Fishtown

Inspired by the 2003 real-life murder of a Philadelphia teenager, this debut (which originally appeared online) uses a slightly disturbing puke-yellow and blue-black palette to inspect the dark side of the human animal. The story opens with a teenager being questioned by an unseen inquisitor, and it's clear that something bad has happened. The book then cuts between flashbacks and several teens being questioned about the events being flashed back to, and soon one learns that the three boys and girl being interviewed decided to kill another teen they knew. We also learn that some of the accused had tough family lives, all were into drugs to one degree or another, and the girl was a "cutter." These details are in no way meant to explain what was essentially a thrill killing (the money that was the ostensible motive is fairly negligible), but nor to they add much of anything to our understanding of the events. As we hear the statements of the four accused and see what ostensibly happened via flashbacks, the central question becomes whose idea the murder was, and who bears moral responsibility. Of course, ultimately, the question of the "truth" of the murder doesn't really matter, all that matters is that a boy was killed. The format of the book, the inking style, the narrative cuts, all contribute to a very discernible sense of the teens' collective alienation. Not alienation from society, but alienation from themselves. These kids are empty and unreflective, and while it might be tempting to blame society or their parents or their environment, the horror of this crime resists such simple analysis. In the end, I'm not really sure what the point of the book is, other than representing a terrible crime which serves as yet another illustration of Hannah Arendt's famous statement about the banality of evil.

I'm new to the graphic novel genre, but am quite taken with the power Mr Colden transmits through the visuals. It's a disturbing story to be sure and that it is real makes it even more so. This should be a movie.