Gypsy! Review

I read it. I liked it. I still have no idea how to describe it.

On occasion I find I need to experience something more than once before deciding on how I feel about it. The first time through, my expectations can easily skew my opinion of the subject. By viewing it again, I ensure that expectations no longer influence my experience. There are, of course, times I don't feel the need to do this. Sometimes I know right away if something is exceptionally awesome or complete crap. A second viewing rarely changes my opinion in these cases. While, this need to re-experience may be a phenomenon unique to myself, I figured I should preface this review with that small notice.

'Gypsy!' by John Peters is an example of something that I had to read twice. Not knowing what to expect the first time, I was thrown by its eccentric presentation. Once I was accustomed to the flow of the comic, I was able to read through it a second time and fully appreciate it for what it was.

'Gypsy!' follows Dr. Ziggy, a doctor charged with helping a young woman named Gypsy fulfill a quest to deliver a letter half-way around the world. What is sure to be an already difficult journey is exacerbated by the fact that Gypsy is catatonic. Yes, the titular character is a vegetable; not-so-lovingly referred to as such by her oft-used nickname: "Bag of Radishes". Along for the journey are a troupe of puppet theater performers and Gypsy's large pet ant. A few other characters have popped in and out of the story, but their permanence remains to be seen.

The story is told in a chaptered format, with each chapter containing a handful of comics. Most chapter start with a rather jarring jump in time and space that was confusing the first time through. I was concerned I had missed a chunk of the story, only to have the gaps filled in 4-5 comics later. It feels like this was a purposeful choice as the whole comic seems designed to disorient the reader in some way. This may seem like a flaw, but it actually works for this eccentric webcomic.

And it makes no apologies for its quirkiness. Nor does it have to. Even at its most confusing, I felt the desire to push forward and see what surprise or explanation was around the corner. The chaptered format was an excellent choice as it helps frame each wacky situation in easily digested short stories. I feel if the story were not broken up into pieces, I would be quick to lose interest.

The world of 'Gypsy!' is revealed to us a little at a time with no real explanation of its working given to the reader. Colloquialisms are used a number of times that occasionally required a re-read of a sentence of two. It's left up to the readers to sort out the order of things on our own. Then again, the whys and wherefores of the world don't seem exceptionally important. Just have faith that it makes sense, and it'll all work out in the end.

The art style for 'Gypsy!' just plain rocks. I don't know the technical term for it, but I've always been a fan of the style where a single color is used to ink and color pages (example). If there is a name for this style, feel free to let me know in the comments.

In either case, I really like the style. I recommend really examining panels as it can be easy to miss details if you skim. And there are a number of details hidden in the comic; including a number of subtle literary and artist references. I'm sure there are plenty I missed or that simply went over my head.

I'm not a huge fan of the website on which 'Gypsy!' is hosted. It doesn't majorly affect my ability to read the comic, however something as stylized as 'Gypsy!' deserves an equally stylized website displaying it. Navigation is easy with the presence of standard 'FPNL' buttons and an archive.

Obviously 'Gypsy!' is not for everyone. John Peters is a very creative writer and a very talented illustrator, but the writing style of the comic may be a bit to out-there for some readers. Still, this an excellent example of an original and daring webcomic that deserves some positive attention.