Comic Book Review: Poseurs written by Deborah Vankin, art by Rick Mays
Jenna Berry is a Jewish-Cherokee teen living in a downmarket part of Los Angeles. Her mother is a hard-drinking legal secretary who has been dating a string of pretty boys, and they’re always on the verge of poverty. When Mom’s shoplifting costs Jenna her part-time job, Jenna needs a new way to make money so she can pursue her avocation of photography.
As it happens, Jenna’s got a look that makes her a good fit for a job as a party guest for rent, making Los Angeles events appear even more prestigious than they already are. Jenna hasn’t quite mastered socialization, but she does make two new friends. Pouri is a “parachute kid” from Taiwan who was sent to the United States for an education, but her guardian has bailed, and she prefers partying to studying. Mac is a whitebread kid from suburbia with a habit of trying to create new slang; he’s a busboy, so works the same parties Jenna does, but at a lower payrate.
Parties are fun, but Pouri’s made some poor life choices, and now she’s getting threatening texts. Also, it’s crunch time–she needs to pass her SATs or her parents will force her to come home to Taiwan for an arranged marriage. Pouri comes up with a wacky plan, and then something goes drastically wrong. Can Jenna save the day?
Deborah Vankin is a Los Angeles Times writer covering the culture beat, so presumably well-versed in the party scene. This is her first young adult graphic novel (I see that it may also have been published under the title Insta-Life.) Rick Mays is an experienced comic book artist, working in black and white here.
The theme of the story, as indicated by the title, is that the characters are pretending to be people they’re not, or projecting an image. Even Mac is trying to seem more cool by spouting nonsensical slang. Only when the characters start being more honest with themselves and each other does the plot resolve.
If anything, the depiction of the party scene seems a little sanitized. Pouri drinks, but Jenna doesn’t, and there’s no other drugs, and no sex. Presumably this is to stay in a “Teen” rating. Senior high students should be okay, but parents of younger readers may want to talk to their kids about some of the behavior modeled by the protagonists.
This is a good first effort by Ms. Vankin, but the characterization is a bit thin, and there’s a bit too much fourth wall breakage, so future works by her should be better. The art works very well with the subject matter.
