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.

[Ville Verkkapuro]

Found some nice graphic novels from the library (or libraries, Oodi and Stoa) as I think it's the best way to learn something, they have a superior way of packaging information. And from the pile I found this, which instantly struck a chord: Nirvana shirts, 90's little town band stuff, poverty and church and Appalachian vibes. It started a bit slow and the story structure was too fragmented to my taste, but it caught up. I was heavily invested about half way, loving the characters and their antics, very invested in what it means to be a teen and in love and jealous and depressed and to fight about songs and smoke weed and wanting to make it big. By the end I was in tears. I missed my friends so much, I missed the dreaminess and excitement of youth. I was also very proud of myself for playing in a band, reminiscing those days with a sweetness that made me happy for all the days wasted at the rehearsal space. Driving six hours to play for six people. Smoking cigarettes, being cocky and playful, having fun and just believing you could truly be something or someone, copying your heroes left and right. The ending was perfect: our hero visiting old days, teenage friends, as a fat and bald middle-aged man. And the old gang inviting him to jam for one more time and drummer commenting "damn you got fat", made me laugh and cry. Just so pure pure pure and nice and beautiful.

Last summer I was visiting an old friend in Amsterdam and we got a little drunk and hired a karaoke booth and sang some old songs. We sang "Someday" by The Strokes, of course, which goes like this:

In many ways, still miss the good old days
Someday, someday
Yeah, it hurts to say, but I want you to stay
Sometimes, sometimes
When we was young, oh man, did we have fun?
Always, always

And then we finished it off with Give It All Back by Noah and the Whale, which goes like this:

Oh, well, the world never seemed bigger
Than the summer of '98
Living out in the suburbs
Planning my escape
I grew my hair to my shoulders
Formed a band with a couple of friends
And we called ourselves The Devils Playhouse
Influences like Bruce and the band
And we'd sing and play
Simple three chord rock and roll
And miles away
The other kids would just grow old
But we're making our own way out

Well, we'd practice every week in my bedroom
While my parents were working in town
And one morning in our school assembly
Played a cover of "Don't Let Me Down"
The performance was nervous and awkward
But the passion was real and profound
And the kids in the audience laughing
While the band just looked at the ground
But the victory
For the kids who believe in rock and roll
I know for me
That performance lives, it never grows old
But we're making our own way out

Well, I'd give it all back just to do it again
Yeah, I'd turn back time, be with my friends

And that's how this book felt. I was deeply deeply touched and happy and sad at the same time. It's a nice feeling, looking at your own life and being just proud and happy for all the efforts that went nowhere. I'd do it all again if I could. And what I think everyone should try is to form a band, play shows and dream and jump into vans and drive to different cities and countries and play and drink and smoke and laugh so hard it can't be denied. And if you think you are too old to do it, guess what? You are not. Can't play? Soon you can.

Here's one last lyrics, from Gorilla Biscuits:

Let's start today, let's start today

[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.

[bookoobook · 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.