Garage Band is a slice of life graphic novel about four friends who decide to form a band. Each chapter corresponds to a song, providing insight into each of the boys and the people close to them.

Gipi's watercolors are the best part of the book, able to convey motion and individuality in the figures. He blends a muted color pallet of nighttime escapades and hot afternoons with some subtle vividness that really conveys the frenzy of teenage life.

The story, while providing insight into the characters and some excellently constructed moments that hint at philosophy and deeper nature, may be a little too minimalist for everyone to enjoy. It's a light, quick read, which is both a blessing and curse. Nice for what it is, but not wholly satisfying when you reach the end and think there could be more to fill the gaps. A solid book, but not his best or his most poignant. ( )

Think garage bands, lots of teen angst and rebellion. Some drugs, and theft.

Garage Band is a graphic novel about a group of 4 teenagers who are in a band together. They are an odd bunch, from the drummer who collects Nazi propaganda posters to the vocalist whose just plain crazy, they are definitely unique individuals. The adventure begins when they get their first garage to practice in, and the book starts from there.

To be honest, there is very little story to tell. I could give it all away in a couple sentences, if I were to try to describe it. The book is only just over 100 pages, with numerous full page, textless art. But within this tiny little comic is a strangely memorable tale, of 4 awkward and slightly strange kids trying to create music and discover themselves, and it's unexpectedly captivating.

The art is also very odd. It starts out with a pen-and-pencil appearance, like someone sketched it on a sheet of paper in high school. But then it is filled in with watercolor, which gives it this almost surreal, dreamy look. The art is relatively simple, and deceptively beautiful, and I found myself gazing at it quite a bit when I should have been reading on.

Maybe this one isn't for everyone, but if it sounds remotely interesting then please give it a shot. It's very small, and can be read in an hour or so if you can manage to not stare at the art, so it's not much of a risk to check it out from the local library. 4 stars. ( )

Garage Band is okay. I checked out this book from the library after reading Gipi's Notes for a War Story. And after reading Garage Band, I can see how Gipi is tentatively exploring some of the themes (friendship, class, opportunities) he would later go on to handle so well in Notes for a War Story. You know, kind of like the artillery barrage presaging the major assault assault. Or maybe Gipi was more subtle here and I'm too thick-headed to see it. ( )

Garage Band showcases Gipi's elegant sequential art style. The words in garage band merely compliment the experience that Gipi delivers to the reader though his emotional linework, watercolors, and panel arrangements. I call Garage Band an experience instead of a story because the story is secondary to the feelings that Gipi invokes with his quiet panels and intense depictions of the band in action. Garage band doesn't just tell a story about a group of adolescents coming of age and playing music, it tranports you into the souls of the character and beautifully conveys the escapism and theraputic qualities of getting together and rocking out. ( )