ATTABOY (2024)
Writer/Artist: Troy McMillen
Rating:c
This week I will look at “ATTABOY” from Mad Cave Studios, an action-adventure comic book cleverly disguised as an instruction booklet for a video game. The huge twist?- It’s a game that doesn’t exist, but McMillen sets out to make this story memorable even if after the first few pages, you have officially gone down a rabbit hole.
The story centers around a hero of this game who sets out to avenge the destruction of his father due to the actions of the villain known as Motherboard but within every page we get glimpses of real-world elements as well as some deep but shattering truths from Troy McMillen’s childhood that comes off as more of a therapy session, the story itself, however, rides the abstract factor to new heights since McMillen takes inspiration from the likes of Jack Kirby, Akira Kitamura & Ken Inane and Michel Fiffe (Thought I do see some Bill Sienkiewicz influence added in which may come off as being cool, but that’s a judgment call for anyone who loves his style of art); The concept of McMillen exploring his home life through this game is exceptional due to his phenomenal creativity so while this style of storytelling may be an acquired taste it’s still a good read that’s powerful, intriguing and at times feels exasperated to where it will definitely keep anyone who picks this up captivated. Does anybody remember that Cartoon Network series “Whatever Happened to….Robot Jones?” back in the early 2000s?! This story reminds me of that series but with a strong emphasis on surrealism that hopefully heals McMillen’s wounds; Fair warning, after reading this you will never look at pixelated video games or the more scarring parts of anyone’s childhood the same way again. Either way, this story could be the basis for a new way to open up to your family and friends about life. Stranger things have happened.
Well, that’s it for me this week. Thanks for sticking around and I will see you all next time.
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