Review: Flipside!
26th April 2009
Flipside by Brion Foulke
This is another comic that I’ve been reading for a while. It’s style is very reminiscent of the first few manga I ever picked up when I was at school.
I can’t imagine any other style working for this story or the characters- it’s one of those rare occasions where both art-style and writing are so well matched that you couldn’t have one without the other.
The story centres on two girls, one is a “nymphomaniac jester girl with split personalities” called Maytag and the other, Bernadette, a “respectable swordswoman.” The comic itself is set in an interesting world, we have knights, sorcery, horror and romance- what more could you want in any story?
At times Flipside can get grusome, but never really goes too far over the line- in one scene Maytag is thankfully prevented from mutilating herself in order to save Bernadette’s life. If you hadn’t guessed by now, Maytag and Bernadette are a couple- which in their society is seen as a terrible, dishonourable and sinful thing. Which conflicts with Bernadette’s upstanding reputation and her dream of becoming a Knight like her father.
With these two characters alone there is constant emotional turmoil and romantic interludes that make for a nice rest between their adventure and travels. Of course we also have the likes of Crest- the shy ex-knight cadet who is not only inept around girls but trying to avoid the responsiblities of becoming a knight like his late father and his mentor.
Over the course of the story so far we’ve seen psychopaths, the undead and general dark sorcery cross our trio’s path and it makes for an exciting ride. But the relationships between the characters, their families, friends etc. are the point where you really get sucked in.
Whereas in most comics you seem to have “these are the heroes and these are the bad guys… let’s see what happens” there is real emotional bonds, relationships, strife and everything in between, depicting the characters real lives and pulling you into their world. This is the kind of storytelling that makes you truly care about the characters and worry about them when they’re sick or in danger.
If I haven’t sold you on at least reading through the first couple of chapters I don’t know what I can say to convince you to click that link and throw yourself into the world created by Brion Foulke.