4 out of 5

Charming, with a refreshingly modest blend of indie honesty and campy magical realism, Fred Chao’s second (third?) Johnny Hiro collection approaches genius at times through its simplicity… but there’s a sense that the setup might be demystified a bit by reading the first book, as well as the age-old problem of the need for a conclusion causing the book to end on a forced positive ho-hum note.

‘Skills’ is a black-and-white series of vignettes starring one Fred Chao, American Asian, leading a Scott Pilgrim-y lifestyle where we trade video game references for monster attacks and Canada-isms for some New York trivia and winky locale nods.  Chao admirably manages to keep the cool in check so that John is incredibly likeable – and unlike Pilgrim, he’s an adult, both in age and mentality, a weirdo omniscient narrator (this is what was cool – it’s like a storyteller explaining Hiro’s life – but what I also suspect is man-behind-the-curtained in the previous Hiro book, since there’s a panel that suggests that the storyteller (or -ers) have cartoon likenesses that following readers might recognize) giving us insight into Johnny’s heartfelt wonderings about his job, his girlfriend, his life.  The side characters, similarly, feel fully realized (with the suspicion that this is all drawn from real life and people to a certain extent….)  and you’re never put out when the focus is on his boss Masago, or his friend Alex, because their stories are just as rich with thought and care, drawing an nice juxtaposition to the craziness in Johnny’s world yet he still is most focused on those everyday worries. In response, Chao doesn’t always go for the wise tagline (until book’s end), bravely letting many thoughts drift into a bleaker openness…

The NY ties are admittedly fun, that jerk, and get elevated above Brian K. Vaughan style minutiae just by the sorta silliness of things – mayor Bloomberg is Hiro’s cool-jack friend and takes giant gorillas stalking our streets as just another potential method for generating income for the city.  The book also asserts itself by slowly moving forward.  Each story can be read on its own, but Hiro – and his relationship with girlfriend Mayumi – is learning, and evolving.  This is an interesting break from a strictly story-driven graphic novel but doesn’t sacrifice the reward of actually reading it and not just flipping through.

And I say this more complimentary than it sounds: that the art is perfectly serviceable.  Chao’s style isn’t unfamiliar – blending some anime expressionism with an American cartoon sense of flow and pacing – but he blends this with some beautiful backgrounds and really well considered page composition to give the book a professional feel.  So, meaning, I might not be able to pick out his work from a lineup of similar artists, but it never feels like someone else’s art – he owns it.

Recommended for chuckleheads, chowderheads, and people who liked Scott Pilgrim but maybe have that bit of “these books are too popular now” shame that all of us super cool people get.

And I’m sorry, Fred, to have mentioned Pilgrim twice, ’cause I’m sure you’re never able to shake that comparison.  Womp.