I guess the most obvious comparison to Louis is Orwell's 1984: updated and twisted ever so slightly to fit something resembling a more modern world. The constant barrage of "digital entertainment (sponsored by Mort)" like Orwell's ever present TV screens and omnipresent Big Brother (it always amused me that we ended up watching BIg Brother...), people seen as numbers, anonymous buildings, uniformity of life and interrogation with cheese, all seem to have obvious resonances of Orwell and the of the state becoming ever more invasive.
The story itself follows Louis' return from 'The Bee Farm' (or somewhere). I think this story is part of a series, but it seems to stand on its own as well. We see the build up to an obligatory 'Fun Day Out' for all the inhabitants of Louis' town, with Louis designing a game for a competition; the prize for which will be given out at this 'Fun Day Out'. Louis also potters about his daily business and occasionally gets tortured with cheese. Underneath all this is some kind of simmering conspiracy, climaxing in various twists at the 'Fun Day Out'.
The book is beautifully produced, drawn in a style that reminds of kids TV animations, but I'm not sure quite what; maybe Postman Pat coloured in complimenting water coloury pastels. Later on there's a brilliant page where the registration of the colours is slightly mismatched to give a feeling of fear/speed/pandemonium.
How language is used in the book also really interested me here, the Metaphrog team has a good grasp of different voices and characters and obviously enjoy language. The use of childlike alliterations, "frenzy of fruit" and Louis' bird named, "Formulaic Companion" give a sense of play and occasional tweeness, but in a good kind of way. The phrase from the TV that is echoed by several characters, "this is almost the beautiful house we Quidnuics deserve" makes an interesting point concerning the need to consume and create consumers, there's always something newer and shiner to buy that we probably don't need (like camera phones, maybe I'm getting old but I really don't see the point!).
The frog character whose voice shifts in and out of audibility is also fascinating, leaving the reader grasping for what they might have missed, imagining, moments where you see something moving out of view to left, off in the bushes; the comic as a whole has this feel to it: moments left unexplained, unsaid, the vast conspiracy theory underlying the plot that is never quite fully revealed, and leaves you with the feeling that the story we're reading is actually circling and weaving around the real story. On a first reading I loved this aspect of the story, you're left feeling like you've just watched a David Lynch film, trying to piece together if any of what you just saw made sense, dragging meaning and understanding from what you've been presented with into a coherent form.
However, the more times I read the story, the less I liked it for precisely this reason, it started to feel like the reader was stumbling along, trying to figure what is really going on and starting to get the feeling that maybe there might not be that much underneath the semantic tricks. It reminds me of the Fugazi song Waiting Room, waiting to get to the point; for a feeling of functionality and it never quite arriving, leaving you in confusion. I'm not quite sure why didn't work for me in the end, as I said before I often tend to thoroughly enjoy stuff that is willfully obscure. Maybe because it took so long trying to write this review, I just got put off in the end.
David Birchall