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Local
From Brian Wood (DEMO, DMZ, NORTHLANDERS) and Ryan Kelly (LUCIFER, AMERICA VIRGIN) comes Local, a collection of twelve interconnected short stories. Crossing genres as it crosses the country, LOCAL examines Megan McKeenan, a young woman who sets off from Portland, OR with nothing but a backpack and a bad case of wanderlust. Each emotional vignette is a self-contained story that represents one year in the life of this young vagabond as she struggles to find a place to call home, both physically and spiritually.
376 pages, Hardcover
First published September 17, 2008
25 people are currently reading
3619 people want to read
About the author
Brian Wood
1,171 books962 followersBrian Wood's history of published work includes over fifty volumes of genre-spanning original material.
From the 1500-page future war epic DMZ, the ecological disaster series The Massive, the American crime drama Briggs Land, and the groundbreaking lo-fi dystopia Channel Zero he has a 20-year track record of marrying thoughtful world-building and political commentary with compelling and diverse characters.
His YA novels - Demo, Local, The New York Four, and Mara - have made YALSA and New York Public Library best-of lists. His historical fiction - the viking series Northlanders, the American Revolution-centered Rebels, and the norse-samurai mashup Sword Daughter - are benchmarks in the comic book industry.
He's written some of the biggest franchises in pop culture, including Star Wars, Terminator, RoboCop, Conan The Barbarian, Robotech, and Planet Of The Apes. He’s written number-one-selling series for Marvel Comics. And he’s created and written multiple canonical stories for the Aliens universe, including the Zula Hendricks character.
From the 1500-page future war epic DMZ, the ecological disaster series The Massive, the American crime drama Briggs Land, and the groundbreaking lo-fi dystopia Channel Zero he has a 20-year track record of marrying thoughtful world-building and political commentary with compelling and diverse characters.
His YA novels - Demo, Local, The New York Four, and Mara - have made YALSA and New York Public Library best-of lists. His historical fiction - the viking series Northlanders, the American Revolution-centered Rebels, and the norse-samurai mashup Sword Daughter - are benchmarks in the comic book industry.
He's written some of the biggest franchises in pop culture, including Star Wars, Terminator, RoboCop, Conan The Barbarian, Robotech, and Planet Of The Apes. He’s written number-one-selling series for Marvel Comics. And he’s created and written multiple canonical stories for the Aliens universe, including the Zula Hendricks character.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 296 reviews
June 13, 2009
First, this novel is a pleasure to look at and hold. So well packaged. I read this in one sitting, I enjoyed it like an indie movie, but it was really reading the artist/writer entries at the back that led me to re-read it and appreciate it on a whole different level. I am beginning to really love the innovation and freedom of narrative that is possible with the graphic novel genre. This is a great entry for my shelf of keepers!
May 12, 2013
Local is a collection of 12 disjointed stories about (or in some way related to) the central character, Megan McKeenan. She’s not always a likeable character. She abandons people. She doesn’t appreciate her family. She lies to strangers to entertain herself or to escape or just out of boredom-it’s not clear.
Taken one story at a time, at first it doesn’t add up to much. But what you get at the end is a picture of a girl’s life, things that happened to her, mistakes she made, and how she ultimately improved her life.
It made me reflect on my own family and life - childhood, high school, college life, the various places I lived, falling in love, buying a house - all of them invaluable experiences, for what I learned and for what I gained.
Life is a random stream of events that we often have little control over so when you do end up with, to put it simply, happiness, you find yourself thankful for everything that led up to that point. And other times you just have to enjoy the ride.
CHAPTERS (single issues)
1) Portland, OR: Ten Thousand Thoughts Per Second - Megan leaves home, a lame boyfriend, and her car behind. Overall, a great and promising start.
2) Minneapolis, MN: Polaroid Boyfriend – Megan plays a possibly dangerous game with a stranger, leaving her apartment key out so he can get inside and trade polaroids of himself with her.
3) Richmond, VA: Theories and Defensess – A local band returns home after breaking up and has to adjust to life again.
4) Missoula, MT: Two Brothers – Megan gets carjacked and witnesses family drama and violence between brothers.
5) Halifax, Nova Scotia: The Last Lonely Days at the Oxford Theatre – Megan deals with loneliness and boredom while working at a theatre (which is showing Jane Campion’s Holy Smoke).
6) Brooklyn, NY: Megan and Gloria, Apartment 5A – Who’s got more issues, Megan or her OCD-afflicted roommate?
7) Tempe, AZ: Hazardous Youth – Nicky, Megan’s cousin, generally gets himself into trouble.
8) Chicago, IL: Food as Substitute – Megan has to choose between her sweet but poor boyfriend and a wealthy customer who promises a better life for her.
