Marry Me is a fun little 91-page romantic comedy graphic novel with an appealing art style.
Writer Bobby Crosby is upfront about his screenwriting ambitions, and it's not hard to imagine this story translated into film. Like most romantic comedies, it's light on opposition, being driven mostly by personal issues pointed out by occasional key events. Like good romantic comedies, it works because we want the characters to be happy and we're willing to let the story take us there.
Crosby likes to come into a scene just after (or leave a scene just before) the most dramatic thing has just been said or done, trusting that the audience will be wiling to reconstruct it, and trusting that we will trust him that a dramatic statement or a dramatic act isn't really as important as how the characters lead up to it or react to it. It's an ambitious kind of storytelling, and while it's not executed entirely without awkwardness, it's still effective, and in particular, it adds enough interest to the storytelling to overcome our cynical ennui that we've seen all this before or even that there's not all that much actually happening.
Artist Remy "Eisu" Mokhtar does a superb job, with excellent and expressive character design and clear storytelling. That's short and simple, but there's really not much more to add: The art is excellent with negligible room for improvement.
Recommended. You can read the whole thing online, and the collection will be out around SDCC; you can pre-order now.
Posted by Greg at June 27, 2008 11:12 AM
I just read it. I enjoyed it, but both of the protagonists are perhaps a little too perfect. (Aside from the single indiscretion that starts the plot rolling, and even that they're willing to both take seriously once it's happened.) I appreciate the lack of idiot plotting (all too common in rom coms) or mustache-twirling villains. But when it comes down to it there's not a lot of tension, romantic or otherwise, in the plot.
(And even given the relaxed rules expected of a romantic comedy involving a pop star, I couldn't help wondering about the ability to jet across borders on the spur of the moment without regard to passports or visas.)
That said, the characters were likeable, and I don't regret the time spent reading it. I'll probably take a look at the author's upcoming material.
Yeah, I noticed the no-passports thing, too. A little dash can go a long way with borders in Africa, or so cliche leads me to believe, but there's going to be a problem getting Guy and Parker back to the US.
While I noticed the lack of ob-stackles in their path, I'm not sure what I might have said needed to be there. I'd agree with you some more tension would make the end more satisfying; I'm just saying I don't know to make it happen without risking the characters.
This is why I don't make a zillion bucks a year as a screenwriter :-)