Reviewing Lackluster World - www.comicrelated.com

Lackluster World #1-5
Gen: Eric Publishing

I met Eric Adams and was introduced to his series, Lackluster World, at the recent Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo in Columbus, Ohio. His table at the show was easily visible from the entrance and his banner caught my eye from almost the first moment I walked onto the show floor. That banner featured covers from the series and presented a stark contrast of blacks, grays and whites married with an art style that I found absolutely appealing. It had a slight cartoonish edge to it, but in all the right ways as the imagery presented was filled with detail, quality and emotion.

As I approached, I noticed his table was covered with copies of his book (not unexpected) and t-shirts which read "Where were you the day you died?" (fairly unexpected). Count me as interested...

After introducing myself, I asked him to tell me about his title. He lead with what he called the "movie pitch" take on the series... "It's Fight Club meets Office Space and Pleasantville." I was sold!

He went on to explain that the series was the story of an albino man who uses vandalism and his job as a newspaper reporter to try and change the world before it changes him. More often than not this resulted in him trying to fend off the the religious assimilation tactics of his fanatical brother and sister. Twice in two minutes talking with Eric, I was sold!

Eric creates and self publishes Lackluster World through his website (www.lacklusterworld.com) and at conventions. Checking his site, it looks like he unveiled issue #4 of the series at S.P.A.C.E. in 2007 and issue #5 a year later during the current show where I met him. Lackluster World will be a seven book series once completed.

I left the convention Saturday with all five issue in hand and I ended up reading two of them almost immediately upon returning to my room that evening. They honestly looked that good and, given the pitch, I couldn't wait until after the show to sample the story. Having now read all five issues, I'm pleased to report that the series didn't disappoint in the least. In fact, it became clear early on that it resonated with me as I believe it will with others.

Lackluster World has a sarcastic humor which I loved. The lead character is intelligent and disillusioned with the world. Just looking at his blank, determined stare on the cover of the first issue (above) tells you quite a bit about the series. There is boredom and discontentment filled with determination and contemplation in that cover. It sets the stage well.

If you liked the tone and flavor of the more anti-establishment moments from Chuck Palahniuk's novel Fight Club or the outstanding film based on the book, this series will be an easy home run for you. Its tone is muted in comparison to the film just a bit by the lighthearted approach taken toward some fairly weighty topics. That said, it pulls no punches when it looks at society, the drone nature some people bring to life and religion. The author isn't afraid to make a statement and I like what he has to say within the series.

Before I get too far into the story, I have to reference the character names in this review as they are pure genius. The father of our albino anarchist lead character is a weatherman. He had three children which he named Fahrenheit (the lead of our story), Kelvin (his religious, fanatical brother) and Celsius (their not-quite-right sister). The father even comments at one point in the series that he can't have any more kids as "we're running out of temperature scales".

Along with the three siblings, there's Herman, or as he likes to call himself, Cog. This nickname is another great choice as Herman is just beginning to sense his own discontentment with both his life and society. At the start of the story, he is nothing more than a "cog" in the machine that is his own life. As this is a name he has actually given himself without seeing the irony, it makes the choice just that much better.

I can't leave out one other show stealing character, Fahrenheit's cat... Mr. Mittens. He's pictured on the cover of issue #5 (below) which centers around how he and Fahrenheit met and looks at the history of the three main siblings. Much to my surprise, this issue left me a wreck after reading it. That's part of what makes this series such a solid hit for me. Throughout there is humor, but there is also a back beat of philosophy and a moral center that sometimes hits you when you don't always see it coming. It's the best kind of humor... the kind that wracks you to your core with truth at the exact moment you were expecting a laugh, then delivers a laugh the very next moment to ease you back into the story.

If the opening words from the first two pages don't convince you that you simply HAVE TO read this series, I don't know what will. I hope Eric doesn't mind, but here is the text that opens the series and told me, as a reader, that I had stumbled upon something great...

When I was a boy, my mother would say to me "Fahrenheit, you have so much potential." And she was right. I did. I used my potential to get me through school. Find my love for writing. Help me choose a career, etcetera, etcetera. However, I soon realized that potential is a meaningless, candy-coated shit word which more appropriately translates as "Try Harder." Nevertheless, my mother was right. I had "potential". But more notable... so did everyone else. If dead is what you are when you stop living, then this lackluster world is a necropolis-metropolis. Today is not the day that I discovered this fact, but it is the day that I reacted to it...

Mixed with the art presented on those two pages, if that isn't the best cold opening to a series I've read in years, I couldn't tell you a better one. In the first two pages of this series, I knew this would be a positive review.

In the story, Fahrenheit is pushed to his limit by his brother and sister. When he finally cracks, he takes out that aggression by leaving public art for others to find that questions the very nature of life. Cog soon joins him in this quest and a societal movement follows. All the while, his siblings are inching closer and closer to the truth and their own breaking points. It's a great ride and issues #5 proved both unexpected, satisfying and somewhat heart wrenching.

In these first five issues, you already have a fairly complete and self-contained story that leaves room for the final two issues, but proves a satisfying read in and of itself. Quite simply, this is small press of the highest caliber. It's a book that looks sharp, reads well and will have a home in my permanent comic collection. This is a creator I plan to watch in the months and years ahead.