9) Norman, OK: Wish You Were Here – Megan finds out her mother has died and reflects on their relationship. Very touching.
10) Austin, TX: Bar Crawl – Matt, Megan’s brother, deals with his anger towards his mother and the behavior he inherited from his father.
11) Toronto, ON: The Younger Generation – A co-worker steals some of Megan’s belongings and puts them in an art show, making Megan reflect on her past experiences.
12) Uncredited city, Vermont: The House that Megan Built – Megan finds her home.
This isn't representative of the inside art but I had to include it because it shows Powell's, my favorite bookstore in Portland!
December 26, 2024
Separate stories that come together at the end!
November 4, 2020
I read Local quickly. It was supremely riveting, and I wanted to be finished. It's brilliant and disturbing.
Local contains 12 separate but interrelated stories with one character in common, Megan. In each story, she's either central or tangential. I wondered if Megan was based on a real person. I read later on, she wasn't. She felt real. The stories felt real.
I was an outsider looking in (to Megan's life), much akin to watching a film. My life barely touches the edges of hers. Although, I'm not without my own tribulations, I felt so ordinary in comparison. Yet, I kind of get it, from some of the characters in my life, circa 1990s. Those people I knew seemed to be Megan wannabes.
What drew the book together for me was how each chapter was based in a different city and ended with writer/illustrator notes, topped with a play list (!). Cities. Author notes. Music. These are a few of my favorite things.
I loved recognizing some city landmarks and scenes, especially Chicago! From Local's beginning, I wondered if Madison - my home city - would win a chapter. I suspected it wouldn't. But wait, Megan is from Madison! That is, unless she was lying. She lies a lot.
Madison is also referenced in one author's note. Another note apologizes to Ann Arbor for being an overlooked location. Really? C'mon now! Madison would've been a better choice. Ann Arbor is mellow, comparatively , if only in my mind.
The end of each note by Brian Wood, writer, and Ryan Kelly, illustrator, was crowned with a soundtrack. Just my cup of tea. I know quite a few of the songs. Happier songs, more accurately, those that are not deeply moody, are more my style. I'm uncool like that. I never delved deeply into punk. I'm not the angry sort. I did love the Minutemen. Still do.
I'd say, it would be best to read each note after its accompanying story. I wish I would've known. Ah, well.
Initially, I wanted this book out of my house as quickly as possible. Foreboding outweighed intrigue. Now I want it to hang around I'm thinking of keeping it until the library says it's due. I'd like to set up the soundtracks and give them a listen. Perhaps, while I read along.... After that, I might need to crank this rating up to 5 stars.
Local contains 12 separate but interrelated stories with one character in common, Megan. In each story, she's either central or tangential. I wondered if Megan was based on a real person. I read later on, she wasn't. She felt real. The stories felt real.
I was an outsider looking in (to Megan's life), much akin to watching a film. My life barely touches the edges of hers. Although, I'm not without my own tribulations, I felt so ordinary in comparison. Yet, I kind of get it, from some of the characters in my life, circa 1990s. Those people I knew seemed to be Megan wannabes.
What drew the book together for me was how each chapter was based in a different city and ended with writer/illustrator notes, topped with a play list (!). Cities. Author notes. Music. These are a few of my favorite things.
I loved recognizing some city landmarks and scenes, especially Chicago! From Local's beginning, I wondered if Madison - my home city - would win a chapter. I suspected it wouldn't. But wait, Megan is from Madison! That is, unless she was lying. She lies a lot.
Madison is also referenced in one author's note. Another note apologizes to Ann Arbor for being an overlooked location. Really? C'mon now! Madison would've been a better choice. Ann Arbor is mellow, comparatively , if only in my mind.
The end of each note by Brian Wood, writer, and Ryan Kelly, illustrator, was crowned with a soundtrack. Just my cup of tea. I know quite a few of the songs. Happier songs, more accurately, those that are not deeply moody, are more my style. I'm uncool like that. I never delved deeply into punk. I'm not the angry sort. I did love the Minutemen. Still do.
I'd say, it would be best to read each note after its accompanying story. I wish I would've known. Ah, well.
Initially, I wanted this book out of my house as quickly as possible. Foreboding outweighed intrigue. Now I want it to hang around I'm thinking of keeping it until the library says it's due. I'd like to set up the soundtracks and give them a listen. Perhaps, while I read along.... After that, I might need to crank this rating up to 5 stars.
July 20, 2009
Most peoples' perception of the opposite sex are pretty damn flawed. There's really only three kinds of people anyone really deals with, the people who you're attracted to, the people who are attracted to you, and the people thrown your way by circumstances (coworkers, churches, book groups, etc). This is hardly a scientific cross sample of anything, but people base their perceptions around such data.
