AFTER EDEN
Recommended (8/10)
By Randy Lander,
FourthRail.com
Adarna House/Anino
imprint
Writer/Artist: Arnold
Arre
Editor: Emil Flores
Price: 295.00
P/Philippines
One of
the benefits of doing this critic thing is that I get to see some unusual
comics I might not otherwise see. In this case, a reader in the Philippines
kindly offered to send me a copy of a graphic novel that he enjoyed, and it
seems I owe him a thank you, because the graphic novel was a fascinating and
entertaining read. After Eden strikes me as what you might get it you crossed
True Story Swear to God, Strangers in Paradise and the 80s flick Two of a Kind.
It's a romance, with a little bit of the fantastic thrown in on the side, and
in all honesty, as much as I enjoyed it, I would have enjoyed it more without
the fantastic elements.
Arre's
style is something of a manga approach, featuring a simplicity of storytelling
and expression, but the softness and beauty of some of his characters reminds
me of Terry Moore. In fact, Arre's style in terms of both writing and artwork
has more than a little in common with Terry Moore, with a somewhat melodramatic
approach that is sometimes a little too sappy but in general connects with the
heart of the reader, a necessity when the story you're telling is one of
romance.
The
central story of After Eden is a romance, one of those "happily ever
after" type things, but it's not as perfect and magical as the real-life
basis of True Story Swear to God. Which is ironic, since this one actually has
magic as part of the story. Instead, Arre focuses on the difficulties of
building a relationship, spending as much time on the fights and the
misunderstandings as on the beauty of a first kiss or a great first date. In
the end, though, he pushes things a little more to the sappy side, especially with
the incredible coincidence of both sets of friends of the main couple finding
themselves in romance as well.
After
Eden has some great characters, plenty of humor and a really sweet core to it.
It also has some flaws, largely in Arre's tendency to go a bit over-the-top.
The presence of angels and demons wagering on the romance came across as an
interruption rather than an important part of the story, and it introduced an
unnecessary element of the fantastic into what was a well-realized and grounded
story of human relationships. And while I had no trouble believing the central
relationship, I raised an eyebrow at the notion that the couple would force
their friends to date each other (or that their friends would accept it) and
had some trouble swallowing that two of those friends would engage in a massive
conspiracy to break the two up. In the end, I can buy one beautiful
relationship with a miraculous ending, but After Eden has the effect of running
Say Anything, When Harry Met Sally and You've Got Mail side-by-side and
treating them all as one story! : the sweetness gets to be a bit too much.
All
things being equal, though, I'm willing to forgive Arre's overdramatic
tendencies because of how good his characterization and sense of humor is.
Though his is a name that I haven't heard before, he seems to be well-regarded
in his native Philippines, and it's easy to see why, as he brings an expert
sense of comic storytelling to the rarely-explored romance genre, and his
realistic approach could touch the heart of even those who are quite cynical
about the realities of romance.
January
24, 2003