Review: Don’t Go Without Me
It comes as no surprise that there are more to comics than superheros. With the cape and cowl crowd, you do get emotions and the impacts on people in the form of good versus bad and all that. However, sometimes metaphors don’t quite work. Sometimes, if you want to write about emotions, be it love, loss or connection then that is what you should create without preamble.
With that said, Don’t Go Without Me from ShortBox, takes a kind of Alice in Wonderland type of stance in order to tell its three stories. All the stories are created by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, who takes the time to get the reader involved in the lives of her characters.
The titular story, features two lovers who decide to check if the rumors about an almost parallel dimension are true and end up losing possibly the better parts of themselves, when separated. There are several emotional aspects within the story; be happy for what you have maybe and the fact that you shouldn’t be able to forgot your true love amongst them. Mixed in with the whimsy is a bitter sweetness that should at least give the characters hope for their future.
The future is where we head next in What is Left, aboard a ship that is powered by memories. When it malfunctions, a lone engineer is stranded in the dreams of someone else. This story could have gone two ways; super sappy or super scary. Valero-O’Connell does well to walk that line. Regardless of the setup, I love the idea of seeing someone else’s perceptions of previous events. With the memories out of sync, there feels like this could be a recognition of sorts for mental illnesses such as dementia.
The third story, Con Temor, Con Ternura, challenges the idea of acceptance, fate and togetherness. The residents of a small seaside town live with the knowledge of the prophecy that a giant will awaken from the sea. As that day looms closer, the town arranges a celebration in which they will face what is to happen in unity.
Rosemary Valero-O’Connell has the flair of the dramatic. Throughout these stories, she constantly puts her characters through their emotional paces, with the reader acting as the anchoring voyeur. Sometimes, our role is painful, other times heart warming.  Whimsy and subversiveness are a plenty so if you like things a little more “real world”, then you should probably skip this. The art, whilst not my cup of tea, fits the tone of the book; the cartoon easy styling allows for the absurd flights of fancy to fit right in. Colors are muted, with a core color contrasting against the standard white panels and pages.
This is an interesting read for sure, centering as io does on the very every day emotions and feelings that we all go through on a daily basis.
For more information on Don’t Go without Me, check out their Kickstarter page please click here.
Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Overall – 5 Stars
Created by; Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
Published by; ShortBox
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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