Much has been said about the sort of capricious girls some men find eternally screwing with their lives. On one end of the spectrum are girls like Natalie Portman in "Garden State", a girl who comes into some uptight guy's life and loosens him up like he's been through a Rodney Dangerfield movie.
On the other end of the spectrum are characters like Kate from Lost, who seem like overcharged nightmares who will most likely leave you dead in a ditch on fire.
I think what I'm suggesting is that men don't know crap about the opposite sex as a whole. Or to be more accurate, people don't know crap about people by in large. It's kind of impossible to have that kind of granular understanding of 51% of the population, let alone people in general.
Watch a stand up comedian do a bit about the differences between men and women and you'll see the sort of distorted perception I'm talking about.
I bring all this up because it's what comes to mind reading Brian Wood's "Local", a series of short stories all relating to a girl named Megan, a capricious girl constantly on the move trying to find a way to get her life in order. She falls somewhere in the center of the two stereotypes, which is nice.
Brian Wood usually impresses me. "DMZ" is a consistently interesting take on our extremely divided culture, and as a whole he's done a lot to advance the non-superhero realm of comics, which is what I'm usually hunting for at the Barnes and Noble. The trouble with "Local" for all it's empathy is that it feels like an outside perspective no matter how much it tries to get into Megan's head.
It's a sketch of a girl, someone trying to make sense of a force that has passed through the lives of a certain kind of man. I can't tell if it's an amalgamation of girls, or based on a specific person, but it definitely doesn't feel like Wood conjured Megan out of thing air.
I was frustrated by the book because it seemed like it just couldn't reach the heart of the matter, but it gets points for trying. I'd still rather read stories like this than pick up the latest violent soap opera about men in tights any day.
Much has been said about the sort of capricious girls some men find eternally screwing with their lives. On one end of the spectrum are girls like Natalie Portman in "Garden State", a girl who comes into some uptight guy's life and loosens him up like he's been through a Rodney Dangerfield movie.
On the other end of the spectrum are characters like Kate from Lost, who seem like overcharged nightmares who will most likely leave you dead in a ditch on fire.
I think what I'm suggesting is that men don't know crap about the opposite sex as a whole. Or to be more accurate, people don't know crap about people by in large. It's kind of impossible to have that kind of granular understanding of 51% of the population, let alone people in general.
Watch a stand up comedian do a bit about the differences between men and women and you'll see the sort of distorted perception I'm talking about.
I bring all this up because it's what comes to mind reading Brian Wood's "Local", a series of short stories all relating to a girl named Megan, a capricious girl constantly on the move trying to find a way to get her life in order. She falls somewhere in the center of the two stereotypes, which is nice.
Brian Wood usually impresses me. "DMZ" is a consistently interesting take on our extremely divided culture, and as a whole he's done a lot to advance the non-superhero realm of comics, which is what I'm usually hunting for at the Barnes and Noble. The trouble with "Local" for all it's empathy is that it feels like an outside perspective no matter how much it tries to get into Megan's head.
It's a sketch of a girl, someone trying to make sense of a force that has passed through the lives of a certain kind of man. I can't tell if it's an amalgamation of girls, or based on a specific person, but it definitely doesn't feel like Wood conjured Megan out of thing air.
I was frustrated by the book because it seemed like it just couldn't reach the heart of the matter, but it gets points for trying. I'd still rather read stories like this than pick up the latest violent soap opera about men in tights any day.
August 5, 2017
I wanted to take a day to reflect. This was a BIG story with single stories for each chapter and all connecting at the very end. Megan is a drifter. That means she travels from city to city to try and find her place. Find people she can connect to. You start off with a story of her and the current boy she'd dating and how he wants her to do something illegal and score him drugs. Then you flip to a story about a stalker who she begins to somewhat fall for. Then we jump into a time when she was helping a guy broken down on the side of the road and turns into a brawl with a lot of shooting and killing.
We keep jumping in every story. Megan gets older, but we get insight on each year of her life. A story that hits her hard and molds her to someone. To a person she is now at the end. It's amazing how these disconnected individual stories somehow come all together and hit you hard. Things that you don't expect to come back do and sometimes stories seem useless but matter in the long run.
What I liked: The art is amazing! I really enjoyed that part of it. I also loved 5 or 6 of the stories, enjoyed the rest aswell. It's hard to have every story connect to me. Megan is a interesting character. Brian Wood doesn't paint her as a "great" or "wonderful" or "Flawless" character but you can also understand her ways. The mistrust, the loss of love, the hatred she holds. It makes her truly remarkable. I also liked Nick a lot.
What I didn't like: Wish we had another chapter or two on Nick. This wasn't his story but I would have taken another of him. He was interesting. I also wasn't feeling the musician story. That was the only one I didn't really care for.
