Lifetime Passes by Terry Blas

Here’s the premise from the work (from the publisher): “In this darkly comedic YA graphic novel, a group of teens starts a program to bring senior citizens to a local theme park to take advantage of the unofficial park policy: If someone dies on the property, the rest of their party is given lifetime passes!“

What Worked For Me:

I appreciate the diversity of the cast, from multiple elderly characters (e.g. Mrs. Adler) to a DREAMer whose parents were deported (Jackie). There’s even a dirtbag Jake Paul analog (Berke).
Speaking of Mrs. Adler, she gets the lion’s share of the best lines in the work; she’s great.
The story touches on heavy themes such as racism, anti-Semitism and death in a way thatisn’t too ham-fisted or preachy. Characters discuss these topics in a way that feels natural, not like they are meant as a “lecture” for the reader.
The work has a darkly comedic ending, which I appreciate. The main character ends up with “lifetime passes to the park,” just like she planned. She doesn’t get them because one of her elderly charges dies in the park, though; she gets them because one of her “friends,” Berke, is thrown from a rollercoaster by way of a selfie stick he smuggled into the park.
The messages at the heart of the work are a bit basic and cliché (time is the most important thing we have, the elderly have lessons to teach and love to give, surround yourself with folks that really care about you, etc etc). They’re still positive messages, though, and they’re delivered in a way that isn’t offensively saccharine.
I enjoyed the art style of the work; to me, it read like a western comic with a dash of manga inspiration (specifically with regards to the eyes and facial expressions).

What Didn’t Work For Me:

The work is a little slow to get started; bringing a senior to the park doesn’t really come into the story until over 1/3 of the way through. On a related note, I found the park being an obvious analog for Disney “meh.” Though it allowed for a deeper dive into a “Disney Adult” (specifically, Nikki) it also meant that the first third of the work was spent fleshing out the layout and lore of the part. This is somewhat justified later in the work since it is revealed that Mrs. Adler was the wife of the builder responsible for the park, but it still felt like a “long walk” to get to the heart of the work.
Jackie’s friend group (that is, her friends her age) more-or-less disappear throughout the middle of the work. I understand why; time needed to be given to Mrs. Adler. Ultimately, I was left wondering whether the ensemble cast needed to be as large it was.
[nit-pick] There’s a panel where the protagonist appears to chew on the writing end of a pen. Though this is clearly not what the artist or author intended, it was such a strange oversight it took me out of the story for a moment.
[nit-pick] I wish the older members of the cast had more flaws; it’d help them feel a bit more human. The closest we get is Mrs. Adler wanting to empty her deceased husband’s ashes into a river at the park. Maybe it’s my own biases talking, but I’ve met plenty of elderly people who were incredibly bigoted and closed-minded. I am listing this as a nit-pick because Lifetime Passes already tackles a number of difficult subjects (and also, old people can be shitty, too would run contrary to the narrative’s central message).

Conclusion:

If you want a YA graphic novel that isn’t afraid to tackle difficult topics, Lifetime Passes may be right up your alley. The fact that it has a dark (but not gallows) sense of humor is an added bonus. The work isn’t perfect: it drags in the first third and Jackie’s friend group more-or-less disappears throughout the middle of the work. With that being said, the work ends up being both funny and life-affirming. The fact that it does this without being too preachy or saccharine is a real treat.

Check it out here.