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Phonogram (Collected Editions)
Phonogram, Vol. 2: The Singles Club
We've put you on the guest list. Don't be late! This is one night you'll never forget! The second series of Phonogram separates itself from the frenzied mob of adoring critics just long enough to transform into this handsome collected volume, which features seven individual-yet-interconnected stories set in a single night in a single club, each starring a young phonomancer, and each exploring a different mystery of music and magic.
Collects Phonogram: The Singles Club #1-7, including a cover gallery and "Making Of" extras.
Collects Phonogram: The Singles Club #1-7, including a cover gallery and "Making Of" extras.
160 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2009
11 people are currently reading
664 people want to read
About the author
Kieron Gillen
1,472 books1,907 followersKieron Gillen is a comic book writer and former media journalist.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 173 reviews
August 25, 2018
A night at a club, each issue told from a different perspective. Far superior to the first volume and for less obtuse. For one, I could tell what was going on at all times. I loved all the music talk. I'm a music nut and had similar conversations with my friends. Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson are a comic dream team on art.
March 9, 2016
This second volume of Phonogram definitely worked better for me than the first. This one is a new era of music, early 2000s, and we also get some references to other pop culture of the time. I definitely felt that I could connect a little more with the characters in this volume, and I liked that all the stories linked and were told in tandem as that's a pretty cool idea.
We also get this volume in full colour which I really appreciated because although it's still not quite as marvellous as their later Wicked + Divine volumes are (I adore them) I still love that things feel more vibrant and exciting in this becuase for a book all about music, beats and magic, you'd think colour is essential. The colours help add atmosphere I felt that the first volume lacked, and the overall sparkle of some of the luminescence helped to give life to the magic too.
The stories were each unique and yet far more easy to follow this time than in the first volume. I was happy to see returning characters and also meet new ones, and I think maybe this is a series which grows on you with time becuase although the first volume wasn't my favourite I still wanted to get back to this one and try it out.
I do also have the next few issues of the latest arc so I will undoubtably pick them up some time soon and see if this continues to be a story I like but find a little bemusing at times. 3*s overall
We also get this volume in full colour which I really appreciated because although it's still not quite as marvellous as their later Wicked + Divine volumes are (I adore them) I still love that things feel more vibrant and exciting in this becuase for a book all about music, beats and magic, you'd think colour is essential. The colours help add atmosphere I felt that the first volume lacked, and the overall sparkle of some of the luminescence helped to give life to the magic too.
The stories were each unique and yet far more easy to follow this time than in the first volume. I was happy to see returning characters and also meet new ones, and I think maybe this is a series which grows on you with time becuase although the first volume wasn't my favourite I still wanted to get back to this one and try it out.
I do also have the next few issues of the latest arc so I will undoubtably pick them up some time soon and see if this continues to be a story I like but find a little bemusing at times. 3*s overall
March 15, 2015
3-1/2 stars, rounded up (the Pinky and the Brain reference in the story put me in a good mood :).
This is a collection of seven intertwined stories, each one loosely connected to a dance song popular in the UK in 2006 (I had to look most of the songs up). I enjoyed the set-up, and how each previous story became a little clearer when seen through the lens of the next story. It's less complex or deep than Phonogram 1, but it was interesting and intriguing, and I'd really love to see more of all of these characters.
Definitely read Phonogram 1 before reading this!
May 22, 2016
Before I loved books, I loved music. In The Singles Club, each character gets their own comic, telling the story of one night in a dance club, in a world where music is magic – and they are all "phonomancers". It's a little odd and I didn't love all the characters' stories, but I enjoyed the bubbly Penny B and her love of dancing, The Pipettes, and beautiful boy Marc, who can't get over his ex. It's not a favourite, but a fun concept all the same.
I also reviewed this book over on Pretty Books.
I also reviewed this book over on Pretty Books.
Read
December 30, 2014How did TV on the Radio get on to the no-boy-singers playlist, anyway?
After two readings - one skim-read on the day it fell through the letterbox, and one closer reading after an online conversation in which it was mentioned - I still can't quite rate this book. Things from the past get in the way of seeing the now, as for Emily staring into the mirror at Clare.
