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mentat_stem 's review for:
Mind the Gap Volume 1: Intimate Strangers
by Jim McCann
I stopped by the local comic book store to see if they had any of the Hugo nominated graphic novels. They did and I picked up [b:Saga, Vol. 1|15704307|Saga, Vol. 1|Brian K. Vaughan|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351259514s/15704307.jpg|19113524] and [b:Saucer Country Vol. 1: Run|13536521|Saucer Country Vol. 1 Run|Paul Cornell|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348791526s/13536521.jpg|19098236]. I also grabbed this as it looked interesting. I have a nagging suspicion that someone recommended it on a podcast. In any case I'm glad I ended up with it.
Of the three, I'm most hooked by Mind the Gap. It has a very tight focus on small group of interesting characters. I liked this about Saga as well, but in that case it's a juxtaposition of a tight knit family against a galaxy spanning war. There's also a mystery at the core of Mind the Gap just as there is in Saucer Country. It's cool to see these elements mixed and matched in such dramatically different stories.
Mind the Gap alternates between a dream world occupied by coma victims and a very real feeling New York City. Our main character is stuck in the dream world and attempting to piece together the events that put her there. There's a doctor nurse couple also looking into things. Friends and family are all pulled into the story in various ways.
There's something comfortable about a story with a single dominating set piece - in this case, the hospital room where our coma victim lays. Action happens outside of the hospital and in the dream world, but everything always returns to the hospital room. It's sort of the bullpen from a police procedural or the living room out of a sitcom. It's a bit staged, but that ties nicely into the story as a number of the characters, including our coma victim are involved with the theater.
Some of my happiest memories involve working with the theater in various aspects. The process of building a physical manifestation of the setting so that it can be occupied by the characters in your favorite stories is magical. No other word for it. And it's that magic that manages to ooze from the pages here.
Of the three, I'm most hooked by Mind the Gap. It has a very tight focus on small group of interesting characters. I liked this about Saga as well, but in that case it's a juxtaposition of a tight knit family against a galaxy spanning war. There's also a mystery at the core of Mind the Gap just as there is in Saucer Country. It's cool to see these elements mixed and matched in such dramatically different stories.
Mind the Gap alternates between a dream world occupied by coma victims and a very real feeling New York City. Our main character is stuck in the dream world and attempting to piece together the events that put her there. There's a doctor nurse couple also looking into things. Friends and family are all pulled into the story in various ways.
There's something comfortable about a story with a single dominating set piece - in this case, the hospital room where our coma victim lays. Action happens outside of the hospital and in the dream world, but everything always returns to the hospital room. It's sort of the bullpen from a police procedural or the living room out of a sitcom. It's a bit staged, but that ties nicely into the story as a number of the characters, including our coma victim are involved with the theater.
Some of my happiest memories involve working with the theater in various aspects. The process of building a physical manifestation of the setting so that it can be occupied by the characters in your favorite stories is magical. No other word for it. And it's that magic that manages to ooze from the pages here.