Conor B. is an artist/writer who has self-published more than half a dozen mini-comics and is currently touring the West coast of the U.S. in support of their debut graphic novel Bring Me the Head of Susan Lomond from San Francisco, CA publisher Silver Sprocket.
“A High School Story” is the subtitle of this book. At first glance the brilliantly designed cover may bring to mind a YA book, yet this is not a Cinderella story or jocks beating up nerds cliched high school tale. Upon closer inspection the bright red in the logo is blood spatter and our red-headed antagonist is posed beneath a rather mangled picture of our protagonist! Yes, revenge is a dish best served between the gutters of this graphic novel.
That antagonist is the diminutive Monroe Poole who opens the book cloaked in shadows at a Highwater High School football game as protagonist Susan Lomond is likewise hidden from view behind their football helmet as the game is being called. Connor is already contrasting the two, Monroe alone in the shadows waiting to blow up their hated rival, and Lomond the blissfully unaware rival scoring the winning touchdown surrounded by their teammates.
Connor follows up this explosive start by focusing on mad scientist offspring Monroe as the rivalry between them and popular Susan Lomond is explained further. The depths of Monroe’s revenge is deep as they reveal this was the 47th (!) attempt at destroying Lomond. Monroe comes up with a perfectly monstrous final revenge that she hopes will put the final nail in the coffin of Lomond. Or, do they? Hilarity and mayhem ensue.
The art on this book is deceptively simple with a cartoony style that belies the murderous nature of the narrative. Trying to come up with a comparison to other artists it can only be said: Connor B. draws like Connor B., as if the lines on paper flowed like blood straight from their fingers.
With thick basic lines depicting the escalating series of events the heavy lifting for mood and expression is carried by Connor’s coloring and lettering, kind of like the rhythm section of a great band. The school is neutral green and blue at the beginning, but changes in the final part of the story to convey the changing tenor of the story.
Connor’s manipulation of lettering is worth the price of admission alone. The dialogue font is an unassuming lowercase throughout, building off that base Connor has many tools they use from simply inserting boldface type (a lost art in alternative circles) to having one balloon take up a whole panel obscuring Monroe to great affect. A favorite scene (page 14) has a student chattering so excitably about giraffes that the dialogue can’t fit in the word balloons!
In closing, Connor B. is a writer/artist who knows how to make sequential narration in their own singular voice using unique characters, layout, dialogue, coloring, and lettering. Looking forward to what the future holds for this talent!
Conor B. (W/A) • Silver Sprocket, $11.99
Review by Gary Usher