However The Singles Club is more accessible to those less familiar with Britpop, unlike Rue Britannia: the story is driven more by the characters than by details about the music. It's a more sophisticated narrative too: Lloyd's word-filled fanzine-style pieces he writes at home after the event are a wonderful reboot after the visual drama of the club, and this isn't just about middle-class music snobs: Kid With Knife dabbles in phonomancery in his own chapter.
For the oxygen, the light, is the stories of different people, being able to climb into different perspectives of the same night, opening up other ways of being and seeing.
This time I don't just have to be Laura, with almost that same hair, trying absurdly to live through lyrics because she hasn't found her own words yet, getting ready at her more popular friends' place. (Though I was never a cutter, and some of the coolest kids were ex-cutters, having wisely got their angst out of the way before uni.) Then at the club which, if the same furniture were shuffled around the same room, would look even more exactly like the student union room where they held the indie disco I was 19. And ending the evening by wandering off into the night when it made little sense to do so. "Won't be having the time of my life tonight" at what should have been one of the best times for it.
There were those people whose lives seemed easy and happy and the right shape, people who were somehow able to fill their heads with interesting projects, the older ones who seemed to have graduated impossibly poised, the punk barmaid with limitless confidence, the rough local guys who were an easy pull for a student girl desperate for attention. All here. Rendered understandable and given interiority by the magic of fiction and the passing of time. Including the time when I became a beret-wearing Long Blondes fan.
Part of me says "How the hell do they [the authors] do it? How do they know?" But these evidently must have been common experiences, common characters in other places too. You may have been alone but you weren't the only one.
After two readings - one skim-read on the day it fell through the letterbox, and one closer reading after an online conversation in which it was mentioned - I still can't quite rate this book. Things from the past get in the way of seeing the now, as for Emily staring into the mirror at Clare.
However The Singles Club is more accessible to those less familiar with Britpop, unlike Rue Britannia: the story is driven more by the characters than by details about the music. It's a more sophisticated narrative too: Lloyd's word-filled fanzine-style pieces he writes at home after the event are a wonderful reboot after the visual drama of the club, and this isn't just about middle-class music snobs: Kid With Knife dabbles in phonomancery in his own chapter.
For the oxygen, the light, is the stories of different people, being able to climb into different perspectives of the same night, opening up other ways of being and seeing.
This time I don't just have to be Laura, with almost that same hair, trying absurdly to live through lyrics because she hasn't found her own words yet, getting ready at her more popular friends' place. (Though I was never a cutter, and some of the coolest kids were ex-cutters, having wisely got their angst out of the way before uni.) Then at the club which, if the same furniture were shuffled around the same room, would look even more exactly like the student union room where they held the indie disco I was 19. And ending the evening by wandering off into the night when it made little sense to do so. "Won't be having the time of my life tonight" at what should have been one of the best times for it.
There were those people whose lives seemed easy and happy and the right shape, people who were somehow able to fill their heads with interesting projects, the older ones who seemed to have graduated impossibly poised, the punk barmaid with limitless confidence, the rough local guys who were an easy pull for a student girl desperate for attention. All here. Rendered understandable and given interiority by the magic of fiction and the passing of time. Including the time when I became a beret-wearing Long Blondes fan.
Part of me says "How the hell do they [the authors] do it? How do they know?" But these evidently must have been common experiences, common characters in other places too. You may have been alone but you weren't the only one.
November 4, 2016
Perfect narrative, perfect artwork. I've never read anything like this before. I can't explain it with words, and anything I say about what you experience reading this would be a spoiler. Because an 'expectative spoiler' is much worse than a 'fact spoiler' with this comic book.
Fuck it, I'm not even worthy enough to say anything about this book, Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie are masters.
Fuck it, I'm not even worthy enough to say anything about this book, Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie are masters.
October 1, 2022
I love that this is basically a book about music snobbery under a thin veil of supernatural goings on. I mean, one of the issues' title is a play on a Camera Obscura song (that I happen to love). This continues to be a love letter to an entire musical movement while also poking fun at the absurdity of it all. My opinion is obviously from the inside looking out since I love a lot of these bands, so I'd be curious to know how the average reader would enjoy the series. Definitely not for everyone, I'd reckon.
