Maria's Wedding

Written by Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir
Art by Jose Garibaldi

This is a charming little read that nicely showcases the characterization talents of DeFilippis and Weir.

Frankie Pirelli Jr is in town for one day, to attend his cousin Maria's wedding. Frankie and Maria are both Pirellis, a huge Italian family that is like huge Italian families everywhere. They love their celebrations, are centred around an aging matriarch, and have their fair share of points of contention and rivalries.

Much of the drama in this book comes not from Maria's wedding, but from Frankie's brother's wedding to another man a year previous. This union split the family, and now at Maria's wedding, expectations are high that Frankie, who is known for speaking his mind, is likely to make a scene.

The writers fit a lot of characters into this story, and they mostly all read as individuals. They are aided in this by Garibaldi, who has the difficult task of drawing a bunch of people who have to look like they are all related, and still be recognizable. It is a task he pulls of quite well.

This story reads like it might have been produced as a treatment for a film, and a fine film it would be. It's a light, quick read, but I enjoyed it. It's quite different from the type of stories that usually get told, even in indie comics.