After reading “Moped Army,” I had to find more graphic novels by Paul Sizer. Luck for me, Sizer has written “B.P.M.” and “Little White Mouse.” I’m still working on finding a copy of later, but I scored a copy of “B.P.M.” at the Library. My hopes were high because “Moped Army” was so amazing, but Sizer delivered big with “B.P.M.”
“B.P.M” stands for Beats Per Minute. Beats Per Minute is a DJ term that I’m just not cool enough to understand. My pedestrian experience with DJ culture begins and ends with The Crystal Method. I’m not part of the club culture, and I’m not a raver, but I do enjoy creating fast-paced, all-rise Itunes playlists for my commute to work, which I’ll included an example of at the end of this review. Beast Per Minute is also a medical term used by doctors, nurses, and the athletically gifted, to measure heart rate. DJs I believe use the term to describe the number of musical beats that they can cram into any given minute during their set.
What I really like about Sizer’s graphic novels, thus far, is that he takes the time to educate his readers about edgy subcultures by introducing a character that is either new to it or on the verge of making it big. In “B.P.M,” Sizer introduces his reader to Roxy, a purple mohawk sporting punk who is about to make it into the big leagues with a little help from friends and a mysterious burnout.
We meet Roxy at a point in her life where she must make a few hard decisions. She must choose between her girlfriend and her passion for music. Roxy’s girlfriend works the typical American 60 hour 9am to 7pm dayshift, and she DJs from 10pm to 3am or later. In true rock star fashion, Roxy life is flipped upside down when her girlfriend packs up and leaves, making the decision for her. Free from the entanglement of a relationship, Roxy pursues her music with renewed focus, a focus that propels her from playing crowds of 150 to 500 plus at one of the most elite clubs in town.
“B.P.M” has more to it than just a surprisingly tender and uplifting plot of an artist who makes it. The artwork is full of vivid colors. The characters are strongly rendered and super sexy without being Anime; although, one of the DJs does put on the air of Sailor Moon as part of her stick. Wait, however, the best part of the comic is that it has, at the bottom of each the page, a track listed. It is as if the comic had a sound track, which I guess it does. You can see the discography on Sizer’s BPM Discography page, on which there are links to Itunes, and they are available to down load by following links HERE.
If you are tired of super heroes, like I am, but still love comic books, Sizer is your go to author. His art is amazing, and he tells a good story to boot. He self-publishes, so I feel more than a little guilty for check these out from my local library. Just like anything else, we vote with our dollars, and if we don’t vote for artist and authors like Sizer, we are selling our culture short by letting big name publishers determine what will sell and what won’t. To that end, I will be buying a copy of Little White Mouse from Sizer’s website this afternoon.
Sizer, Paul. “B.P.M.: Beats Per Minute.”
And now, as promised, my commuter playlist:
“Primavera Anticipada (It Is My Song) [Duet With James Blunt]” - Laura Pausini.
“Paper Planes” - M.I.A.
“Just Dance” - Lady GaGa
“Bounce” - System of a Down
“U + Ur Hand (Bimbo Jones Remix)” - P!nk
“Cannon (AMG Remix)” - Lil Wayne
“Everybody's Free (Moz Morris Pumpin' Club Mix)” - Andy Whitby & Matt Lee
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