A review by raynerayne
Briggs Land Volume 1: State of Grace by Brian Wood
3.0
The story's good, the art is decent*, but I'm finding it really hard to give a fuck about the characters. At the end of the day, they're all shitty people -- and not just run of the mill shitty people... these people are white supremacist racists who're basically squatting on land. Now Grace talks a good talk 'bout how when she first married old Jimbo she was seventeen and naive and thought they were going to go live in the woods and be self-sufficient and how she didn't agree with the violence/hate/racism, blah blah blah. That came after, she says. But how believable is that, really, to an audience?! Especially when Gracey-poo's already been with him for twenty odd years already? She sees it getting out of hand now? Why now? Seems a little sloppy of the writer(s?) to skim over that bit, when Grace is supposed to be the closest thing this series has got to a conscience. She stayed with him after he tried to assassinate a president and took their not-even-ten-yet son with him to get the job done... I guess we'll see, but I don't think I'm going to be too impressed with revelations of Grace's motives any time soon. Plot and characters moving along smoothly otherwise, as one would hope with a political drama/family saga like this -- it'll do well on TV.
Here's a great example of why I'm so suspicious of Grace's intentions/why I don't buy what she's trying to sell. She says: "This isn't society. This is Briggs Land. It's supposed to be better."
I pose the question: better for who, Grace? Straight White Christians? What about no hate, no violence, no racism, Grace? Is she on some "separate but equal" shit? I just wanna know what angle she's playing, because seems to me right now the tune she's humming ain't all that different from the one her hubster's singin' in state prison...
*Personally, I think the artist really needs to learn how to differentiate between characters -- some look damn near unrecognizable between panels. This is a comic book! You need recognizable characters. Half the story's in the art. The male detective and Grace are the two the artist seems to have the most trouble with, in my opinion. I'm still not sure if the male detective is supposed to be part black -- I'd think his race would be important since he's investigating white supremacists and all, he could be risking his life... but the artist wants to make him look white in some panels, possibly mixed in others.
I'm conflicted. It's a good story. But is it really what we need right now? A white supremacist utopia that's been up and running since the Civil War? A story where the bad guys win? Where there are no "good guys"? I get it, I get it, comics were never meant for that. Forgive me for wanting a little bit more heart, a little bit more meat on the bones of this flimsy, lifeless carcass.
Here's a great example of why I'm so suspicious of Grace's intentions/why I don't buy what she's trying to sell. She says: "This isn't society. This is Briggs Land. It's supposed to be better."
I pose the question: better for who, Grace? Straight White Christians? What about no hate, no violence, no racism, Grace? Is she on some "separate but equal" shit? I just wanna know what angle she's playing, because seems to me right now the tune she's humming ain't all that different from the one her hubster's singin' in state prison...
*Personally, I think the artist really needs to learn how to differentiate between characters -- some look damn near unrecognizable between panels. This is a comic book! You need recognizable characters. Half the story's in the art. The male detective and Grace are the two the artist seems to have the most trouble with, in my opinion. I'm still not sure if the male detective is supposed to be part black -- I'd think his race would be important since he's investigating white supremacists and all, he could be risking his life... but the artist wants to make him look white in some panels, possibly mixed in others.
I'm conflicted. It's a good story. But is it really what we need right now? A white supremacist utopia that's been up and running since the Civil War? A story where the bad guys win? Where there are no "good guys"? I get it, I get it, comics were never meant for that. Forgive me for wanting a little bit more heart, a little bit more meat on the bones of this flimsy, lifeless carcass.