Someone must know it's my birthday this Friday; here's another good "B.P.M." review, this time at BROKEN FRONTIER: LINK
B.P.M.: Review by Lee Newman, posted November 19, 2008
Roxy is an up and coming DJ in the New York dance club scene. When a local legend takes her under his wing, she finds herself on the precipice of greatness. Is she brave enough to allow that to happen?
BPM is a work by an artist who loves his subject. It is easy to see this in Paul Sizer's script. It brims with a respect and awe for the music and the profession of DJing. Even without the knowledge presented in the forwords, it is obvious from the feeling of authenticity that Sizer is of the world presented.
The passion of the author is infused in the lead character, Roxy. She is a girl trying to find herself. She is torn by her profession. What does it mean to her? How serious is she in its pursuit? Meanwhile, she has to do some significant soul searching. What does a relationship mean to her? Which is more important, her career or love? What exactly does the future hold for her? She does not have ready answers to these questions, but she knows that the music makes her happy.
When a legendary DJ, record shop entrepreneur and producer starts to mentor her, she begins to realize the dedication her path will demand. It becomes time to make some tough life decisions. Some choices she will regret, but as she learns to challenge herself in the booth, she is rewarded in her personal life as well. As her passion begins to surface, suddenly she is not struggling to get by and her life takes direction. She starts to live for the first time in her life.
It is an amazing transformation that unfolds for the reader. Starting slowly, tentatively, Sizer brings the story to a feverish pitch and when the graphic novel is over, the reader is energized, wanting more. Like a good techno set (and yes, they do exist), Sizer elicits the emotions that he wants.
To further cement the experience to its real life counterpart, the author provides a soundtrack as footnotes (and at I-Tunes for download). The length of the soundtrack would mean a very laborious and attentive read. Its staggering length seems overwhelming, but from the songs that this writer knows, the list is deliberate. The songs are chosen to be complimentary to the moods of the scenes they are meant to accompany. Beyond the insightfulness of the choices, there is a broad cross section of popular music represented. This means that there should be a little something for most everybody.
The art is a bit of a prickly subject. The faces of many of the characters in the book are just plain awkward. However, there is a consistency and strong line present that negates any feelings of it being the work of a lesser artist. Sizer's consistency shows that the design is a stylistic choice. It is certainly something that will be a deciding factor for some readers, but it is solid. The design of Roxy in particular is genius. She evokes an edgy style that is timeless and her cute look helps to convey the exuberance of life that she embraces.
There are also very interesting elements in the background. The book starts with several over exposed shots of New York at night. Street lights look like glow sticks at a rave. The mood is set. However, the photographs aren't just a neat introduction taking you into the cartoon world. They are present throughout the book, morphed pixellation and a rotoscope-like coloring effect. This allows them to be used as set dressing in various panels, making for a distinctive look.
BPM is a book that is lovingly conceived and executed. The joy that inspired the book eventually infects the reader. Sizer has created a unique blend of two mediums. Both are known for strong emotional reactions from their audience. He skillfully affects the reader with a powerful affirmation of life, despite its challenges. It is testimony to the power of passionate creation."
B.P.M. Paul Sizer. Cafe Digital (Diamond, dist.), $15.99 paper (92p) ISBN 978-0-9768565-6-6
Roxy is a club kid and aspiring DJ in New York City. Loud, opinionated and a little scattered, she's the kind of girl who keeps her life--including calendar--on her iPod. When Robie, a "semi-legend" who now runs a used-record store, offers to take her under his wing, she gets the chance to play the big clubs and maybe even to cut a record. But to make her dreams of DJ stardom come true, she must choose between the records and her girlfriend Hannah. The "Portrait of the Artist as a Club Kid" plot is standard issue, but Sizer (Moped Army; Little White Mouse) adds distinctive, nicely observed details. He ramps up the art as well: bold ink lines, day-glo background colors, even neon-bordered speech balloons add to the impression that the reader is raving right along with the characters. A soundtrack--referencing songs by Talking Heads, They Might Be Giants and Everything but the Girl--runs at the bottom of each page, bringing the reader as close as possible to a multimedia experience. Call it a mashup, call it a remix, call it a day-glo pop love letter to a misspent youth: B.P.M. is brain candy in the best sense of the word. (Nov.)
Here it is, the final episode of "BPM MEDIA" from the MOST PEOPLE ARE DJs podcast!
"The Perfect Beat" looks at the full inspiration behind all the parts of BPM coming together into one concept. Music, history, clubs, creative dreams, DJ culture; all these things combined to become the story of BPM, and hopefully keep you, the reader, wanting to know more about all of them.
Thanks once more to all the hard work from Mikel OD from the MOST PEOPLE ARE DJs podcast project, for his work on making this macro-interview come into being, and for pushing my to create the videos to accompany his interviews, making it all easier to bear (rather than just listening to me blather on and on!)
