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CBG SATELLITES
The ADD Blog by Alan David Doane
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Tricked
Tricked is an ensemble piece about a number of very different
people, from a rock star on a downward spiral to a workaday waitress,
from an obsessive fan to a thieving clerk at a collectibles store.
Robinson's seams may show a bit over the course of the story, but the
characters are all well-delineated and their lives and stories are
interesting enough that for the most part, Tricked works very
well. I was pulled along by the story from start to finish, and only a
couple of text-heavy pages caused my attention to wander and my
willing suspension of disbelief to falter. For the bulk of
Tricked, Robinson comes off as a confident cartoonist enjoying
telling the story he has in store for us, and even delighting in the
occasional narrative surprise or unexpected moments of drama and
character.
Robinson told IGN that he could "only see the mistakes and blown
opportunities," of Box Office Poison, finding fault especially
with his own handling of the earliest chapters and the evolution of
the characters. That's not a concern here, as all the players are
fully-formed and follow logical, although frequently pleasingly
unpredictable, character arcs. If the story falters anywhere, it is
perhaps in its need to reach a definitive, dramatic crescendo; the
climax of the story ends up not quite being what we are expecting
(perhaps a bit of resonance with the title?), and yet still feels a
little contrived. But not enough to counter the sheer joy Robinson
takes in telling his story, or to
undermine the delight readers will surely take in the personalities
and quirks of the multitude of characters inhabiting Tricked.
The Top Shelf
website refers to the book as having some narrative innovations,
and the one that stood out most to me at a key point was the rather
unique manner in which the chapters are numbered. It seems an
affectation, but the end result is quite effective at a key point in
the story.
Robinson's art has definitely improved over his earlier efforts -- he
thanks Mike Dawson and Chris Radtke of Gabagool! fame and Tony
Consiglio, as well, and all these cartoonists seem to share a certain
looseness of line and a sardonic sense of humour. What Robinson adds
to the mix is a page, panel, lettering and storytelling sense heavily
influenced by Dave Sim's Cerebus. It's impossible to miss, but
the substance of Robinson's story is so very different from Sim's
concerns -- even in Sim's most lucid storytelling moments -- that it
doesn't seem false or forced, but rather a visual tribute from one who
took only the best lessons from one of the medium's most
individualistic and iconoclastic (not to say troubled) masters.
As "New Mainstream" graphic novels go -- slice of life fictions
designed pretty much strictly for entertainment and not to "push comix
forward," to coin a phrase --
Tricked is one of the better ones, a lengthy, complete tale
with fun, interesting and mostly believable characters living their
lives in ways that don't seem to intersect much until, inevitably,
they do. I liked spending time with these folks and I really admire
Robinson's facility with black and white cartooning. I can see myself
reading this again from time to time, and most definitely recommending
interested readers give it a look. Grade: 4/5
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Robinson's Box Office Poison was an enormous collection of
previously-published single issues, and I think Tricked
benefits from being an original graphic novel; although it won't cure
cancer or solve society's ills, it's a fun, engaging novel that I
found more compelling and more narratively satisfying than Robinson's
earlier effort.