Your Next Trade Paperback: Effigy: Idle Worship

Your Next Trade Paperback: Peter Mann previews upcoming trades to help you plan your buying habits

CHONDRA JACKSON, child star of kids TV show Star Cops, having made a sex tape to help her shed her squeaky clean image descends into Z list obscurity, returns to her home, the town of Effigy Mound in Ohio, and becomes a cop. That’s the basic premise of Effigy, your next trade paperback.

Most of Chondra’s time is spent handing out traffic tickets, until she is asked to assist on a murder at the tourist attraction and archaeological dig, Serpent Mound. There she finds Cleveland detective Grant Moore, and a mummified corpse, complete with back tattoo of the logo from the jackets worn in Star Cops. The tattoo is familiar to Chondra, as it is often worn by fans who are members of the Star Cop Fan Corp. What Chondra doesn’t know is that the local branch of the Fan Corp, is run by Edward Chacon, her childhood best friend, who is now a) transsexual and b) a prostitute, although still convinced that Chondra will come back to Effigy to marry her. Add into the mix a thinly disguised version of L Ron Hubbard’s Church of Scientology (complete with “influence centres”) and you have a heady brew of potential conflict leavened with a great deal of dry humour. If you think that Effigy sounds strange already, you have no idea… Still to come, mind control, murder, and religion as military operation.

Tim Seeley, writer, has an impressive track record of comic work as both artist and writer: Batman Eternal, Hack/Slash, Grayson, and Revival, and currently has a film deal for Hack/Slash. In Effigy Seeley combines a strange and occasionally grim storyline with a Joss Whedon-like attention to detail. Small embarrassments abound, characters confound expectations, and the dialogue is constantly entertaining. Seeley deals with backstory in both flashbacks – a particularly amusing one where Grant Moore recalls what made him want to be a cop made me laugh out loud – and Chondra breaking the fourth wall and talking straight to the readers. Some readers have found this disruption to their suspension of disbelief difficult to deal with. Obviously if you’re a Grant Morrison fan this won’t be a problem at all, and it fleshes out the character of Chondra in a direct and often very droll way.

Marley Zarcone has worked on Vertigo’s Madame Xanadu and House of Mystery, as well as Forgetless with Nick Spencer at Image. Her artwork heads towards the “clear line” school of Herge, leavened with a mixture of Daniel Clowes via Mike Allred. With a heavier artist Effigy would not be the entertainment it is – like Clowes she is excellent at capturing the minutiae of human interaction, the small, sometimes awkward, moments signalled through a change of expression. In fact it’s worth seeking out her originals to the series, on sale at Cadence (http://cadencecomicart.com/artist.php?artist=66), to see exactly how lovely her line is.

Rounding up the team, Ryan Hill’s colours use a nice combination of flat colour and modelling to complement the art beautifully. Covers are provided by W Scott Forbes, with variants by Andrew Robinson.

Effigy is a rewarding and entertaining read, but be warned, not necessarily an easy one. For lovers of slam-bang action the pace is closer to Twin Peaks that it is to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but over time the slow build and increasing weirdness will repay you.

Peter Mann

Effigy: Idle Worship is by Marley Zarcone and Tim Seeley. Published by DC Comics, and it’s coming in September. Advance order it now! Use the link below:

Effigy: Idle Worship