I really liked Local. I think it's one of the better stories told. I was thinking of going with a 4 but it's closer to a 4.5. The negatives really didn't impact me much at all. So I'ma give it a 5 star because I think it's a gutsy story with a lot of heart and while I think it has a couple of issues it's very very very much worth reading.
We keep jumping in every story. Megan gets older, but we get insight on each year of her life. A story that hits her hard and molds her to someone. To a person she is now at the end. It's amazing how these disconnected individual stories somehow come all together and hit you hard. Things that you don't expect to come back do and sometimes stories seem useless but matter in the long run.
What I liked: The art is amazing! I really enjoyed that part of it. I also loved 5 or 6 of the stories, enjoyed the rest aswell. It's hard to have every story connect to me. Megan is a interesting character. Brian Wood doesn't paint her as a "great" or "wonderful" or "Flawless" character but you can also understand her ways. The mistrust, the loss of love, the hatred she holds. It makes her truly remarkable. I also liked Nick a lot.
What I didn't like: Wish we had another chapter or two on Nick. This wasn't his story but I would have taken another of him. He was interesting. I also wasn't feeling the musician story. That was the only one I didn't really care for.
I really liked Local. I think it's one of the better stories told. I was thinking of going with a 4 but it's closer to a 4.5. The negatives really didn't impact me much at all. So I'ma give it a 5 star because I think it's a gutsy story with a lot of heart and while I think it has a couple of issues it's very very very much worth reading.
April 13, 2014
12 separate stories, stand alone stories, but now linked in the collection, all about a girl who leaves Portland to find herself in different cities and we get Ryan Kelly's great art depicting her in various ways in these places, and each story is a year from her life… I won't write a long review because I just read Raina's and agree with it, and it is more thorough, but I also was disappointed it kinda gets wrapped up in the way it does, and I also liked the really edgy ones.
January 14, 2024
This is a very interesting set of interconnected stories, all of which speak to identity, and both running away from yourself and finding yourself. The art is fantastic. The level of detail is stunning. I like that there isn't anything out there quite like this.
July 23, 2016
Brilliant. Brian Wood tells the story of Megan McKeenan, a drifter and generally lost woman in her twenties who experiences the loneliness and existential angst that many of my generation have (and others, too, obviously). We just don't know what to do with ourselves, how to act, where to go, and sometimes we lose it. Megan drifts aimlessly and makes a series of impulsive decisions which usually end badly, and instead of dealing with the consequences in a mature and adult fashion, she bails time and again. While not entirely humorless, it's a generally bleak and dramatic portrayal of life in the Americas for someone who is ill-equipped to just deal with life. And I enjoyed it not only because it's so incredibly well told and realistic, and Ryan Kelly's stark black and white illustrations are stunning, but because I know where Megan is coming from.
Highly recommended for fans of Brian Wood, indie comics, and biographical comics.
April 26, 2011
Local is mostly the story of Megan McKeenan and her insatiable wanderlust. Each of the 12 stories collected here is set in a different city as she travels around, taking meaningless jobs, hooking up with guys, maybe-almost falling in love, reminiscing about her past, and trying (sometimes successfully, sometimes not) to stay one step ahead of herself. Along the way, she gets into all kinds of trouble and makes a lot of stupid decisions. Basically, this book is like an ode to the nightmare that is (or was) your 20s, and it is painfully accurate at times. The fact that it was written by a guy (Brian Wood) is both disturbing and amazing.
Although I liked the words and (most of) the stories, I was really knocked out by Ryan Kelly's artwork. He draws in a way that is gritty, realistic, and beautiful. I could (and did) stare at some of the images for much longer than was necessary. Without Kelly's drawings, Brian Wood's writing wouldn't pack much of a punch. But the combination was often overwhelming in the best possible way.
Of the 12 stories collected here, I genuinely enjoyed 10 of them. My favorites are “Ten Thousand Thoughts Per Second” (which has a fun Run Lola Run structure), “Polaroid Boyfriend” (a dark but also incredibly sweet little romance), “Wish You Were Here” (all about the pain of realizing that you really can't go home again), and “The House that Megan Built” (the culmination of her bittersweet evolution).
At the very end, Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly talk about the making of each story and even give a playlist of the music they were listening to while creating each one. But, for me, that was just the icing on an already delicious cake.
Although I liked the words and (most of) the stories, I was really knocked out by Ryan Kelly's artwork. He draws in a way that is gritty, realistic, and beautiful. I could (and did) stare at some of the images for much longer than was necessary. Without Kelly's drawings, Brian Wood's writing wouldn't pack much of a punch. But the combination was often overwhelming in the best possible way.
