This is an archived forum only.
The discussion continues at the Not News Forums.

  This Is Not News Forums
  Comics
  Review - Couscous Express

Post New Topic  Post A Reply
profile | register | preferences | faq | search

UBBFriend: Email This Page to Someone! next newest topic | next oldest topic
Author Topic:   Review - Couscous Express
Dave Thomer
Guardian of Peace and Justice in the Galaxy
posted 03-11-2002 11:13 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dave Thomer   Click Here to Email Dave Thomer     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Couscous Express
Written by Brian Wood
Art by Brett Weldele
AiT/Planet Lar, 80 pages, B&W
(Buy it from Amazon - $12.95)

I lived in New York City for five years, and while I’m happy to be back in my hometown of Philadelphia, I love New York. There are so many people, and so much happening, that the city has a life and excitement all its own, a pace that can grind you down or exhilarate you, and often does both. Brian Wood clearly has the same love for the city – not the glitzy Times Square and midtown Manhattan New York, but the neighborhoods filled with ethnic restaurants, quirky stores and old apartments. That love shines through in Couscous Express, a solid quick hit of comics action. My life in New York was never this exciting, but I love the way he captures the city’s personality.

You might say the plot is straightforward, if a story about the Turkish scooter Mafia shaking down a Middle Eastern restaurant that is defended by a horde of gun-toting couriers qualifies as straightforward. Olive Yassin is a 16-year-old daughter of immigrants, delivering takeout for her parents’ restaurant Couscous Express – rated the number one Middle Eastern restaurant in New York three years in a row. A Turkish mob boss has a grudge against Olive’s mother, though, and is determined to drive them out of business. Olive’s boyfriend Moustafa and his fellow underground couriers try to defend them, but Olive’s impetuousness sets off a turf war and guarantees that someone is going to end up dead.

Wood keeps the story humming along, and he has a great knack for dialogue. My only real reservation about the writing here is that Olive is the central character, and she’s not nearly as interesting as most of the others. This could be because Wood heavily emphasizes Olive’s immaturity and self-absorption, to the point of perhaps overdoing it. Before the action gets really heavy, I had a bit of a hard time figuring out exactly what anyone would like about her. But the setting and other characters give the book personality to spare.

Brett Weldele’s art is kind of a mixed bag. At times, it’s great – very moody and evocative. Other times, especially toward the end, it becomes a little too sketchy and unrefined. Many of the action sequences are relatively free of dialogue or captions, so the art has to carry the narrative, and I’m not quite sure it works here. Weldele seems to be following the same line of thinking as many modern movie-makers with regard to action, that a variety of cuts and angles that disorient the viewer convey the frenetic and desperate nature of the fight. It’s a valid stylistic choice, but it doesn’t really work for me; I prefer the artwork from the beginning of the book, where the visuals are much better defined; I got more of the ‘feel’ of the book from those pages. There’s also an interesting variety of shading techniques used throughout, which contribute to the expect-the-unexpected vibe of the book and help the book stand out. All told, it’s a solid package.

All times are ET (US)

next newest topic | next oldest topic

Administrative Options: Close Topic | Archive/Move | Delete Topic
Post New Topic  Post A Reply
Hop to:

Contact Us | This Is Not News Home | Privacy Statement

All message board posts are copyright their respective posters.


Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.47a