Heavy Vinyl: Y2K-O!

It's one of those I-really-want-to-like-this-book-but kind of books. It's about a group of young women who work in a Vinyl shop and are also part of a secret all-girl fight club. The problem is, I'm not fully sure what the purpose of the fight club is. They said they fight inequality, such as sexism, racism, or homophobia, but what the reader sees them do is help musicians whose problems don't seem to be discrimination-based. So far they've been doing detective work, so the premise is pretty much Spice Girls meet Totally Spies. Only Sam is Jerry (or Geri? Depends which one you prefer).

The story centered around a mystery behind a missing musician, while introducing us to the main cast, with a sub-plot of the protagonist trying to fit in with the group with an already established dynamic. However, I found the characters to be underdeveloped, the dialogues childish, and the main plot line, which was really convoluted, never really resolves.

The portrayal of male characters deserves a special mention, because this comic doesn't portray men very well. Yes, you have the protagonist's dad, who is just being a cartoon dad, but the other men are either jerks or idiots. I think the comic is trying to be feminist, but instead ends up contributing to the gender divide our society suffers from to this day.

On the other hand, his is only the first volume of what, I think, might eventually become a series, so the story (and the characters) might improve. I say “eventually”, because the last issue was released in November 2017. However, I do believe that with time this could become a really good comic. Action girls, lesbian romance, the 90's setting (which, so far, is more of a stylistic choice than a time period, but that can improve as well!) - all of this is something I like to see in fiction.

I think the main issue of this whole volume is that it's trying to present all its best features as quickly as possible. Some reviewers compared it with a pilot episode of a TV show. Everything wraps up hastily in the fourth issue, leaving no room for real drama, and no real closure to the story. If a second volume was released, I would definitely give it a chance, but I don't recommend reading this comic until it comes out.