Slam! #4

Slam! #4

Must be something in the water recently, as this is the second Boom! comic I’ve read that explains how to play roller derby. Of course, since that’s the setting of Slam!, it’s essential information, and it leads into something of a change-of-pace chapter. You can see the opening pages here:

Now that we’ve gotten to know the characters, particularly the core duo of Jennifer and Maisie, this issue switches to action, showing the reader what it would be like to be on the derby floor. The two friends are on the outs, playing on different teams and unable to deal well with the situation, so having emotional character development take a backseat at this point in the series makes storytelling sense.

Slam! #4

Of course, it’s not really either/or, as we learn more about the personalities through what happens in the bout. Pamela Ribon and Veronica Fish establish the feeling of camaraderie that happens when women are pushing themselves physically to build a team. Much of the storytelling happens through the art, demonstrating confidence that we can read the images without having everything narrated to us.

The end’s a bit traditional, but what I’ll take away from this issue is getting an idea of what it would be like to skate hard, something I’ll never do in person but I can better understand through this art. (The publisher provided a digital review copy.)



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