08 Apr / Rave by Jessica Campbell [in Shelf Awareness]
Canadian artist Jessica Campbell (XTC69) introduces Rave with a provocative epigraph from controversial televangelist Pat Robertson that condemns feminism as “anti-family … encourag[ing] women to … kill their children, practice witchcraft … become lesbians.” The graphic novel’s opening image is of a church, the first text an “Amen!” But Campbell’s potent coming-of-age narrative quickly turns subversive.
The sermon specifically addresses teens: “Sexual urges! Impure thoughts.” The minister confesses to his own explorations with pornography and masturbation and then makes an example of his heavily pregnant 15-year-old daughter, Amber, by coercing her into bearing witness onstage to “God’s love.” Lauren watches, expressionless, from the audience. At school the next morning, Amber responds to Lauren’s “Hey” with a “Fuck you,” while blowing cigarette smoke in her face. Lauren is later paired on a class project about evolution with Mariah, whose home is where the girls meet to study; it’s a weekend and Mariah’s mother is away. Everything about Mariah seems antithetical to Lauren’s beliefs: Mariah keeps a Wiccan altar by her bed, shoplifts, and initiates kissing. While Lauren tries to reconcile her constricting religion with new feelings, Mariah disappears.
Presented in stark black and white, Campbell’s coming-of-age story is also a remarkable visual overview of transforming perspectives. Most pages consistently move the story forward in six panels. Pivotal moments zoom in to a full page (Lauren staring into Mariah’s bedroom) or zoom out to scenes cut into 12 panels (Lauren walking home alone from the school bus). As Lauren’s awareness shifts, so, too, do the very pages, heightening Campbell’s narrative and artistic synergy.
Review: “Graphic Books,” Shelf Awareness, April 8, 2022
Readers: Young Adult, Adult
Published: 2022