Review: Skip To The End - COMIC CRUSADERS

When stuck in an endless loop of grief, what if there were a way to go back and change the past? Back to the exact point you hold on to as where everything went sideways for you; would you do it? Would the longing to feel complete drive you backwards, to examine what you could have done differently, or would it help you stay grounded in the present, with eyes forward, looking to the future.

Skip To The End is a new graphic novel released by Insight Comics that shares with us the story of a one-time punk rock bassist, Jonny, who with the help of a guitar, finds a way to go back and visit the events in life that he feels lead to his best friend and bandmate Kirk“s suicide. The book is heavily influenced and draws parallels to the band Nirvana. Syncing up with the places, timeline, and even record label details, this is a work of fiction that borrows many of the historical facts of the Seattle grunge pioneers.

Twenty years after the suicide of Kirk, Jonny finds himself with no interest in music and strung out on heroin. In an effort to get clean, he begins to attend Nar-Anon meetings and meets his sponsor Emily, who he begins to confide in and share the unusual ability he has, to go back in time, when he plays the guitar that is in his possession. As he keeps going back, trying to find specific events that will change the path of Kirks life, he becomes obsessed with changing the timeline. All of this leads to a perplexing ending that makes you wonder if he really found what he was looking for, or if he was a figment of Emily“s imagination all along.
The story, penned by Jeremy Holt, is solid and very entertaining. Being of the age when my late teen years were saturated with grunge and punk rock, I found this as a very relatable tale of punk rock redemption. We all have the ability to move forward, but we do so at our own pace. I felt the title of the book, Skip To The End, was perfect because as I read to completion, and watched the Jonny slip deeper into his painful obsession, I saw the need for him to do just that. Skip to the end of his story, and get present with his life.

Artistically, the book is a master class on beauty and style. I“ve read the hard cover edition which is nothing short of gorgeous. From the initial title page to the end of the story, Artist Alex Diotto, Colorist Renzo Podesta, and Letterer Adam Wollet, prove themselves to be masters of their craft and the passion for their work is easily witnessed.

The cover art by Alex Diotto and Tim Daniel was the first thing that struck me. A colorful angel with a guitar, behind a small bassist who is lost in his music. The graphic design work is unlike most of the book covers on the market today.

This is a story of urgency. It“s a panicked race to find a way to change events that haunt us for years. We can get lost and continue to cycle through the “could have been”“ situations, or we can find a way to make peace with what is and keep walking forward. I appreciate the work very much, and find the aftermath of such sudden, unexpected loss compelling. I would recommend this graphic novel to teens or adults alike who are willing to explore these subjects.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

WrittenÂ by Jeremy Holt
Art byÂ Alex Diotto
Color byÂ Renzo Podesta
Letters byÂ Adam Wollet

From Insight Editions:Â https://insightcomics.com/product/skip-to-the-end/

Author Profile

Bryan Spaulding

In his free time, other than reading comic books, Bryan enjoys listening to his ever growing record collection and driving his 27 year old roadster named Mingo.