Of the 12 stories collected here, I genuinely enjoyed 10 of them. My favorites are “Ten Thousand Thoughts Per Second” (which has a fun Run Lola Run structure), “Polaroid Boyfriend” (a dark but also incredibly sweet little romance), “Wish You Were Here” (all about the pain of realizing that you really can't go home again), and “The House that Megan Built” (the culmination of her bittersweet evolution).
At the very end, Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly talk about the making of each story and even give a playlist of the music they were listening to while creating each one. But, for me, that was just the icing on an already delicious cake.
June 12, 2010
I took my time reading this one, as I tend to go through graphic novels much too quickly. The first story really drew me in - a bit like "Choose Your Own Adventure" genre with all the possible outcomes and scenarios of one single action - as you meet Megan McKinnen, the young main character of the book. There are 12 issues in this volume, gathered together to show 12 localities where Megan travels or has a connection to. The cities and towns span the US and Canada. Some of her experiences are harrowing and violent, while others are cute and interesting. Megan is on a journey, and the reader is right along with her. You watch her mature and age with each new locale. In the last couple of issues, the story begins to fall into place and it culminates in the final small town Vermont when Megan returns to her family home.
Visually stunning, impressive dialogue and emotion conveyed through the drawings and words - it's quite a piece of literature. I like the approach that the authors took with exploring the continent as well as exploring a life.
Visually stunning, impressive dialogue and emotion conveyed through the drawings and words - it's quite a piece of literature. I like the approach that the authors took with exploring the continent as well as exploring a life.
September 24, 2008
A beautiful, oversize collection of the 12-issue comics series by writer Brian Wood and artist Ryan Kelly. The conceit behind "Local" is that each issue represents a year (from roughly 2004 to 2006) and each highlights a different North American city. It also becomes -- almost accidentally, it seems -- the story of Megan, who slowly grows from a teenage runaway into an adult. We see how she changes with every place and watch her interact with (or just as often, avoid interacting with) new people in every location. Many of these stories, on their own, might feel a little slight. Taken together, they build into a surprisingly powerful experience.
April 26, 2018
The stories feature more that one protagonist, but are ultimately centered on Megan, a girl that runs away from home to live an unfettered life for over a decade. She only feels the pull home after her mother dies. At this point she realizes what her experiences - some happy, some tragic - have given her. She doesn't regret her past because it has helped to make her grow. In the end she comes full circle, but she does so on her own terms.
Megan is a young woman trying to help her boyfriend obtain so drugs from a pharmacy by using a forged prescription. The pharmacist sees through the fake, so the girl is forced to try again. Eventually she decides that she needs to get away from the dead-beat boyfriend and start anew.
She starts a relationship with a guy she barely knows by exchanging polaroid photos of each other. They never meet each other, but the guy becomes threatening when she ignores him for a few days. Still, their first proper meeting goes well.
A famous band has decided to split up and return home. The extensive captions are from an interview with the lead musician and they are quite fun to read. Megan is a fan, but her role here is minor. He story focuses on the retired artist, how he views himself, his experiences and his future.
Megan gets between two brothers who hate each other. One of them needs the other to sign off on some papers that will make him executor of their father's belongings. It turns out he killed their father and the talk with his brother ends up with him losing the control over himself that he values so much. He kills his brother and then shoots himself.
Megan is working at a cinema ticket booth. She assumes several names and hassles the customers with a made-up past. It all comes to a head when she is confronted by a guy who is interested in her, but she has already assumed another identity and rejects him. Even she becomes confused as to her identity when she is asked for her name. Ultimately she decides to leave town.
Megan moves in with Gloria, a nurse. Their relationship is cold and Megan suspects Gloria suffers from OCD when she leaves town for a few days. Before leaving Gloria sticks dozens of notes detailing ordinary tasks like using toilet paper or opening a cabinet. This upsets Megan until one of Gloria's colleagues from work reveals that Gloria thinks her roommate is nice. Megan decides to skip town again.
Megan has a brother named Nicky, a young man has strayed from the straight path in favor of violence, drinking and drug abuse. His end is unpleasant.
As a restaurant waitress, Megan seems to finally be in her element. She has a boyfriend and is earning good tips, especially from one customer who seems interested in her. The boyfriend is a bit of a deadbeat student type, so Megan gets closer to the the customer. Even though their relationship starts off well, she doesn't feel right and returns to the student.
Megan finds that her mother died. This triggers memories of her time at home. Megan needed her space, so she ran farther and farther away from home, unsure where to and always afraid her mother would freak out. Instead, her mother supported her. Megan loves her freedom, but she is still afraid in the back of her mind of ending up chained to her family like her mother did.
His mother's death hits Megan's brother pretty hard. He also ran away from home, but his relationship with his family was distincly worse than Megan's.
A secretary from Megan's work is an art student who steals stuff from wherever she goes, in search of something unique for her art exhibition. She invites her colleagues, including Megan, to her exhibition that is centered on objects she stole from Megan. While initially upset at this invasion of her privacy, Megan decides that her memories are the more important thing for her and allows her colleague to keep her belongings.
