Book Review

Heavy Vinyl by Carla Usdin

Heavy Vinyl is a comic book series set in New Jersey in 1998. The premise is that four teens/young women run a record store and fight crime. If that doesn’t make you stop reading this review and one-click immediately, then you are dead to me. For a few minutes, at least.

The central protagonist is Chris, a new employee at Vinyl Destination. She has a crush on her coworker, Maggie, but is afraid to tell her. Both of them are in high school. A coworker, Dolores, is the “resident goth.” She is Latina and in college. Kennedy is dating a guy who works at a comic book shop, and the boss, Irene, is in a relationship with a black woman (her partner is unnamed, though Irene has a brief conversation with her in backstory). Chris describes her as, “a very cool adult.”

Anyway, Vinyl Destination is a very cool store, free of the snobbery that sometimes afflicts record stores (I’m looking at you, High Fidelity). However, it’s even cooler when the staff reveals to Chris that they are crime fighters who train in the basement as a “Secret Teen Girl Vigilante Fight Club.” They have a missing singer to find, and they want Chris to join the group. It’s wish fulfillment and girl power at its very best.

Sample page of the comic showing each character in the store, a woman with short dark hair in dark clothing, a blonde woman with blue eyes and a smile, a black woman with a pink headband, a redhead with a bob haircut I (sarah) with I could pull off, and an older woman in a backwards cap looking somewhat grumpy

As the story progresses, Chris wrestles with figuring out who she is and where she belongs. She’s comfortable with her sexual orientation, but she’s too shy to ask Maggie out and she’s MUCH too shy to ask Maggie about Maggie’s orientation. This leaves Chris trying to guess about Maggie in the most awkward and relatable way. Chris wants to fit in at the store and she wants to have a sense of purpose. She uses music as a way to figure herself out, which makes her especially outraged at corporate interference with music. She’s super gawky and awkward and relatable.

The storyline is playful and full of puzzles, action, corporate plots, and music references. The colors are fun and bright, and the dialogue is great – especially if you came of age during the 1990’s. Lines like the ones below are much more funny in context but even by themselves they give you a sense that these people consume a lot of caffeine:

“Fighting the Patriarchy is great! You should try it sometime!”

“Let’s fire up the World Wide Web!”

“Check us out doing normal everyday things to boxes!”

“Let’s just say Shirley Manson owes Irene a huge favor.”

The first four issues are collected in a trade paperback if, like me, you prefer to binge rather than read one issue at a time. It’s fun, it’s feminist, and it’s diverse in terms of sexuality and race. Its playful girl power energy is infectious. Also, the music references are to die for, especially the conversation about the Spice Girls in Issue #2. This is appropriate for readers of any age and those of us from the Empire Records era will eat it up. The trade has a playlist featuring women like Bjork and Poe and Lauryn Hill. Enjoy.

Postscript: this series started off with the name “Hi-Fi Fight Club” and the store was “Vinyl Mayhem.” The name change was announced for the final issue, and, according to co-creator Carly Usdin, “offered us more options as we began to explore opportunities beyond the comics.”  Hmmmm. I am intrigued and will stay tuned for more!

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Heavy Vinyl by Carly Usdin

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  1. Failed Indie says:

    Thanks so much for this review! Sounds like just the ticket to fill the void in my heart left by Patsy Walker AKA Hellcat (RIP), and alongside Squirrel Girl. <3

  2. Emily C says:

    “Vinyl Destination”- I get it I love it!
    My daughter (who is 8) loves graphic novels (kid appropriate series with kickass girls) and I’ve never quite found something I connected with enough to get into at an adult level. Enter your review, Carrie- 90s teens, record store, secret crime fighters and Lauryn Hill references – click and click!

  3. Briana says:

    How does it compare to Lumberjanes, which my fave 15 year-old adores? I feel like she’d like this one too….

  4. Darlynne says:

    Sold. Thank you.

  5. Claudia says:

    I one clicked (rented) this after the second sentence. Ah! So excited to read this!

  6. AmyB says:

    I just borrowed this through Hoopla. Thanks for the review!

  7. CarrieS says:

    Regarding age-appropriateness and Lumberjanes – BOOM! seems to have a template which just happens to be the template of my dreams , which involves similarly structured groups doing different things. So Lumberjanes involves diverse scrappy girls having adventures at camp. The Backstagers involves diverse scrappy highschool boys having adventures in the theater (which naturally has a magical backstage area). Misfit City is diverse scrappy 20-ish-old women having adventures Goonies style in a coastal town, and Heavy Vinyl is diverse scrappy teens aged 17- 20 having adventures involving a record store. That is to say – they are all rated no more than PG in my opinion and if you love one you will love them all (the template is similar but the adventures are different so hey don’t get repetitive).

  8. Briana says:

    Thanks, CarrieS! I appreciate it. I’ve noted Misfit City down for her – I think another rec from you – as well. I’ll probably pick some up for her and let her try them out.

  9. Jennifer in GA says:

    BOOM! Publications have almost become an auto-buy for me. They are putting out good stuff consistently. This sounds so good!

  10. Lisa F says:

    I’ve read this! It’s definitely adorable and worth grabbing if you can!

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