September 3, 2018
The first volume of Phonogram sometimes got so bogged down in its own argument it wasn't clear whether its magic was anything more than just a metaphor. There's nothing uncertain about things in The Singles Club. Anyone can bring their own magic out when the music starts and the moment is right.
The seven issues in this volume take place over a single night, each telling the story of a different person at the same nightclub. Some are new, some are back for more. David Kohl, Emily, and Kid with Knife come back for another round. What do you know, as soon as the petty nostalgia goes out the window they're sort of likeable. The DJ Seth Rich and his female buddy foil The Silent Girl make a sort of Greek chorus in the middle where they quip about the club rules and music and everyone there. It's one of the more subtle pieces here, the symmetry between them shifting ever slightly each panel it feels like there's as much action going on as any other part of the volume, even if it's basically just a running commentary.
The best stories are the ones it starts and ends with, though. We meet bubbly Penny and it seems like the night's going to go one direction as she looks all ready to seduce the beautiful, mopey boy Marc. Then he rejects her like nothing else, his own lost ghost of a girlfriend haunting him through the night. Even he finds a certain solace in living in the past for one night, though. None of the characters end the night in despair, really. Penny's shy friend Laura finds an inner strength. Marc's stuck-up buddy Lloyd might be close to some kind of long-needed self-realization. Penny comes full circle too, finding some fleeting happiness when she sets her sights on something simpler than being hung up on someone to whom she's invisible.
The yin and the yang of the playlist that frames the book completes itself by the end, too. One of the club rules for the night is they play only songs by female singers, and the playlist bangs more than ever. Every issue gets its own song, from the Pipettes to the Long Blondes to Robyn, some of which you might have had to have been into the scene at the time to remember but trust me, they hold up. The very last issue, though, uses one of the most unapologeticly carnal guitar anthems of the decade, TV on the Radio's Wolf Like Me, as the last of the clubbers find an end to their night. Part of learning the rules is knowing when to break them.
Jamie McKelvie's pencils and Matthew Wilson's colors make Kieron Gillen's clear dialogue feel that much more lush. The story gets sentimental at times but it never loses the sense that there's always a glorious moment around the corner if you just open yourself up to it. As much as I like the first volume, it's one I find hard to recommend, even to friends who love the era of music it dives into. It still feels like it spends too much time trying to rationalize something that's inevitably a different experience when you look back at it. I'd recommend this comic to anyone, though, even someone who never lived through this incredibly specific and short period of pop music. Gone are the apologies. Now it's about revelling in what you loved about something in the first place.
The seven issues in this volume take place over a single night, each telling the story of a different person at the same nightclub. Some are new, some are back for more. David Kohl, Emily, and Kid with Knife come back for another round. What do you know, as soon as the petty nostalgia goes out the window they're sort of likeable. The DJ Seth Rich and his female buddy foil The Silent Girl make a sort of Greek chorus in the middle where they quip about the club rules and music and everyone there. It's one of the more subtle pieces here, the symmetry between them shifting ever slightly each panel it feels like there's as much action going on as any other part of the volume, even if it's basically just a running commentary.
The best stories are the ones it starts and ends with, though. We meet bubbly Penny and it seems like the night's going to go one direction as she looks all ready to seduce the beautiful, mopey boy Marc. Then he rejects her like nothing else, his own lost ghost of a girlfriend haunting him through the night. Even he finds a certain solace in living in the past for one night, though. None of the characters end the night in despair, really. Penny's shy friend Laura finds an inner strength. Marc's stuck-up buddy Lloyd might be close to some kind of long-needed self-realization. Penny comes full circle too, finding some fleeting happiness when she sets her sights on something simpler than being hung up on someone to whom she's invisible.