Megan moves into her family's house again. Her past experiences come back to haunt her in visions of her brothers, her former boyfriends and finally her mother. In the end Megan realizes that moving from place to place, meeting all those people and settling down back home were all her choices, not something she was forced into by circumstance. That was the thing her mother never had and it is her mother's gift to her.
Megan is a young woman trying to help her boyfriend obtain so drugs from a pharmacy by using a forged prescription. The pharmacist sees through the fake, so the girl is forced to try again. Eventually she decides that she needs to get away from the dead-beat boyfriend and start anew.
She starts a relationship with a guy she barely knows by exchanging polaroid photos of each other. They never meet each other, but the guy becomes threatening when she ignores him for a few days. Still, their first proper meeting goes well.
A famous band has decided to split up and return home. The extensive captions are from an interview with the lead musician and they are quite fun to read. Megan is a fan, but her role here is minor. He story focuses on the retired artist, how he views himself, his experiences and his future.
Megan gets between two brothers who hate each other. One of them needs the other to sign off on some papers that will make him executor of their father's belongings. It turns out he killed their father and the talk with his brother ends up with him losing the control over himself that he values so much. He kills his brother and then shoots himself.
Megan is working at a cinema ticket booth. She assumes several names and hassles the customers with a made-up past. It all comes to a head when she is confronted by a guy who is interested in her, but she has already assumed another identity and rejects him. Even she becomes confused as to her identity when she is asked for her name. Ultimately she decides to leave town.
Megan moves in with Gloria, a nurse. Their relationship is cold and Megan suspects Gloria suffers from OCD when she leaves town for a few days. Before leaving Gloria sticks dozens of notes detailing ordinary tasks like using toilet paper or opening a cabinet. This upsets Megan until one of Gloria's colleagues from work reveals that Gloria thinks her roommate is nice. Megan decides to skip town again.
Megan has a brother named Nicky, a young man has strayed from the straight path in favor of violence, drinking and drug abuse. His end is unpleasant.
As a restaurant waitress, Megan seems to finally be in her element. She has a boyfriend and is earning good tips, especially from one customer who seems interested in her. The boyfriend is a bit of a deadbeat student type, so Megan gets closer to the the customer. Even though their relationship starts off well, she doesn't feel right and returns to the student.
Megan finds that her mother died. This triggers memories of her time at home. Megan needed her space, so she ran farther and farther away from home, unsure where to and always afraid her mother would freak out. Instead, her mother supported her. Megan loves her freedom, but she is still afraid in the back of her mind of ending up chained to her family like her mother did.
His mother's death hits Megan's brother pretty hard. He also ran away from home, but his relationship with his family was distincly worse than Megan's.
A secretary from Megan's work is an art student who steals stuff from wherever she goes, in search of something unique for her art exhibition. She invites her colleagues, including Megan, to her exhibition that is centered on objects she stole from Megan. While initially upset at this invasion of her privacy, Megan decides that her memories are the more important thing for her and allows her colleague to keep her belongings.
Megan moves into her family's house again. Her past experiences come back to haunt her in visions of her brothers, her former boyfriends and finally her mother. In the end Megan realizes that moving from place to place, meeting all those people and settling down back home were all her choices, not something she was forced into by circumstance. That was the thing her mother never had and it is her mother's gift to her.
September 10, 2019
After little disconcerting comics Demo, I found the courage to read another black and white indie comics from my favourite Brian Wood. Thanks to gods this time is the experience different. Megan drifted from home in her late teen years. She's not a very likeable character (at first), and she usually copes with her issues by running away, so she's spending her years by drifting from town to town. But Local is not only about Megan. it consists of twelve standalone stories, common people stories, the local tales. Some of them are Megan's tale (especially later on) and in some of them, Meagan is only a side character, mention or passerby. The stores are very "existential", sometimes quite meta (a story within a story...) but every time with great characters. Not necessary likeable characters - the world of Local is hardly black and white even if it is in the black and white artform. And that's great. It feels lively, real even if it doesn't look like that visually. Don't get me wrong, the art is great (and I'm not a B&W fan, I usually miss the colouring) and brings a great deal of atmosphere to the reading, not mentioning about technically splendid scenes and work with panels. Nothing creative, but you can't get there if you want to stay civil, normal, real. Local is great comics. Wood and Kelly, Kelly and Wood created great stuff here. And 40 extra pages with sketches but importantly with comments (and music tips) from Wood and Kelly to every each issue, which are both informative and funny. Local is a great civil comics book.
