The Gimmick #4 // Review
Shane Bryant just had his mask ripped off in the parking lot by a rival wrestler. It’s an awkward situation for everyone involved. There was a kid who thought to pull out his phone to get the footage on social media. Of course, any thoughts of that vanish when Shane instantly knocks out the rival. Obviously, it was all a little more than a misunderstanding. The only thing left to do is to go to Denny’s in The Gimmick #4. Writer Joanne Starer continues an irresistibly clever and intricate little comedy with artist Elena Gogou. Color comes to the page courtesy of the reasonably ubiquitous Lee Loughridge.
Shane is with the daughter of the guy he just inadvertently killed. They’re both at a Denny’s with a bunch of strangers who think that the inadvertent murder was part of the pro wrestling act. Shane and the daughter of his victim are in a strange situation. Meanwhile, Shane’s ex Alicia is trying to get on with her life while raiding a child who has evidently inherited his super-strength. She’s not really paying attention to what he’s capable of, but she IS preoccupied with a lot of other things that are going on in her life.
Starer’s humor works on a whole bunch of different levels. The absurdity of a conversation with strangers at a Denny’s is compounded by the fact that they think the biggest, most unimaginably horrifying thing imaginable was just...part of the script for the pro-wrestling he’s doing. There’s some sophisticated social satire at work there--the wrestling fans think that Shane didn’t actually just kill a guy. They think that they know it’s all an act...which it normally would be. Only it’s not. He really DID just kill someone. And now he’s eating at Denny’s. It’s a weird and beautiful absurdity that continues to permeate the entire series while offering deep, psychological moments with a cast of characters who are all so crushingly human.
Gogou ties the fantastic to the Earth with breathtaking fluidity. It helps that a good portion of the issue happens to take place in the incredibly mundane confines of a Denny’s late at night. For the most part, it’s all just casual conversations. The subtle horror of a toddler who can casually tear the head off a big teddy bear plays like comedy in the background, but there’s an intricate and layered emotional reality to Gogou’s art as well that really feels powerful in its own way.
The Gimmick is kind of easy to overlook at first glance. On the surface, it’s a silly little wrestling comedy. The intricate relations between all of the characters in the ensemble are deeply engaging. As are the weird angles at which the characters meet. The fact that Shane is now in the company of the daughter of his recent inadvertent victim is...darkly comic and emotionally engaging at the same time. Starer has a gift for finding the right situations to amplify comedy and drama at the same time.
