Scene City issues 1 and 2 start with a warning to the reader that they contains rude bits. Well, what would you expect from a series in which the city and its people are defined by musical genres? And the people will get no say in the matter.
The first issue features a situation similar to the story in The Twilight Zone Movie in which a racist man finds himself in a black man’s body. Here, however, we have an Emo-hating member of the Ska district named Horace who is horrified to learn when he wakes up that he has been transformed into an Emo himself. Kafka this ain’t. Finding that being an Emo makes him feel automatically depressed, Horace searches for something to make him happy again, but his depression is so extreme that even Happy Pills do not work.
The simplistic style of the artwork and large size and spacing of the panels means that we won’t be presented with a complex plot or characters, but rather a very simple self-contained story with minimal dialogue and narration. The basic stlye works because it allows creator Rob Cureton to convey a strong moral message, which in #1 is about how all people, no matter how different they are, should be accepted into society.
Which is what makes it just as well that each issue is a self contained story. Scene City #2 is about an aspiring pop star who buys a guitar which once belonged to Jimmy Hendrix and may be cursed. But who’s going to be afraid of something as stupid as a curse, right? Well, in Scene City, these things are a bit more serious.
Before long, the zombie Jimmy Hendrix has risen from the grave and is seeking retribution for the terrible music that our hero has been making with his guitar. To stop him from eating people and other typical zombie behavior, Zombie Hendrix is put into a band with Zombie Bob Marley and Zombie John Lennon, in addition to Phil Collins, who unlike the other three members, is still alive. While perhaps less moral driven then issue #1, who doesn’t like Zombie rock stars?
Both issues also compensate for the short length of their stories by offering short but fun stories at the end. The two short stories at the end of Issue #2 both provide a bit more commentary on the music scene as a whole, with contrasting stories about a pop star and an indie rock group, exploring what exactly success means for both in a piss-take on various real musicians. Let’s just say the only thing missing from the “Brittina” story is a wrecking ball.
Although the simple narrative and short length of the issues mean that the series clearly won’t become a time consuming obsession, Scene City is a more than enjoyable way to kill some time.
Find out more about Scene City and get a copy of all 4 issues here!
