Hope For the Future

Posted: Tuesday, December 6, 2005
By: Darren Schroeder

Cover of Hope For the Future Creator(s): Simon Perrins
Publishers: Flying Monkey Comics (Self Published)
From: UK
Price: £2.50 (£5 for 1-9 on CD)(UK)

Three friends spend a lot of time hanging out together in flats, night-clubs and bars. Lee is the guy doing most of the talking. He has a knack of gaining then losing girlfriends very quickly, and so he keeps bumping into them at the most inopportune times. His gal pal Hannah worries about him a lot. She tries to be helpful, listening to his paranoid stories of curse. In return he dates other woman and occasionally tells her she's a great gal. Their friend , Greg, likes to hang out with the trendy bands and tells it straight to Lee when he's being a dick.

The dialogue bounces between the characters freely. It's tinged with sarcasm and repressed resentments. When it's not cruel it's hilarious. Most of the talk is self involved and superficial, but there is the sense of more important things going on between the lines. I haven't checked out the earlier issues on CD yet, but this instalment suggests the relationships of the characters are developing as they grow as individuals, and that made me start to care a bout them quite quickly.

Simon's artwork style is loose and sketchy, given some weight by a rang of grey tones. The style would change slightly for different scenes, giving the sense of different states of mind or the atmosphere of the surrounding: in the night-club things were blurry and fluid, during day events are shown crisply and sharp. There a short scene of pub-room brawl action that Simon handles well - its quick and nasty but not overdone.

Facial expressions convey a lot in the story, with much of the humour of the book coming with the looks exchanged and reaction shots. I kind of fell in love with Hannah quite quickly, she's got such a wistful look. Get a clue Lee! The characters here range from engaging to enraging in a pleasant mix which makes for an edgy soap opera.

In a Word: Developing.



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