Phonogram Volume 1: Rue Britannia

Phonogram is Great. More than that. It is 4REAL! It is a great metaphor of the about the Brit music scene, its highs and lows, and have a bitter stare over the current music scene and a supposed revival of 90's Britpop. It is a bit about growing up and leaving the weight behind, like it was that easy... Obviously, if the reader knows the bands (what is much easier in these download days) some references are better understandable, but if you lived the Britpop heyday... man, you will get all layers of the metaphor!! The Mr. McKelvie's art is fantastic and have great depictions of key people of the Britpop and the text is very passionate, showing that Mr. Gillen must have lived the scene. It gets 4 stars only for the fact the covers of the mini-series are reproduced in black and white, what is lame (when you see them, you will understand)!!!

This graphic novel has a very original concept. It's about a world where music is actually a form of an occult-art. Where you cast spells playing or performing music. If you lived during the punk or new wave movement in the 80's you will identify with it. If you were in college in the 90's and really into music (Brit Pop) this graphic novel is like you had written it.

One of the best graphic novels I've read in a long time. The premise of "Phonogram" is the idea that music really can change one's life in tangible, meaningful ways. It's a fantasy story about evil "phonomancers" (sort of dj-wizards) attempting to resurrect Britannia, the goddess of British guitar pop. The fantasy elements are fun, but the heart of the story is the idea that pop music is of the moment and that nostalgia's a dead end. The artwork is clean and fairly realistic. I liked the fact that the resolution comes about through reason and not violence. And the final page is particularly poignant.

Even though I did grow up in the nineties, I was still on the younger side of the spectrum and American so other than some of the more obvious references, I did get a little lost by some of the music references. Fortunately, there's a glossary to help you out in the back of the book for that. Even so, most references aren't all that important to the story anyway; they just create a richer experience, but the book is still fairly easy to follow regardless of your Britpop experience. The artwork was quite nice, and the character development was pretty good. There were a few times I thought it was a bit silly, but for the most part I enjoyed it, and wish there'd be a sequel--there aren't enough music related graphic novels out there, IMO. Anyhow, the basic gist: you'll enjoy it if you like the idea of magic and music, together, executed in graphic form. You'll probably enjoy it even more and feel a little nostalgic if you get all the Britpop references.

A sad lament, for us 90s kids Makes you wonder, ¿how long can we hold on to nostalgia, before it makes us disapear into anonimity? Great overview of the BRITPOP era, and outstanding musical references