the story had on everyone's lives. But it's been a while since this came out and I haven't heard a peep about it.
The art is wonderful and really appealing. The colors adding to the overall mood of the story a lot. But what is that mood? Here's where we get to the part I struggled with the most. It's almost all stylistic. Kids who are too clever for their years is a staple at this point. But these kids are pretty young. Younger than your average CW shows for instance. And the things they say or do stretch credulity. So that mix of sheer capability mixed with the very dumb central idea of Paige's to help her father clashed for me. Also, there was a point where i just wanted everyone to quit being so quippy for two damn seconds. But, again, this is just a personal taste thing.
If you can just go along for the ride and not worry about the "sense" of it all, I think you'll enjoy this. It clearly takes place in a sort of heightened reality. But the fact that it relies on a whole set of very bonkers scenarios and actions but then ends by running into a wall of THIS IS ALL VERY SERIOUS NOW felt weird to me. I am all for clashing tones. I admire the abrupt ending and what it does and how it makes you feel about the rest of the comic. I'm just not sure it left me very satisfied.