PREVIEW PREFERS
Preview Magazine, December
2002 issue
Itís fun to
think about: what happened to Adam and Eve after Eden (well, besides them
making a lot of babies), and could modern-day lovers e their reincarnations?
Arnold Arre (creator of the award-winning Trip to Tagaytay and The Mythology
Class) attempts to answer these questions obliquely, with wonderful results.
His latest
graphic novel, After Eden, tells the story of Celine and Jon, estranged
childhood friends who bonded over nasty pranks and seesaws. A mall brawl and an
automobile mishap bring them together, sparking the genesis of a romance that
changes six lives.
This work
will appeal even to readers who wouldnít be caught dead carrying around a comic
book. Itís a perceptive narrative told in clean, expressive images rooted in
the story of the Biblical garden with pop-cultural references to Sesame Street
and video games. At times mushy but never quite saccharine, After Eden succeeds
in depicting the stages and complexities of man-woman relationships ñ the
panels where the lead loversí incongruous thoughts are juxtaposed as they go
through the same experiences are funny and true. With a literal band of
long-legged angels coaxing them to ìremember the seasonî, After Eden will move
even the most cynical city-dwellers and holiday Scrooges.
-Naya Valdellon