Lighthouse #3 Shining the Light on Paranoid Gardens

Lighthouse #3

Shining the Light on Paranoid Gardens

‘ER’ meets ‘Doctor Who’ on acid.

Hey, Tripper here!

Lukas was nice enough to offer me this week’s Lighthouse because he knew just how excited I am for this book. Full disclosure: I am a lifelong “My Chemical Romance'' fan and will never stop. I will gladly wear that “elder emo kid” badge with pride. The group's music spoke to me and so many others in my generation at just the right moment of the transition into our teenage years. I eventually stumbled onto interviews with the band members and found out that the lead-singer, Gerard Way, was an unapologetic comic book geek. From there, my love and appreciation of the group’s music – and more specifically Way’s artistic output – has been an almost daily companion to me.

What does this whole backstory of me still being stuck in a teenage angst phase into adulthood have to do with Paranoid Gardens? Well, I am happy to report that Gerard Way is back to writing comics and that this new series already has me hooked and wanting the next issue now.

The best way I have seen the series described is “a surreal comic book experience that’s ‘ER’ meets ‘Doctor Who’ on acid.” We’re following Loo, a nurse at a rather odd nursing home with no recollection of who she is. What makes the nursing home… Odd is that the staff and residence range from the apparently normal Loo to ghosts, aliens, creatures, superheroes, and everything else imaginable. A new resident comes into the home that appears to know Loo and that she might be forgetting a rather dark past. The first issue already has a fantastically weird setting that really sells the feeling of mystery that surrounds Loo.

Way is no stranger to the world of comics with his hit “Umbrella Academy” series to headlining his own imprint at DC Comics’ Young Animal series of titles. Paranoid Gardens teams Way back with Shaun Simon from their “The Truth Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys” series. The pair are a great blend together, Way brings their lyrical style of dialogue to the title and Simon balances the absurdity with moments of personal connection. 

The art team of penciler Chris Weston (“The Filth”) and colorist Dave Stewart (way too many projects to list but one of the best in the industry) help to sell Way and Simon’s story with some of the oddest-looking characters and creatures I have seen in a while. Nate Piekos letters the issue where each lyrically crafted phrase moves from word balloon to word balloon. The whole book feels like that golden-age of Vertigo titles from the mid-90s, which is both an era I adore as well as an era that clearly informed Way’s appreciation for comics.

If you are a Gerard Way comic fan, I can tell you will enjoy this series. If you are looking for something really out of the ordinary to add to your weekly comics, this one will definitely fill that hole for you. I can tell you that having read the first issue this weekend, it is still sticking with me as I am writing this on Monday morning (some of the panels themselves I can pull right to the front of my memory without looking at the book next to me). The first issue is in store this Wednesday for $4.99 and comes with my highest recommendation.

Thanks for reading this Lighthouse from me. Hope to see you all here this week for all of your comic goodness.

Save the world, read comics!

Tripper