Isn't it great to wake up in the morning and wonder what the day will bring? You may have huge plans when you wake up, and as the day goes on things change and morph into something totally different. You may also emerge from sleep with nothing at all in mind, only to have something huge and life-changing happen. Most days people awake with a plan and accept that it alters itself slightly throughout the day. Damon Hurd's graphic novel Strange Day features a day like this for Miles.

Miles is a Cure fan who skips school to hurry and get the new Cure CD from the local music store. His best friend Sarah was supposed to accompany him, but declines at the last minute, adding a stripe of depression to Miles' day. Miles is anxious to pick up his new Cure album, listening to "Pornography," another Cure album on the way and singing along glumly. Upon arrival, things get slightly more depressing when he realizes the store isn't yet open. He sits and waits, and not long after a girl named Anna tries the door, cursing when she also finds it locked. The two begin talking and realize they are both skipping school to obtain the same album. When they find out the store won't be getting it in for several hours they decide to waste some time together.

Strange Day details just that- a strange day that moves along, constantly changing. With Miles and Anna, we participate in random conversations and journeys ranging from meaningless to radically emotional. Through pictures and dialogue we become, for one strange day, a part of their separate but similar lives, experiencing their evolution from random strangers to friends to possibly something more.

Tatiana Gill's illustrations match very well with the writing by Damon Hurd: both seem very loose and almost haphazard, flowing right along with Strange Day's theme-of-the-day (if you will): FREEDOM. The "freedom" theme comes into play in several ways: for one thing, both characters talk about things that make them feel free, and how wonderful that feeling is to them. The fact that the duo skips school also sends echoes of freedom through the reader's mind. And Anna's actions at the end of the book very plainly state that she is indeed a free-spirit!

I myself enjoyed the loose, flowing feeling presented in this graphic novel. At 43 pages it is a short, easy read; its length combined with the pictures make it enjoyable for almost anyone. I enjoyed the inclusion of the Cure as the music that brings Anna and Miles together for the day. References to albums, songs and lyrics add depth to the story. Some readers may find the absence of action and a steep climax dulling; I enjoyed it as I was able to finish it within my 30-minute lunch break. Also, there are a couple curses, including the "F-word," which may turn some people off. There is some confusion as some parts of the story aren't developed, and occasionally the illustrations are slightly discontinuous (though this happens frequently in graphic novels) but I think that only adds to the relaxed, "strange" feel of the story.

The next time your day doesn't seem to be going quite hoe you planned it, remember: Strange Days happen to all of us, and something wonderful may just lie at the end of it.

Isn't this lean n' mean? ;)

A Few Other Graphic Novels I've reviewed

Persepolis
Blankets
Borden Tragedy
Electric Girl, Volume 1
Shutterbug Follies
Four Letter Worlds
Strange Day
Cheat
Clumsy
Marvels
Diary of a Teenage Girl

Recommended: Yes