Refresh Refresh

Written by Benjamin Percy, James Ponsoldt, and Danica Novgorodoff
Art by Danica Novgorodoff

First Second puts out some very interesting graphic novels.  This book is about a group of teen boys in a rural town whose fathers have left to fight in Iraq.  It's a military town; most families seem to be missing their men, and the boys are adrift now.  It's not so much that they are lacking their fathers' guidance - many young men get through that just fine - it's more that the uncertainty that has crept into their lives is working like a cancer.  It's not knowing what's happening or what the future holds that eats away at them, and causes them to act strangely.

The three boys at the heart of this book, Josh, Cody, and Gordon, box with each other constantly, trying to build up a level of toughness.  They also sneak into bars, try to pick up older women, and hunt in the woods (the ease with which these kids use guns surprises me, but I'm looking at things from an urban Canadian perspective).  They also check their e-mails constantly, looking for some sort of message or update from their fathers.

This graphic novel is based on a screenplay that is based on a short story, and it looks at a very modern aspect of warfare; the prominence of communication technology.  In the first and second world wars, or even in Vietnam, it would take some time for letters to arrive from the front lines.  Now that communication is instantaneous, it is hard not to read the worst into prolonged silences.  These kids know that their fathers have the ability to telephone or e-mail, and so when they don't, it gnaws at them.

This is a touching story, with decent, unpretentious art.  Novgorodoff captures the essence of these kids' waning youth, and the difficulty of the choices they have to make.  I thought the ending was brilliant.