The yin and the yang of the playlist that frames the book completes itself by the end, too. One of the club rules for the night is they play only songs by female singers, and the playlist bangs more than ever. Every issue gets its own song, from the Pipettes to the Long Blondes to Robyn, some of which you might have had to have been into the scene at the time to remember but trust me, they hold up. The very last issue, though, uses one of the most unapologeticly carnal guitar anthems of the decade, TV on the Radio's Wolf Like Me, as the last of the clubbers find an end to their night. Part of learning the rules is knowing when to break them.
Jamie McKelvie's pencils and Matthew Wilson's colors make Kieron Gillen's clear dialogue feel that much more lush. The story gets sentimental at times but it never loses the sense that there's always a glorious moment around the corner if you just open yourself up to it. As much as I like the first volume, it's one I find hard to recommend, even to friends who love the era of music it dives into. It still feels like it spends too much time trying to rationalize something that's inevitably a different experience when you look back at it. I'd recommend this comic to anyone, though, even someone who never lived through this incredibly specific and short period of pop music. Gone are the apologies. Now it's about revelling in what you loved about something in the first place.
May 8, 2017
Holy cow! I understand finally why everyone loves this series.
Volume 1 was confusing and a bit boring (especially as Britpop is a little before my time) but Volume 2 broke my tiny indie heart with the references to The Long Blondes (!), CSS (!) and Operator Please (!!!!!!).
There is a quiet and beautiful magic in dark and dirty indie clubs and The Singles Club captured it perfectly.
And, of course, name checking my absolute all time favourite band Los Campesinos! didn't hurt either.
Love love love.
Volume 1 was confusing and a bit boring (especially as Britpop is a little before my time) but Volume 2 broke my tiny indie heart with the references to The Long Blondes (!), CSS (!) and Operator Please (!!!!!!).
There is a quiet and beautiful magic in dark and dirty indie clubs and The Singles Club captured it perfectly.
And, of course, name checking my absolute all time favourite band Los Campesinos! didn't hurt either.
Love love love.
July 13, 2016
What tf did I just read
ETA several days later: actually you know what, I'm not done with this. This was the most pointless and arrogant piece of shit I've ever read. The only reason why it's got two stars from me is because I liked the art.
ETA several days later: actually you know what, I'm not done with this. This was the most pointless and arrogant piece of shit I've ever read. The only reason why it's got two stars from me is because I liked the art.
December 30, 2019
This volume didn't hook me the way the first one did, but that was never going to happen. Britpop has always been part of my life, clubbing has not. Ever. Still, combining music and magic like this does strike a chord and I would recommend this volume as well.
January 5, 2022
The Singles Club. This is every indie movie ever: a set of seven intersecting stories, all meeting with each other at a dance club. It's clever, it has interesting revelations, and it reveals these characters. But it's also got absolutely no plot [3/5].
June 19, 2017
3.5. Better than the first one...
February 1, 2017
What an improvement over the first volume of this series, "Rue Brittania", which I found obscure, self-indulgent, and lifeless -- this is a genuinely fun read, a set of seven interconnected stories taking place the same night in a small club in England. The rules include "no magic", but when everyone in the room is at least a novice Phonomancer (able to use music to magical effect), shenanigans are bound to occur.
There's a special art in writing stories about characters I can't stand, and making me enjoy them anyway, and that is in full swing here. These are the kind of people you'd have at the periphery of your social circle in your 20s and not be able to stand them, especially their music snobbery, and yet I ended up reading this volume three times to get the full gist of how their stories overlap and interconnect. It probably also helps that I got a lot more of the music references this time....
There's a special art in writing stories about characters I can't stand, and making me enjoy them anyway, and that is in full swing here. These are the kind of people you'd have at the periphery of your social circle in your 20s and not be able to stand them, especially their music snobbery, and yet I ended up reading this volume three times to get the full gist of how their stories overlap and interconnect. It probably also helps that I got a lot more of the music references this time....
April 17, 2016
I also grabbed this one when I was at the library. I had such high hopes for the Phonogram books. This one was better, but still not good.
This book is a series of short stories about 20-somethings on a club night. I'm not crazy for stories about 20-somethings but ok, I'll give it a try.
