Styx Taxi: A Little Twilight Music

Posted: Tuesday, September 28, 2004
By: Darren Schroeder

Cover of Styx Taxi: A Little Twilight Music Creator(s): Various
Publishers: FWD Comics (Self Published)
From: USA
Price: $3.00(US)

The dead get two hours to take a taxi ride anywhere they need or want to go too before they leave the earth. Three creative teams give their perspective on this set-up all with a musical theme

Sing Along An assortment of the dead try and deal with the situation - some angry, some with kindness the lyrics of a song play out. Structured like a music video, the panels jump between different people. The art uses lots of grey-toning for dramatic effect.

A Vita Coda One of the drivers has formed an emotional attachment to a busker. His employer and colleagues warn him off - the dad and the living can never meet- but he won't listen. Told in quite a straight forward manner with open open line artwork, the emotions of the characters come to the fore.

Encore for my Babies an old dies of a heart attack, and as the narrative slips forward and backwards in time we learn about her selfish daughter and her love of the blues. It's quite hard to follow what's going on in this story.

The premise for this book is a creative one, and adding in the musical 'theme' adds another layer to the storytelling. The more tricky story structures aren't as successful as the direct approach in A Vita Coda, but they all a aiming for interesting, mature storytelling with thoughtful reflections on the human condition.

In a Word: lyrical.



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