Holler

by Jeremy Massie

Mark lives in a tiny town in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia in the early 1990s. He doesn’t fit in and feels out of sync with his family and the mostly-conservative crowd there. Lucky for him, he finds an escape—the grunge band he forms with his best friend, Jay!

As the lead guitarist in Magnesium Mama, Mark and his bandmates make their time in their hometown bearable. Between gigs, there are a lot of ups and downs, and, luckily, Mark can remember most of them!

At a unique 7.5-inch by 9-inch size, this complete Holler collection gathers together issues #1 to #8 of Jeremy Massie’s original story of grunge, rebellion, and friendship. The book will also include a brand-new cover, an original issue cover gallery with bonus pinup pages, and a new four-page afterword comic!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Music

280 pages, Paperback

Published September 24, 2024

Reviews

[Brent C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a crime that no one's reviewed this book.

If you are a fan of 90s indy comics... Hate, Optic Nerve, Terry Moore, Chris Ware. Then you will dig this book. It captures a moment in time that was the 90s right before the internet was everywhere, as well as those moments in time of being a teenager on the verge of becoming an "adult".

I don't know who Jeremy Massie is, but I will be seeking out more of his work.

[Mike S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An endearing graphic novel (compilation of 8 comic books) about a middle class teenage underachiever who, with his best friend, form a garage band. Set in the 90s when grunge was popular. The comic is autobiographical though the protagonist in the book is named Mark. Fun couple hours of reading that weren't too dissimilar from my own youth, that I guess I carried the musical interests further and Jeremy went in to art (the book ends with high school graduation and Mark moving to Savannah to attend a college he and his family were surprised he was accepted to due to his lousy grades). Anyway, I dug it.

[Jessalyn Massie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this graphic novel, we meet a band that deals with drama and your normal small town life situations. The band struggles with trying to break out in the music business. I liked the art style as well as the episodic nature of this book. It wasn't a standout this year by any means, but it was one that I enjoyed.

[Deana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this, and it's a lot more what I was hoping for when I picked up Home Sick Pilots at the beginning of this year. I saw this on a featured shelf at the library and grabbed it and went through it in 2 days. It very much catches the high school grunge band vibe, although with a lot more religion thrown in then I experienced due to the setting in the Appalachian mountains. It didn't exactly fit my experience. I wasn't as much into the casual drug scene although some of my friends were. But all the teenage drama and trying to understand yourself and first loves and breaking free of our parents... That combined with the music scene and the particular songs they were interested in, really feel like home for me. Already added the book to my Amazon wishlist.

[Niche · Rating 2 out of 5]

Supposedly based off of the author's experiences growing up in the ruralish appalachia area. It's mostly short stories/vignettes of his memories with most of the focus on the garage band he had with his friends.

It's very slice-of-life with not much connection between the events beyond chronology and characters. There wasn't much appeal for me, it's mostly generic teen malaise. The vignette nature also made it hard to get into as there wasn't much narrative beyond "I remember this time...".

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comic about starting a high school band in a small town in Virginia in the 90s. It's not bad. Sure it's small town stakes. But it does capture the hopelessness of going to school in a small town well and things like being made to go to church by your parents. You can tell Massie put a lot of himself into the story.

[Christmas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Berkisah tentang perjalanan Mark dalam membentuk sebuah band yang terinspirasi dari Nirvana. Lika-liku kehidupan remaja yang tengah mencari jati diri. Berjibaku dengan lingkungan dan keluarga, namun Magnesium Mama tetap berjalan meski tak berumur panjang. Buku ini menggambarkan masa muda yang penuh mimpi dan dilema.

[SheMac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and sad. The attention to detail is amazing. Remember how CD's were once upon a time packaged in those anti-theft plastic long boxes? The author does. One really annoying mistake: it's spelled s-e-p-A-r-a-t-e-l-y. Where are the editors?!

[Ryan Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something about stories of disaffected 1990s high school youth hits me, even though I have little in common with these characters other than our age and some of the bands mentioned.

[Carol Tilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 - charming.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. The book in my head was better. The attitudes the boys in the band had towards girls and women didn't do this any favors.

[Mairin Couch · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved every bit of it.