In issue #1 of Phonogram, our protagonist David Kohl was prepping himself for a night of music and hopefully a lot more than just that. Right on down to his pop-icon T-shirt, almost picked up on a whim, nothing was going to stop Kohl from his mission that night. Well, nothing except for a pissed off goddess who blamed Kohl for a majority of her problems. For the past five issues, Kohl has rigorously defended and searched for his much loved Britpop music. The 90′s may be gone but the spirit lives on.
Last issue, Kohl finally found her, Britpop. As if cashing in on the current zombie craze, she had been resurrected by a small band of her loyal and aged followers. Even she has begun to show signs of aging and decomposition. Bags under her eyes and missing chunks of skin demonstrate just how far from the 90′s we really are. But all she really needs is just a bit of TLC, a bit of attention, to restore her to her former greatness, and isn’t that what Kohl has been attempting to do; to recapture the glory and majesty that once existed in pop music? O.k. Maybe it’s not that important of a mission that the goddess has sent Kohl on.
Actually it is. It’s also a mission that many of us go on, holding onto our youth as a sacred and untouchable object. In Phonogram, it is too easy to get distracted by all of the musical references that are tied so acutely into a particular time and place. Forget Britpop and music and substitute in something from your own teenage years: grunge, video games, Beat novels or Star Wars movies. Phonogram isn’t about Britpop. It’s about youth and memory.
David Kohl may be the main character in the book but the spirit of Phonogram lives in Beth, an old friend of his who once loved Britpop as much as he did but, over the years, has totally rejected it and her own youth. David and Beth are the yin and yang of this story, the two opposites that are really just the same. Neither of them can adequately accept their past; one worships it and the other denounces it. David’s mission isn’t about rescuing Britpop: it’s about rescuing himself and Beth from their own eventual self destruction.
The unsung hero of Phonogram has to be Jamie McKelvie, who’s black and white artwork defines the world of Phonogram. He moves easily between reality and unreality, adding a disturbing realism even to the most fantastical images. The zombie Britpop is alluring and creepy at the same time and Beth remains such a sad creature that you can’t help but fall in love with whenever she appears.
Phonogram #6
“Live Forever”
Written by: Kieron Gillen
Drawn by: Jamie McKelvie
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