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Young Liars: Daydream Believer TPB
Collects issues 1-6
$9.99
Vertigo
This is quite possibly one of the most insane comics I have ever read.
Danny Noonan is a young, would-be guitarist who comes from a poor family in Texas. Upon meeting the beautiful Sadie Dawkins, he immediately falls head over heels for her, and will stop at nothing to have her. Early in their relationship, Sadie has had a bullet lodged in her brain, which turns her into a hyperactive maniac, which causes her to always want to be getting in fights, have sex with Danny, go water skiing on a cruise liner, or anything that will get her adrenaline flowing.
But that’s not the craziest part.
The duo meet up with a gang of other youngsters, including a millionaire who is always in need of money, a former teenage model who is bitter at the world because somebody once told her she was fat, a young woman whose goal in life is to have the children of a rock star, and a trans junkie that everybody loves. And through a series of misfortunes, the six all end up heading to Europe to find some hidden treasure.
But that’s not the craziest part.
Sadie is the daughter of a psychotic owner of a convenience store chain, who wishes that his son would impregnate his daughter, because they would make beautiful babies. And he’s stopping at nothing to get Sadie back, so that her brother can continue sexually assaulting her.
But that’s not the craziest part.
Danny constantly lies. Sadie, who is crazy because of the bullet in her brain, only does whatever Danny tells her to. Annie X (the former model) and Runco (the broke millionaire) are willing to sell Sadie out to her derranged father. Big C (the groupie) believes that she’s Sadie’s best friend, but forgets that Sadie is nuts. And by the end of the first TPB (issue 6), there are at least four definite deaths (one via decapitation), a handful of possible deaths, and one of the characters experiences –to put it nicely — genital mutilation.
I’ve never read any of David Lapham’s other work, but I’m certainly interested in reading the rest of Young Liars, and looking into the other comics he’s put out (Stray Bullets, Silverfish, 30 Days of Night: 30 Days ’til Death, et cetera). His art is solid throughout, and things happen to the main characters that just don’t happen to the main characters in comics. I have no idea what’s going to happen next, but I’m definitely going to be checking out the rest of the series… And for ten bucks? You should at least check out this first TPB.