Written by Bill Roundy
Illustrated by Bill Roundy
Self-Published
Sometimes you just need a dose of total randomness and chaos in your graphic fiction to make your day sing. Forget logic and story construction for just a moment and revel in the unpredictability of a work done without forethought and plot.
That's the spirit to enjoy this 24-hour comic project by Roundy, who clearly was enjoying himself while putting together this hysterically random story.
Over the course of 24 pages, we get New York City Bridge Trolls (and you know, 24 pages of that would have been good enough for me), prophesies of the goat apocalypse, pirates aplenty, disco dancing, robots, ninjas, and even a bit of Greek myth thrown in for good measure.
While starting out almost coherently, Roundy uses the idea of chaos as a plot device, allowing him to throw in anything he'd like by the end, and he often does. Any one of the themes would have made for a pretty cool story. Thrown all together, they're a mass of comedy that had me laughing out loud as I turned the page.
As with a lot of 24 hour comics, the art is a bit shifty, as Roundy bounces from free-form pages to paneled work to using Aparo angles. The lack of consistency works within context, however. I also really like the scenes of trolls trying to fit in when not guarding the bridges. (Okay, I admit it, I want another book with the trolls taking center stage. Happy now?)
Sadly, I didn't see this one available on Roundy's website, possibly because it is a 24 hour affair. That's a shame because I thought it was really cool and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes silly comics that don't take the medium too seriously. If you see him at a show, see if you can get a copy. I think you'll be glad you did.
Pirates Take Manhattan
