Palooka-Ville
Gregory Seth Gallant 10th Anniversary Special re-issue
(Drawn & Quarterly)
Stories change with each telling, and the meaning of content takes place in context. A comic written in the ’90s, about the ’80s, and re-issued in 2001, takes on the challenge of time.
With the re-issue of the inaugural Palooka-Ville, the author has added a critical introduction. He writes, “…in the almost ten years since I’d looked at it, I’d forgotten how much I disliked it. I know that I was happy it had gone out of print.” This introduction leans toward cloying. If the author really disdains his early work, why did he agree to the re-issue? At the same time, it’s interesting to see an author’s ideas about delivery evolve.
The story is told in flashback, framed by a prologue and epilogue, with the author as a ’90s character commenting on his ’80s self and acknowledging vanity. “Ya see, ev’ry week an’a half I had to get my head bleached. Not just the roots mind you, but my goatee and eyebrows too….I was obsessed with having white hair. I really wanted people to mistake me for an albino… ” The ’90s character is simply drawn and still vain, with short dark hair that almost implies a missing beret. He blows cigarette smoke with a flourish.
At the heart is the story of a lonely, trendy guy left at home one night by his girlfriend. He goes out and gets queer-bashed, then finds his girlfriend for consolation. In the epilogue, the ’90s narrator says, “So why’d I tell you this story? I dunno–for sympathy?”
This question is answered in the new introduction: “In the first few issues of Palooka-ville, I made the obvious error of telling stories that were basically anecdotes; things that “happened” to me…Eventually I decided that a good story is made up of less tangible things; memories, ideas, dreams etc. Elements that are harder to nail down than a plot line.” This comic clearly follows a simple plot trajectory, though also takes its form from less tangible elements as it grows layered in the context of time.