Grommets #1 Review

 

Writer: Rick Remender & Brian Posehn

Artist: Brett Parson

Colorist: Moreno Dinisio

Letterer: Rus Wooton

Cover Artists: Bret Parson; David Lapham & Moreno Dinisio; Jonathan Wayshak; Andrew Robinson

Publisher: Image

Price: $3.99

Release Date: May 29, 2024

 

Rick is the new kid in town, and his fellow students at Sacramento’s Clarendon Altamira Junior High won’t let him forget it. He wants to go back to San Francisco. His father urges him to get back into soccer. Perhaps Rick should look for a friend who likes to do more than read comics. Come on, Dad! Can Rick find the acceptance he craves at his new school? Let's pop a Foreigner cassette tape into the stereo, turn Juke Box Hero up to eleven, leap into Grommets #1, and find out!

 

Story

Rick's cigar-chomping father stops at a liquor store drive-through on the way to school. He buys his son a Big Hunk candy bar. Hey, it's not Wheaties, but for teens with acne, it's the Breakfast of Champions. Dad assures Rick he'll make a new friend. Then Dad roars away, shouting, "Love you, buddy!" Rick and Miles Morales' dad should hook up. (Miles' dad might disapprove of Rick's father drinking a Coors while driving).

 

Rick keeps his head down during the day, which proves wise as he comes in for some un-gentle ribbing over his father’s affirmation of love. But he grows bold when the final bell rings. He approaches several fellow skaters and suggests they hit the local skate park together. They're less than enthused by his offer. But then tragedy strikes in Grommets #1. Rick’s mother pulls up in the van and calls him sweetheart. Rick gains her permission to hang out with the other school kids. But when Mom pulls away, Rick's new friends have taken off without him.

 

Hope springs eternal as Brian, the self-described King of Sacramento, takes Rick under his wing. Brian's grandfather drives them to Sierra Wave Skate Park. Along the way, Rick and Brian bond over their love of music and skateboarding. But is Brian a cool enough friend to help Rick gain the acceptance of his peers?

 

In Grommets #1, it may be 1984, but no one's boiling cabbage or worrying about Big Brother. Well, except for Ronald Reagan. Rick Remender and Brian Posehn’s irreverent ode is a love letter to a less conscious era when cheap cigarettes were readily available in coin-operated machines, nudity was a prerequisite for successful R-rated films, and everyone loved the horn of Bo and Luke's General Lee.

 

Art

Brett Parson opens the TARDIS doors and pushes us into California in 1984 as Rick's dad drives his Corvette past an iconic Taco Bell sign. Crowd scenes outside Clarendon Altamira channel MAD Magazine mania with expressive characters and over-the-top antics. Smoke rises from the cigarettes of three guys Rick wants to hang with. How the fourth one sees is a mystery, as hair hangs over his eyes. Then again, how sweet-looking Rick thinks he could fit in with the rough-hewn quartet is the bigger mystery. Still, the skull and snake on Rick’s shirt are as much a part of rock culture as Flock Of Seagulls Forelocks’ T-Shirt celebrating The Clash. Ironically, none of them master the hard rock look as well as Brian, with his longish hair, torn Judas Priest T-shirt, and pants with ripped knees.

 

Moreno Dinisio lavishes a loaded palette of bright and attractive colors on Grommets #1. Lighting and shadows enhance the drama at Clarendon Altamira, where someone compares the new kid and his dad to Romeo And Juliet, and Rick dines alone in the cafeteria. Outside, Sacramento shows warmth and vitality, bangs cast shadows over sun-kissed faces, and Rick’s skateboard showcases street artistry. Dinisio’s rich texturing evokes watercolors or colored pens on Bristol paper.

 

Rus Wooten airwalks uppercase black letters into white dialogue balloons. Words grow bold for intonation, swell or change color for heightened emotions, and rarely shrink. Sound effects help us hear tires squeal, horns blast, school bells ring, and the electrifying moment when Rick and Brian find Tom Sawyer's Mean, Mean Pride.

 

Thanks to Image Comics and Giant Generator for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Grommets #1 celebrates 80's pop culture, the uncrossable generation chasm, and the difficulty of discovering where you belong.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.