The Webcomics Weekly #178: An Ode to Youth (3/22/2022 Edition)

The Webcomics Weekly is back in your life. This week it’s an “Ode to Our Youth” as you’re never too young to feel old. As always we have continuing coverage of “Lavender Jack” as it begins its third act of season three. As well as origin stories in “Lore Olympus”.

The third act ‘The Nightjar’ begins in “Lavender Jack” with things getting more and more complicated for our heroic vigilante and like-minded league of do gooders. In that malestorm of complication is the potential for some juicy character drama that might ask us to reevaluate our thoughts on antagonists and protagonists alike.

The Lavender league work through how Lord Hawthorne, or Lilac Jack as Sir Mimley suggests, somehow went from dead to only “mostly dead.” A six story fall and broken back will do that to you. It pushes the series into mad science, which is perfectly keeping for the time period. And low and behold Schkade gives us a Mad Science NUN! Sister Rex, a somewhat ironic name given its Latin origins as king – here she has become the master of mostly dead. The eye patch and triangular design elements give the character a chaotic energy. Jenn Manley Lee coloring everything in shades of sickly green put it over the top and just create Skaven vibes, like a mixture of Throt the Unclean and Ikit Claw. It’s a wonderful sequence that hinges on small moments of humanity and its denial. As the not-Lord Hawthorne lays about mostly sedate, mostly alive, Schkade highlights the smallest of gazes in this hulking figure that elicits a sense of pity. That sense is denied by Lady Hawthorne soon after as she declares that her husband is “dead.” It’s not a move to bring about redemption, but to recognize the basic humanity in everyone, even the arch villians, would be a very “Lavender Jack” move.

Otherwise, these episodes are mostly setups as the third act begins. It’s functional and well-structured stuff.

A new character, the Nightjar, is the other big introduction. Originally, I thought the Nightjar to turn out to be a Sheik/Masked Fighter Genkai reveal, its maybe a little too anime even for this eclectic series. More likely the Nightjar is functionally a Lady Shiva-esque assassin with past with Ferrier which is going to be its own case of delish drama. It’s brief but Schkade does a good job of giving her a unique fighting style which helps her stand out. Could probably use some of that Lavender Jack armor though.

Origin stories and trauma processing are ahead! This set of chapters brings back the traumatic events involving Apollo and his assault on Persephone, so consider the sensitive subject matter and protect yourselves, folks.

When we left off, Hades was escorting Persephone around the Underworld, showing her how mortal souls are processed when they die. But even in the Underworld, the paparazzi are persistent. When one catches the two of them together, the camera flash triggers a flashback for Persephone. She recalls Apollo taking pictures of her without her consent and recoils, then seethes with rage. Her eyes turn red and she looks almost frightening as she confronts the reporter, but when Hades asks about it, she deflates. Persephone again declines to tell Hades that his girlfriend tried to kill her and heads home.

Once there, she opens up to Artemis and Eros about her crush on Hades. A girl’s night with Eros follows, and we learn how the mismatched pink and purple duo banner to be roommates. The flashback to Artemis offering her place to Persephone isn’t terribly interesting but it brings Demeter back and gives her a killer suit to wear. But it’s yet another instance of Persephone being bossed around and then rescued, this time by Artemis. We already know how awful and paranoid Demeter is, and we already know Artemis feels bad for Persephone, so this interlude doesn’t add much and it reinforces the idea that Persephone is helpless. This version of Persephone chafes at her restrictions but we rarely see her act against them so she just seems pathetic at times.

Earlier in the story, I declared my enjoyment of Eros even if he did kidnap a human woman to save her life and didn’t tell her what he was doing or why. He’s characterized as a big, caring doofus though, and his joy at seeing the possibility of love blooming is a fun change of pace from the naive (bordering on stupid) actions of Persephone. He can see into the thoughts of anyone who isn’t a virgin, which is a convenient plot device and, more importantly, means that Persephone is able to confide in him without having to put her thoughts into words. This is a touch of real life I appreciated, since it can be very difficult for survivors of sexual assault to speak about the experience. Persephone locked it away, not wanting to process it because it would be too painful, which also feels very true to real life trauma.

We leave off with Persephone getting a night of rest with Eros and agreeing to see a therapist, which feels like a major step forward for her. This comic veers from goofy Greek parody to trope-y romcom to beautiful fantasy to emotional drama, so your enjoyment of the story really depends on being hooked on either the characters or the promised romance. If you’re still reading “Lore Olympus,” I’m sure you’re invested in Persephone’s struggles and you want to see her processing her trauma. I’m in a slightly more skeptical position as I don’t really love Persephone and I’m not entirely sure why the retelling of this story to be a romance felt like it still needed to include sexual assault as a theme. But since it did, I’m glad it’s handling the subject with care.

Ahh to be young and carefree. When you hear this sentence, what does it remind you of? Being 8 or 9 and running around wherever there weren’t adults? Being 14 and hanging out with new friends? Being in college and partying all night long? Being in your 20s or 30s, without the burdens that come with many decades of life? Whenever you are transported, this idea of youth is inextricable from freedom and simplicity. Or, perhaps, it once was.

“Ode to Our Youth” is about Yongsu, a young man in his 20s who, in “Kaiji” like fashion, gets stuck with debt that is not his. This debt then sends his already shaky life into a downward spiral thanks to the particularly special brand of Capitalist Hellscape we have found ourselves in. While pulling from Korean society more than American, the parallels and struggles are all too familiar to most Millennials and older Gen Z but with the universality that makes it work for everyone.

Throughout its first eight chapters, “Ode” deftly weaves a tapestry of hardship and humanity, establishing a slowly building cast of characters with their own shortcomings and strengths. I’m hesitant to praise the characterizations because none of them are all that deep as of yet, barring the main character. They’re archetypes, played well, but without much time as of yet to grow beyond the role they fill in the story. That doesn’t make them any less compelling – Jin-Tae’s immigration status, Hero Bong Pal’s reluctant debt collecting, Yongsu’s ultra-bad luck combined with his shlubish personality – but it does leave the story feeling shallow.

This is especially true when you consider the only two major female characters thus far are – Jinhee (MLM involved [ex] Girlfriend) and Jeong-A (Potential Love Interest.) Since we know the full scope of the series – 35 episodes – and there hasn’t been much more to establish these two as people by episode 8, it’s hard for me to judge whether or not I’m right on the cusp of those developments, or if we’re far enough in to call it. Still, in a series where most of the characters are broad, this is less of a glaring issue at the moment.

The most compelling aspect of “Ode to Our Youth,” however, is its art style. While the linework in these opening chapters isn’t the most confidant, the emotions of every panel are. The comic has a soft feel to it, helping ground the tone in, well the best way to put it is “French Sentimentalist Film.” Everything is bordered either with the thin, shaky outline or defined by the bounds of the watercolors, particularly in the backgrounds.

It’s soothing and leads to some gorgeous panels, like when, in Episode 5 – ‘Killing Me Softly,’ Yongsu calls Jintae from a pay phone. He’s in shadow, small against the world and the background, which is colored in varying greens and yellows and oranges and pinks and blues, crafting an aura of an uneasy, but beautiful, sunset. I think that’s the image that will last for me when I think of “Ode to Our Youth.” And for that alone, it is worth the read.