The artwork was in color this time. It was more lively, but still lacked energy over all. The only character that had energy and life was Penny. And all of the other characters, in the stories she was in, spent their time dumping on her. Let's mope. I couldn't deal with the self important mopiness. The story with the DJs was ok. But again too much of the music snobbery. The story takes place in 2006. Who is still even listening to the bands they name drop in the story. Oh, wait no one. Music snobbery and datedness. Perfect combo.
This book is a series of short stories about 20-somethings on a club night. I'm not crazy for stories about 20-somethings but ok, I'll give it a try.
The artwork was in color this time. It was more lively, but still lacked energy over all. The only character that had energy and life was Penny. And all of the other characters, in the stories she was in, spent their time dumping on her. Let's mope. I couldn't deal with the self important mopiness. The story with the DJs was ok. But again too much of the music snobbery. The story takes place in 2006. Who is still even listening to the bands they name drop in the story. Oh, wait no one. Music snobbery and datedness. Perfect combo.
March 14, 2016
I liked this volume a fair bit more than the first volume - it seems more in keeping with singles, as we have seven stories revolving around an hour at a club. The characters are more strongly delineated, and the color adds a lot to the art, making it gorgeous in some places. The individual stories of the separate characters are somewhat hit-and-miss, although all of them are a lot more digestable than the plot of the first volume. The DJ and the Silent girl were my favorite, but also perhaps the most shallow of the issues. But the stories all mesh together well and create resonances in the other stories. I'm still not conversant in the music and period referenced throughout the book, but in this volume, it seemed like less of a handicap.
March 27, 2016
So I picked this up in the library after reading WikDiv and loving but to be honest I didn't even realise it was the second one as it doesn't say that anywhere on the cover. Despite this (and not even realising till I finished it) I really enjoyed seeing all the different perspectives and seeing how all these lives connected together. Like the concept but still a little blurry on it, this is probably because I didn't read the first one first, or maybe it's just like WikDiv and you're not really sure what's going on for the most part. This graphic novel is a bit like cats because there's no real story just characters, but it's less like cats because it's not shit.
February 11, 2013
I loved this. As much as I was impressed by the first volume, I genuinely enjoyed this through and through: much less of David Kohl patronizing you, much more of the culture of different phonomancers interacting with their different characters, tastes, and perspectives. The final, all-but-wordless chapter was a fantastic wrapping-up of the whole, and a solid counterpoint to the first volume's volubility.
It was a real treat to actually like the people in this book, even though some of them were in the first volume and written to be detestable. Skillful, poignant, funny, great.
It was a real treat to actually like the people in this book, even though some of them were in the first volume and written to be detestable. Skillful, poignant, funny, great.
November 5, 2012
A little easier to understand all of, compared to the first volume, and very enjoyable as a result. There's still some of the material that flies over my head, but I can see why this is lauded the way it is - I've never read anything quite like it. McKelvie's art is excellent as always, especially in colour.
March 3, 2015
Overall the book was not really engaging for me. The only issue I really loved was 4 because the DJ dynamics was funny and the expressions on silent girls face hilarious.
I keep thinking that these phonogram books are meant for people who are into the britpop scene or at least already love it a lot because I could not really get into the vibe of the book.
I keep thinking that these phonogram books are meant for people who are into the britpop scene or at least already love it a lot because I could not really get into the vibe of the book.
November 6, 2015
This series really hit its stride with this second story arc. I enjoyed it as a music fan, a comics fan, and a fan of awesome storytelling. This is a magical realism series with a novel take on magic, and very believable realism.
I would for more of this series to exist. Will it ever happen? Probably not, but a girl can dream.
I would for more of this series to exist. Will it ever happen? Probably not, but a girl can dream.
April 28, 2016
Really gorgeous "short stories" (one per issue) set during one evening during an Indie night at a music club. David, Emily, and Kid-With-Knife appear and we're introduced to Penny, Laura, Marc, and Lloyd.
I think my favorite was the issue with the DJs Seth and the Silent Girl. Also, I got my wish for color :). And the track list they use for the club night is excellent.