July 9, 2011
What a gorgeous piece of work. Slices of life from all over North America, covering a dozen years. The binding is notably artful and there are liner notes in the back. I find myself wanting to open the book to a random page and just stare forever. The edgy realism is just breathtaking. This is the kind of sequential art I would frame and put up on my wall (obvious shout-out to Ryan Kelly). I particularly enjoyed the vignettes which were a touch twisted - Polaroid Boyfriend; The Last Lonely Days at the Oxford Theatre; Megan and Gloria, Apartment 5A; and The Younger Generation. I gloried in taking this out to lunch and even took a picture of my table one day featuring the "big big comic book" I checked out from my library.
I was convinced I needed to own this blissfully fantastic thing*.
And then I got to #12.
I hated it. I hated that the stories were "wrapped up" and not left to their disparate selves. I hated that there were lessons that were made explicit. I hated the magical realism elements. I was so disappointed.
So now I'm left trying to decide if I will purchase this after all. I think I'll put it on a wish list and see if I get it as a gift. And maybe I just need to reread the last chapter (or the whole dang thing). Maybe I'll change my mind.
But for now, it's losing a star.
*And let me tell you, I almost never buy books anymore.
I was convinced I needed to own this blissfully fantastic thing*.
And then I got to #12.
I hated it. I hated that the stories were "wrapped up" and not left to their disparate selves. I hated that there were lessons that were made explicit. I hated the magical realism elements. I was so disappointed.
So now I'm left trying to decide if I will purchase this after all. I think I'll put it on a wish list and see if I get it as a gift. And maybe I just need to reread the last chapter (or the whole dang thing). Maybe I'll change my mind.
But for now, it's losing a star.
*And let me tell you, I almost never buy books anymore.
March 31, 2009
I am fast becoming a huge fan of Brian Wood's. Like Demo, this book is about fringe characters, those who are rootless and alienated. The main character Megan is herself rootless, a reluctant travelor who can't put down roots. It is fitting then that she is our guide to perscription drug addicts, brothers who lose it and nearly destroy their famillies, and even her own family torn apart not just by the tragic death of their mother, but of the horrible house where they grew up. Her brother is so full of rage that he tries to destroy everything in sight, Megan's response? To go and go and go. The art here while not as constantly evolving as Becky Cloonan's in Demo is still wonderful Ryan Kelly is a great artist who's work is meticoulous and detailed. You can almost see photographs in his drawings. Wood's work, while it never approaches some of the lyricism of Demo, is still incredible. Every issue is it's own universe, every character is very vivid. My favorite is the art show where we see mementos from each episode in the series shown in an art show. "What unites them is what is important." While an artist says this, the person who does know what unites them realizes they don't really mean anything. I can't wait to read Wood's next series.
September 10, 2011
This book is very nicely done, some great art, and purely in black and white. Only problem with this book is that is weights about as much as the 7th Harry Potter book, and is taller so it doesn't make for the easiest book to carry around.
This book is broken into twelve chapters and each one takes place in a different city, but the main character Megan is central to about 10 of the 12 and is in the other 2 in some way. It is telling the story of her life as she drives to figure out where she belongs, and what she should be doing. She travels from Nova Scotia and Toronto to Montana and Virginia. Covers almost all areas of Canada and the U.S. As with life, not every this is easy or smooth, and neither is the life of Megan. She struggles in almost every city she goes. Trying to fit in, and trying to find where she belongs. When reading this, I noticed the chapter titles more than the city that the chapter takes place in, but it is something that you should be paying attention to.
The book has some backup information in the back of the book, like what the the writer and artist were thinking for each chapter. After skimming it, and will read it all and probably go back and re-read this again.
This book is broken into twelve chapters and each one takes place in a different city, but the main character Megan is central to about 10 of the 12 and is in the other 2 in some way. It is telling the story of her life as she drives to figure out where she belongs, and what she should be doing. She travels from Nova Scotia and Toronto to Montana and Virginia. Covers almost all areas of Canada and the U.S. As with life, not every this is easy or smooth, and neither is the life of Megan. She struggles in almost every city she goes. Trying to fit in, and trying to find where she belongs. When reading this, I noticed the chapter titles more than the city that the chapter takes place in, but it is something that you should be paying attention to.
The book has some backup information in the back of the book, like what the the writer and artist were thinking for each chapter. After skimming it, and will read it all and probably go back and re-read this again.
October 1, 2014
Book blurb: A collection of twelve interconnected short stories. Crossing genres as it crosses the country, Local examines Megan McKeenan, a young woman who sets off from Portland, OR with nothing but a backpack and a bad case of wanderlust. Each emotional vignette is a self-contained story that represents one year in the life of this young vagabond as she struggles to find a place to call home, both physically and spiritually.
I'm not usually a fan of short stories, and though some of these stories were better than others, I really liked this graphic novel collection. The black and white art is fantastic, and wonderfully illustrates the mood and place of each story. What links these stories together is Megan - sometimes she is a really minor character - and each story represents one year in her life.
