Review: Models, Inc.
I saw the first issue of Models, Inc. on the rack at my local comics shop and had to stop and open it based on its brilliant cover. The mock article titles were cute and engaging and seemed to indicate this was a comic with a sense of humor about itself right out of the gate. That mixture was what I needed at the time, bogged down as I was in preparation for Blackest Night and, quite frankly, still working my way through Batman R.I.P. I snatched it up, flipped through it, bought it, went home to read up on the characters that would be included and then emailed the store to ask them to add it to my regular subscriptions.
It's now over after four issues. Was it worth reading?
Yes and no.
Do you remember the old Hostess fruit pie and snack cake ads in comics from back in the day? That's what Models Inc. feels like: four issues of weird, fun, kitschy tie-in. It is the perfect antidote should one find that one has been buried in Dark Reign one-off books but it also does have some serious flaws.
Reading a lot like a Nancy Drew novel with a sugar buzz, I would recommend it readily to anyone who counts amongst their favorite episodes of The Facts of Life that one in which Natalie dreams a murder mystery starring the rest of the girls from the house. For real, it's on that level of weird/cute/random/bubblegum. Every issue made me giggle at least once and roll my eyes at least once. I have no way to classify or describe this book in a rational, substantive way. The cognitive dissonance it generates defies any tidy explanation. That's never stopped me from trying before, though, so why give up now?
The artwork is often quite nice, but nothing inside the book can compare to those fabulous covers and some of the design sense is just horrendous. (The fashion photographer has a living room that looks like it was decorated by an MTV veejay from 1985. I know the kids these days love some '80s nostalgia but Mary, please, I was there once already and once was enough.) The characters are not all equally compelling but it does have a flirty lesbian professional model which is a nice touch. Their characterization in no way dispels the stereotype that models are all airheads but the book admirably celebrates adventure and the ensemble cast shows a love for the dustier corners of Marvel's universe. The murder mystery is transparent from fairly early on and the path the characters take to solve it is incomprehensible but the book is so clearly more about watching them gossip and flirt, in the same sense cop shows are often more about banter than cases, that it almost seems unfair to judge it as a mystery per se. The idea of Tim Gunn scooting about in an Iron Man suit is laughable in an at-them-not-with-them sort of way but the idea of a Fashion Week exhibition of well-known superhero outfits is unquestionably clever.
Basically, every time I finished an issue I was left wondering what the hell I'd just read. Was it good? Not as literature, no, but as entertainment... yes? To be honest, it never lives up to the promise of those amazing, eye-catching covers but it certainly helps the time go by and it has some laughs along the way. I have no doubt that a significant portion of its readers thought it was the dumbest thing they'd ever seen - a kind of value in itself - and that some of them loved it.
One year in college my roommate was this fabulous queen whose nickname was "Diva". He would adore this comic. I can feel it in my bones. The only question left, then, is can you wear that title? If so, give Models, Inc. a look. The trade paperback comes out in late February of 2010 and honestly I've rarely seen a book better suited to that kind of quickie one-off collection.
Klarion
Posted to Review on 7 December 2009
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Other stuff like this: Mary Jane, Millie the Model, Models Inc
Tim Gunn in Marvel comics. My worlds collide, and yes, it was ridiculous, but, it was so, so good, too!