Here's the direct link for the MP4 file: BPM MEDIA #8
Check out the rest of Mike's great work at his main site: MOST PEOPLE ARE DJs
If you're here to see the first 50 pages of the BPM graphic novel, you can click the "First" double left arrow button below and go to the beginning of the preview pages!
A few new newsbytes from the ongoing BPM Perfect Beat Promotional Tour!
1. B.P.M. ON THIS WEEK'S "COMIC GEEK SPEAK" PODCAST
"B.P.M." gets the star treatment on the latest episode of the Comic Geek Speak podcast series
Man, these guys work fast! I just did the interview over the phone last night, and the podcast is already up and ready to download!
Here's the show page link: COMIC GEEK SPEAK Episode 545
2. NEW PHOTOS FROM THE AUTHOR TALK
Good friend and amazing photographer Thomas Deater took some killer shots of me during my author talk/DJ demo/book signing/reading at the Kalamazoo Public Library in September.
Tom has been teaching himself black and white digital photography over the last few years and has developed a killer eye, so I asked if he would shoot the event.
I finally got my lazy butt around, picked out the best of nearly 300 (!) shots and posted them as a Flickr album that you can check out: TOM DEATER B.P.M. PHOTOS
Check out more of Tom's work at his home site: LINK
3. "B.P.M." HITS THE SHELVES NOVEMBER 19
Cross your fingers; "B.P.M." is set to hit the shelves of your local comic book stores in the US this Wednesday, November 19 if all goes according to plan.
More soon. Thanks to everyone for the tons of support you've given. As always, it is appreciated!
The penultimate episode of the epic "BPM MEDIA" podcast project, from Mikel OD and MOST PEOPLE ARE DJs. This week, I talk about creating the digital artwork for B.P.M.
Here's the direct link for the MP4 file: BPM MEDIA #7
Check out the rest of Mike's great work at his main site: MOST PEOPLE ARE DJs
If you're here to see the first 50 pages of the BPM graphic novel, you can click the "First" button below and go to the beginning of the preview pages!
Hot damn! First unsolicited review of BPM: 4.5 stars out of 5. Yay, it's cookie time!
Review of 'B.P.M.'
4.5 Stars Out of 5
Published: 10/30/2008 08:36pm
B.P.M.
Cafe Digital Studios
$15.99
96 pages
November 2008
Creator: Paul Sizer
ISBN: 978-0-9768565-6-6
Age Rating: 16+
Stars: 4.5 out of 5
Roxy's set at the small New York club where she deejays is beginning to stagnate. As much as she loves the music, the crowd, and the life, she doesn't have the guts or know how to push things to the next level. The time and effort it takes to learn her craft eat away at the time available to do anything else, and Roxy's exasperated girlfriend leaves her, hoping to force Roxy to give up her crazy schedule and settle down. When a chance meeting with a former music producer and DJ superstar turns into a mentor/student relationship, Roxy's talents begin to blossom. With the support of her friends, the guidance of her teacher, and the following of a growing fan base in the clubs where she spins, it looks like Roxy's dream of turning her love of music into a career just might come true.
According to his introduction, Sizer has written this self-published book as an homage to his two obsessions, music and comics, and he has succeeded. Roxy is a fully formed character, complete with self-doubt, determination, and a palpable euphoria when a night of music, dancing, and a great crowd all come together. The side characters are also well-defined, as is Roxy's reactions to their impact on her life. As her relationship with her girlfriend comes to an end, she feels responsible for the break-up despite her girlfriend's inability to understand Roxy's drive to be a deejay and her unwillingness to see Roxy's work as a "real job." Roxy's interactions with the two friends who act as role models are both natural and tinged with a bit of hero-worship, and her excitement at finding a teacher who thinks she has talent and respects what she does is understandable after having her work dismissed by her girlfriend.
Sizer's art is a bit inconsistent in the beginning of the book, with characters' heads weirdly changing size and shape, but by chapter two it has smoothed out. The colors used are vibrant, especially the deep, lush purples, blues, and oranges used in the night scenes. An added bonus is the "soundtrack" of song titles and artists that Sizer feels reflects what is happening in the comic. Strangely, the book is rated for older teens and for mature audiences, but other than a few images of women in their underclothes, there is nothing in this book that is any worse than what can be found in an average superhero comic. Highly recommended for older teens and adults.
Number 6 of eight in the massive, sprawling epic that is me blathering about BPM!
This week: I reveal the colorful cast of characters from BPM and give the inspiration behind who's who and why!
If you'd like to download the show, the link is HERE!
Check out the rest of Mike's great work at his main site: MOST PEOPLE ARE DJs
If you're here to see the first 50 pages of the BPM graphic novel, you can click the "First" button below and go to the beginning of the preview pages!
