Blondie: Against the Odds

by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, John McCrea (Illustrator)

Combining an imaginative take on an oral history of the band, interspersed with artistic interpretations of 10 songs from their catalog, BLONDIE: AGAINST THE ODDS captures the friction of NYC as the band fought their way to prominence, as well as the power and energy contained within the songs that fueled their rise to legendary status.

Genres: Comics, Music, Graphic Novels, Fiction

180 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

Amanda Conner started out in comics working small projects for Marvel and Archie while working as an illustrator for New York ad agencies Kornhauser and Calene and Kidvertisers. working a number of launches and campaigns such as Arm & Hammer, PlaySchool and Nickelodeon.

However, loving comic books and cartooning the most, Amanda found herself working for Marvel on their Barbie line (much of Amanda’s covers inspired designs for the line of Barbie toys), Disney line which included the Gargoyles books. At the same time she was illustrating “Soul Searchers & Co.” for Claypool Comics and worked on other Marvel projects, such as Excalibur for the X-Men line and “Suburban Jersey Ninja She-Devils”.

During an assignment for Crusade (‘Tomoe’) she and Jimmy Palmiotti became a real team as penciller/inker.

Amanda then moved on to do what is probably one of her best known works. She did several years as penciller on the hit series “Vampirella” for Harris Comics and drafted 24 issues. While illustrating “Vampirella”, Amanda worked with the top writers in the field, Grant Morrison, Mark Millar and Warren Ellis.

Continuing to expand her horizons, Amanda illustrated the best-selling crossover “Painkiller Jane vs. the Darkness”, and went on to work on “Painkiller Jane” #0 (the origin book). She also wrote and illustrated a story for “Kid Death and Fluffy”.

Since then, Amanda has worked on many of the top titles in comics such as “Lois Lane”, “Codename: Knockout”, and “Birds of Prey” for D.C. Comics Vertigo line, “X-Men Unlimited” for Marvel, co-created “Gatecrasher” for Blackbull Comics, and “The Pro”, an Eisner nominated creator owned book for Image Comics with Jimmy Palmiotti and Garth Ennis. Recently she worked on the highly publicized Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre series with Eisner winning creator Darwyn Cooke.

Amanda’s work can also be seen outside the comic book community in such places as ABC’S Nightline, the New York Times, Mad Magazine, the new sci-fi Stan lee “So You Want to be a Superhero” series and the upcoming Disney Underdog movie character designs for film and television, character designs for the Los Angeles Avengers stadium football team and is featured in a Biography magazine commercial on A&E. Amanda does spot illustrations in “Revolver” magazine each month and has had a huge success with the JSA Powergirl miniseries in previous years, each issue going into 3rd printings.

She continuously produces cover work for Marvel Comics, DC Comics and an assortment of independent titles.

With PaperFilms co-founder Jimmy Palmiotti, they are currently working on the highly received Harley Quinn series and other Harley Quinn related titles for DC Comics, in addition to several upcoming DC related projects. Garnering national attention and sales results, the team continues to receive accolades for their work on these titles. The new relaunch of Harley Quinn for DC in the Rebirth line garnered an estimated 250,000 copies ordered.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and beautifully designed supplement to the remastered CD/vinyl box set.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this because it was supposed to be the history of Blondie in comic book form, which seemed ridiculously cool. And it started out that way. The first part is about Debbie Harry, then there's a little bit about Chris Stein, and then they meet. That's it. I guess the creators of this comic felt like we knew the rest of the story. The remainder of the comic book is dedicated to the songs of Blondie. One was an illustration of song lyrics, which was neat. One was the story about how they came to record a certain song, which I enjoyed. The rest are just random little stories based only on the song titles that have nothing to do with the band, the actual song lyrics, or really anything in general. I mean, the artwork was good and some of the random stories were kind of interesting...they just had nothing to do with Blondie. So, if you like random things, this is a good choice. If you want to actually learn anything about the band, I recommend Debbie Harry’s autobiography.

[Sohxpie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fantastic graphic novel. There was a great little introduction to the creation of Blondie which had a hilarious opening scene, I feel a strange affinity to that pigeon. The rest of the novel were stories each linked to a Blondie song, a concept that I think is absolutely brilliant. I would read so many graphic novels that followed this formula! I obviously loved 'Dreaming' and the references to 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.' 'Rapture' and 'Fade Away and Radiate' were simple yet stunning, the artwork was paired so well with the lyrics. I honestly don't think I could choose a favourite story, I can just about decide on a top three: 'Atomic', 'Dreaming', and 'Maria.' Though I thoroughly enjoyed every story. The artwork was stunning, there were so many different styles, every artist is so talented! The stories that didn't have any words were especially impressive because they told their stories so well as pictures. I think this might be my favourite graphic novel I've read.

[Patrick L Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this project. Every plate, script, and artwork in each vignette centered around a Blondie song was so enjoyable. From moving, to disturbing, to enriching.

There is not much more I can say about and I could also go on for hours about it.

Worth the read if you are a Blondie Fan who enjoys the occasional graphic novel and may have enjoyed them "back in the day" before fandom critiqued the hell, and the fun, out of everything.

[Michael Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection begins with a chic origin story of the band followed by sequential shorts inspired by Blondie’s best tracks. As with most collections, some interpretations worked better for me than others, but each one contains captivating art with stunning cover plates. The entire package is well produced and worthy of the new wave hall of fame rockers.

[M Caesar · Rating 3 out of 5]

honestly unsure what to think! the biography of the band is short, I figured itd be more of it. most of the page count by volume is vignettes and scenes imagining vivid stories to many Blondie songs, which I enjoyed. the ever shifting art styles showing how the band never had just one musical style.

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 3 out of 5]

A trippy graphic-novel biopic one-sixth showcasing the squalor of 1970s New York and then the early lives of Debbie Harry and Chris Stein (ignoring the other band members), and five-sixths devoted to imaginative if highly tenuous explorations of fourteen famous Blondie songs.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! It had beautiful art:)

[Vintage Sassi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the artistry within the book. I do wish it was more about their history. however, I found if you listen to the songs they cover during each comic, it enhanced the experience

[Teresa C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish it had a little more history of the band and the random backgrounds/narrators were.... random. The art was good and the story was fine.