Let The Record Spin: "Heavy Vinyl (Vol. 1)" and "After Hours (Vol. 1)"

Heavy Vinyl by Carly Usdin

From The Publisher: Film and TV director Carly Usdin (Suicide Kale) teams up with breakout artist Nina Vakueva (Lilith’s Word) for a new series that’s music to our ears! New Jersey, 1998. Chris has just started the teen dream job: working at Vinyl Mayhem, the local record store. She’s prepared to deal with anything—misogynistic metalheads, grunge wannabes, even a crush on her wicked cute co-worker, Maggie. But when the staff’s favorite singer mysteriously vanishes the night before her band’s show in town, Chris finds out her co-workers are doing more than just sorting vinyl… her local indie record store is also a front for a teen girl vigilante fight club!

What Worked For Me:

The art style is crisp and consistent
LGBT representation, some of which is clearly telegraphed and some of which is not
The main cast comes from a variety of backgrounds
I like the premise, and the story has room to go some interesting, wacky places.

What Didn’t Work For Me:

(Nit-Pick) For the most part, I think the book successfully toes the line between realism and fantasy / wish-fulfillment. A few things really stuck out to me though, like how the main cast seems to / is implied to regularly skip class. It’s a small detail, but in my mind it would bring a lot more “authority figures,” (parents, teachers, etc) into the picture, thereby potentially exposing what’s going on in-universe.
(Nit-Pick) I found myself mildly annoyed by the friction between some of the characters (i.e. D and Chris’ interactions at the start of the book). The story moves at a fast enough clip that it’s not the main focus for long and it’d be weird if there was no conflict in team-building. Still, I’ve seen this kind of conflict so often in fiction that it’s hard to not crave something a bit different.
(Nit-Pick) The conflict that’s revealed by the end of the story is a bit, “Saturday Morning Cartoon,” in scope, but it matches with the overall tone of the piece so I can’t complain.

Conclusion:

It was a quick, fun read that I completed in a single sitting. While it’s not perfect, the story has plenty of room to explore interesting topics (e.g. feminism and the patriarchy) and there’s enough wacky hijinks to keep readers of all stripes interested. I’d call this first volume a success; now it is up to the rest of the series to continue this trend and, “stick the landing,” when the time comes.

Check it out here.

After Hours by Yuhta Nishio and Abby Lehrke (translator)

From The Publisher: The club is hopping and Emi isn’t…so she ends up hiding in a corner after her friend ditches her to flirt with a guy! Emi figures the night is a bust, but then someone amazing comes to her rescue. Kei is a DJ, and her effortless self-confidence captivates Emi. Is this just a wonderful night out or the start of the rest of her life?

What Worked For Me:

The main relationship is between two adults; this is a nice change of pace when many other manga / comics in the same vein focus on High School romance.
The work centers on the relationship between two women, hence: LGBTQ representation
The art is aesthetically pleasing and facilitates the story
I enjoyed the relationship between Emi (protagonist) and Kei (love interest). The playful teasing about their ages was a highlight.

What Didn’t work For Me:

The protagonist comes across as reactionary throughout the work, and seems more likely to be in awe of her love interest (Kei) than to have her own identity. This is addressed somewhat in the last chapter / pages of this volume, but I hope to see more development in the next volume.
A major plot point is revealed during the 11th hour with no foreshadowing anywhere else in the book Emi (protagonist) apparently has a boyfriend. Though their relationship is on the rocks, they are still sharing a lease / apartment.. This could lead to interesting character drama in future volumes, but at present it doesn’t feel “earned.”
The supporting cast is hardly present throughout the work. It’s possible they’ll make a bigger appearance in future volumes, but many of them appear for no more than a few pages (or even a few panels).

Conclusion:

This manga is a fun, breezy read for WLW lovers. It isn’t especially deep, but sometimes all we want is literary “junk food.” Ultimately, my continued interest in this manga will depend on where it goes in the next volume or two (and if it can address some of my concerns in the “cons” section).

Check it out here.