I think my favorite was the issue with the DJs Seth and the Silent Girl. Also, I got my wish for color :). And the track list they use for the club night is excellent.
February 29, 2012
That's better - less of the Grant Morrison-esque stuff in this collection and lots of really good character moments. Still not entirely sure what's going on but I'm liking it. Looking forward to the recently announced 3rd mini series.
July 17, 2015
Why aren't these better!?! I so wanted it to be good, but it wasn't.
January 13, 2015
way to hit my musical + feelings sweetspot. a great read for those who love music in a gross all consuming way.
June 1, 2021
More self-important nonsense about how Kieron Gillen's favorite music is somehow the center of the universe. Somehow, even more annoying that the first volume.
August 10, 2021
I love this book so much it hurts.
It may not cross the threshold of being as life changing as Sandman, nor as endearing as Locke and Key, nor as emotionally stimulating as Saga or even as poignant as Transmetropolitan.
But as far as reader engagement goes- I have NEVER felt a book this real before.
It's important to note I was listening to club music (and The Smiths) as ambience in the background while reading this- and it MADE the experience for me. ♥
So much so I don't think it really holds up without it.
I don't know if that disqualifies It's claim to power- the book is quite esoteric in nature and you kinda already have to be an insufferable music nerd to even get past the first few chapters.
I wasn't sure how to take it at first but I was definitely enjoying myself. And the more I let things play out the more it felt like I was there in the club with these lonely but beautiful characters. I wanted to hug each of them at least once.
I'm not one to really go to clubs, they give me anxiety. But I have gone in the past and danced in the center drunk with a lot of people around me and it's one of life's greatest feelings (when you're not caught up worrying about how bad your dancing looks).
And that's something this book captures so well. It legit transports you if you engage with it. You will feel like you're there if you want to be- and in spite of my anxiety I kept wanting to come back for more. The vibes this comic ellicits were contagious.
It perfectly captures the general boredom and nervousness parties have that few ever acknowledge.
It's like being at a party- but because it's a book you don't get anxious or bored.
In a way it's better because of it.
I love reading but it's always the bad books- always those books that don't try enough that keep me from being a voracious reader. Books like Phonogram on the other hand give me new experiences and a whole lotta hope.
Kieron Gillen may not claim to be smart but you can tell his heart went into this big time, he knows how to put his soul into a book and that's the smartest thing i can think of- and Jamie McKelvie is the artist I most consistently appreciate for his clean and atmospheric art. This comic wouldn't have half its personality without the art and these two are a dream team.
I don't know what else to say. You ever love something so much it goes beyond words?
That's this book.
We're only on this planet for a short period of time. And while we're here we might as well have as many beautiful experiences as we can.
Do yourself a favor and read this. You won't regret it if you truly give it a shot and engage.
And when you're done go thank Kireon Gillen and Jamie McKelvie. Cause I don't think we as readers deserve something this astonishing.
Thank you Mr Gillen-
Thank you Mr McKelvie-
Also- thank you for introducing me to Los Campesinos!
It may not cross the threshold of being as life changing as Sandman, nor as endearing as Locke and Key, nor as emotionally stimulating as Saga or even as poignant as Transmetropolitan.
But as far as reader engagement goes- I have NEVER felt a book this real before.
It's important to note I was listening to club music (and The Smiths) as ambience in the background while reading this- and it MADE the experience for me. ♥
So much so I don't think it really holds up without it.
I don't know if that disqualifies It's claim to power- the book is quite esoteric in nature and you kinda already have to be an insufferable music nerd to even get past the first few chapters.
I wasn't sure how to take it at first but I was definitely enjoying myself. And the more I let things play out the more it felt like I was there in the club with these lonely but beautiful characters. I wanted to hug each of them at least once.
I'm not one to really go to clubs, they give me anxiety. But I have gone in the past and danced in the center drunk with a lot of people around me and it's one of life's greatest feelings (when you're not caught up worrying about how bad your dancing looks).
And that's something this book captures so well. It legit transports you if you engage with it. You will feel like you're there if you want to be- and in spite of my anxiety I kept wanting to come back for more. The vibes this comic ellicits were contagious.
