Joel Orff harnesses the power of young love
http://firefox.org/news/articles/1021/1/Joel-Orff-harnesses-the-power-of-young-love/Page1.html
Dan Rafter
Dan Rafter is a freelance writer and editor. He's also the author of GEARZ, a new comicbook mini-series to be published in early 2008 by BlueWater Comics.
By Dan Rafter
Published on 12/27/2007
Remember your first love, that real, strong, aching love? You might've been in high school or college when it hit. It felt so powerful, that you just knew it could never fade.
Of course, it did. You broke up. You moved on. You grew older.
The characters in artist Joel Orff's Thunderhead Underground Falls, though, haven't yet hit that point. As this emotional graphic novel opens, Orff's characters Jack and Lara are in college and in love, deeply, powerfully in love. But trouble is on the horizon: Jack will soon be entering the Army to begin his tour of duty. Both Jack and Lara know that not only will this tour separate them, it will inevitably change their relationship.
Can the couple hold onto their intense feelings? When Jack returns, will their love have faded? That's the question that this novel, published by Alternative Comics, asks.
It may seem risky to create a graphic novel so devoted to love in an industry still largely dominated by zombies, superheroes, psychopaths and space-age heroics. But Orff has created a story as fraught with suspense as any superhero or science-fiction tale. His characters have something real and wonderful at stake. And they are written so well, that readers can't help but identify with them and their concerns.
Large chunks of Thunderhead Underground Falls consists simply of conversations between Lara and Jack. Despite this, the book never moves slowly. These long talks simply give us a deeper insight into two intelligent people who just happen to be in love with each other.
The centerpiece of the story involves a trip to the tourist attraction of the title. That may not sound thrilling, but in this book, it is.
If you've ever had that first love -- or even if you're still looking for it -- check out Thunderhead Underground Falls. It may make your heart swell just a bit.
Thunderhead Underground Falls shows just how strong -- and complicated -- love, especially young love, can be.
It's hard to keep love from changing
Remember your first love, that real, strong, aching love? You might've been in high school or college when it hit. It felt so powerful, that you just knew it could never fade.
Of course, it did. You broke up. You moved on. You grew older.
The characters in artist Joel Orff's Thunderhead Underground Falls, though, haven't yet hit that point. As this emotional graphic novel opens, Orff's characters Jack and Lara are in college and in love, deeply, powerfully in love. But trouble is on the horizon: Jack will soon be entering the Army to begin his tour of duty. Both Jack and Lara know that not only will this tour separate them, it will inevitably change their relationship.
Can the couple hold onto their intense feelings? When Jack returns, will their love have faded? That's the question that this novel, published by Alternative Comics, asks.
It may seem risky to create a graphic novel so devoted to love in an industry still largely dominated by zombies, superheroes, psychopaths and space-age heroics. But Orff has created a story as fraught with suspense as any superhero or science-fiction tale. His characters have something real and wonderful at stake. And they are written so well, that readers can't help but identify with them and their concerns.
Large chunks of Thunderhead Underground Falls consists simply of conversations between Lara and Jack. Despite this, the book never moves slowly. These long talks simply give us a deeper insight into two intelligent people who just happen to be in love with each other.
The centerpiece of the story involves a trip to the tourist attraction of the title. That may not sound thrilling, but in this book, it is.
If you've ever had that first love -- or even if you're still looking for it -- check out Thunderhead Underground Falls. It may make your heart swell just a bit.