No matter what country you live in, practically everyone is obsessed with celebrities. People the world over love celebrities so much that many people can identify them easier than they can any politician. “Pop†by Curt Pires with art by Jason Copland is a satire about this phenomenon that forgets what it’s trying to satire.
In a world where celebrities are manufactured in a lab rather than born one of them, Elle, manages to escape her incubation chamber. She meets up with Coop who helps her run away from the people who are trying to bring her back to the lab.
The premise is an interesting one though something similar has been done before. Sadly, this idea is immediately thrown away in favor of a game of cat and mouse. The whole lab created celebrities thing really doesn’t enter into the equation. The celebrity part is touched upon at the beginning with the lab and one of the worst Justin Bieber spoofs ever and then forgotten. It’s a nice idea that’s gone to waste.
Then we have the characters. Coop and Elle are boring. They have almost no development and are about as flat as an “IHOP†pancake. The only interesting characters are the villains. They have much better characterization, are much better developed and are a lot more interesting. The main reason for this is that we spend much more time with the point of view with the villains than we do with the main leads. This causes readers to identify with the villains and then forget about the leads.
The art is fine for what it is. It does bring out what is supposed to a celebrity trying get runaway story. The character designs are fine as well: you can actually see these people in real life. There are certain parts that are supposed to look like a person is tripping that are done well. It’s all about using the right bright colors and Copland used the right ones.
“Pop†has an interesting idea that is pushed aside for something different and the main leads are forgettable. The only real reason to read this comic is for the great villains and the art.
Leave a Reply