It perfectly captures the general boredom and nervousness parties have that few ever acknowledge.
It's like being at a party- but because it's a book you don't get anxious or bored.
In a way it's better because of it.
I love reading but it's always the bad books- always those books that don't try enough that keep me from being a voracious reader. Books like Phonogram on the other hand give me new experiences and a whole lotta hope.
Kieron Gillen may not claim to be smart but you can tell his heart went into this big time, he knows how to put his soul into a book and that's the smartest thing i can think of- and Jamie McKelvie is the artist I most consistently appreciate for his clean and atmospheric art. This comic wouldn't have half its personality without the art and these two are a dream team.
I don't know what else to say. You ever love something so much it goes beyond words?
That's this book.
We're only on this planet for a short period of time. And while we're here we might as well have as many beautiful experiences as we can.
Do yourself a favor and read this. You won't regret it if you truly give it a shot and engage.
And when you're done go thank Kireon Gillen and Jamie McKelvie. Cause I don't think we as readers deserve something this astonishing.
Thank you Mr Gillen-
Thank you Mr McKelvie-
Also- thank you for introducing me to Los Campesinos!
April 27, 2018
Note: This is sort of a review of volumes one *and* two. It's all blurring together. Sorry.
SO glad I gave this one a second shot. I was paying for a WicDiv trade and the girl at the counter asked if I'd read Phonogram. I had -- the first trade -- and told her that I felt a little alienated because I didn't get a lot of the music references. She said that she got that but that as the second arc rolled around they started to do some really interesting things. She mentioned it again the next time I stopped in, so I decided to give it another try. And I'm so glad I did. I re-read Vol. 1 first and enjoyed it much more the second time around. I was able to read it for the themes and world-building and sort of tune out the references I didn't get (though the overachieving part of me longs to go through a third time and listen to as many of those bands/tracks as I can find on Spotify while re-reading). This (second) volume was good, too. I love a good multiple-timeline working, and it was fun to see David Kohl again. I enjoyed seeing Jamie McKelvie's earlier work, spotting glimpses of his style that I recognized from all my WicDiv readings, and seeing how he's developed in other ways. And this one has a fun sort of glossary in the back, which I appreciated.
SO glad I gave this one a second shot. I was paying for a WicDiv trade and the girl at the counter asked if I'd read Phonogram. I had -- the first trade -- and told her that I felt a little alienated because I didn't get a lot of the music references. She said that she got that but that as the second arc rolled around they started to do some really interesting things. She mentioned it again the next time I stopped in, so I decided to give it another try. And I'm so glad I did. I re-read Vol. 1 first and enjoyed it much more the second time around. I was able to read it for the themes and world-building and sort of tune out the references I didn't get (though the overachieving part of me longs to go through a third time and listen to as many of those bands/tracks as I can find on Spotify while re-reading). This (second) volume was good, too. I love a good multiple-timeline working, and it was fun to see David Kohl again. I enjoyed seeing Jamie McKelvie's earlier work, spotting glimpses of his style that I recognized from all my WicDiv readings, and seeing how he's developed in other ways. And this one has a fun sort of glossary in the back, which I appreciated.
November 10, 2020
Okay, now we're talking! After a confusing and incoherent, sometimes off-putting introduction to the world of Phonogram, Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie return (with Matt Wilson on colors!!) to deliver a fun and entrancing collection of, as its title implies, singles. But connected singles. Seven issues follow seven characters whose lives intersect at a club, and, well, I love that shit! It's fun to get various scenes and events from other people's perspectives, to understand what was going on in a character's head when they said a certain thing, and so on. I still have very little idea how phonomancy works, but luckily, that's somewhat less relevant to this story. I was hoping for more of an actual plot to develop, but in the end it's more of a multicharacter study and a club experience, and I enjoyed that well enough, especially because this time I was familiar with most of the music references. These characters talk about music in pretty annoying, encyclopedic, pedantic ways, but I guess if that's where they get their magic, it makes sense?? However that works. Who knows. Anyway I still didn't really understand a lot of what was going on in this book but I certainly liked it more than the last.
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