My only complaint about this collection is that it could have explored the themes of loss, travel, family, community, and identity on a deeper level, and that final story was a little too tidy in my opinion - talk about putting a bow on it! Still this is really good (but it could have been great, darn it).
I'm not usually a fan of short stories, and though some of these stories were better than others, I really liked this graphic novel collection. The black and white art is fantastic, and wonderfully illustrates the mood and place of each story. What links these stories together is Megan - sometimes she is a really minor character - and each story represents one year in her life.
My only complaint about this collection is that it could have explored the themes of loss, travel, family, community, and identity on a deeper level, and that final story was a little too tidy in my opinion - talk about putting a bow on it! Still this is really good (but it could have been great, darn it).
January 17, 2014
A collection of twelve interconnected short stories. Every chapter represents one year in the life of protagonist Megan McKeenan, from age 18 to age 30. Beautiful, beautiful stories, and with great art, too. The art truly shines in the quiet frames, particularly in the largely wordless "Polaroid Boyfriend". My other favorites are "The Last 10 Lonely Days at the Oxford Theater" and "Megan and Gloria, Apartment 5A". "Two Brothers" was a violent surprise.
October 15, 2019
The first few stories I really was not into the book. I just didn't care about this girl. The second half I liked it.
Overall very alright, it is ultimately about a lot of people that really could just use a good therapist.
Overall very alright, it is ultimately about a lot of people that really could just use a good therapist.
July 19, 2023
So I bought this dweeby "book" called The Ultimate Reading Challenge: Complete a Goal, Open an Envelope, and Reveal Your Bookish Prize! a long while back to motivate me to read more books. This makes little sense now because I've never really struggled to read. Maybe I wanted to expand my horizons? Maybe I just wanted to open cute little envelopes to find cute little stickers that I'll end up throwing away anyway? Whatever the reason, I ended up with a book of reading prompts that sat on my shelf gathering dust. Until I pulled it off of there a few days ago.
Oh my god, Natalie. What does this have to do with this book?
I'm getting to that! Right now(ish)!
One of the envelopes said to read a graphic novel. Now I will admit that this was a bit of a copout for me to start with this envelope because I've read well over a hundred graphic novels. But I was in the mood to read one. I decided to pick up Local because it's been on my shelf for a bit. And because I really need to work out, and this hefty sucker is like carrying around a five-pound dumbbell. Win-win!
Local follows our girl Megan from age 18 to 30 (with some younger year flashbacks included as well) as she tries to navigate life. I knew the second I saw this was written and illustrated by two men that the representation of young women was in good hands.
NOT.
I was actually pretty skeptical.
Turns out I waswrong not really correct.
While Megan is far more adventurous than I ever was, moving from city to city, there were still many things I found myself identifying with - toxic relationships/men, loneliness, fear, abandoning and abandonment, home, family, trying to find myself while not always liking myself. And there are plenty of young women out there who are adventurous and trying to find themselves and travel from place to place not only in their minds but geographically as well. Megan is not always perfect (or actually is usually not perfect at all, come to think of it...). She is sometimes (usually) frustrating and sometimes (usually) quite awkward. I am sometimes (usually) frustrating and awkward, too.
While Megan is not always in the forefront of the chapters/issues, she is in some way involved in each one. I enjoyed having the little breaks from following her every move and seeing her growth in other, often less obvious ways. There's a lot of good stuff in here and enough variety that I wasn't bored for even a minute. I actually had to force myself to slow down and savor the panels.
And - thank you sweet baby Jesus - Megan was represented as a normal young woman. No mega boobs. No corset looking waist. No sky-high beauty pageant hair.
Boys, you did alright.
Both the writing and artwork (oh my - there is SO much to look at) are excellent, so I'm not sure why I couldn't fully commit to the character of Megan. I enjoyed my time with her, but I'm not sure she'll be on my mind after today. I won't wonder how her 30s went. Or how her 40s are going. I wasn't moved, and I feel guilty about it. It's gotta be a "me" thing. Or maybe I'm completely wrong and will have Megan on my mind on some random gloomy day six years from now. I've been wrong before.
One last thing -
Reading Tip: Don't skip the "The Essays/Production Notes & Art" section in the back. There's all sorts of good insight and issue "soundtracks" from both Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly for each issue. If the book alone doesn't give you the vibe that a lot of heart went into this - although it should! - the notes will most certainly make sure you know.
4 Stars
Oh my god, Natalie. What does this have to do with this book?
I'm getting to that! Right now(ish)!
One of the envelopes said to read a graphic novel. Now I will admit that this was a bit of a copout for me to start with this envelope because I've read well over a hundred graphic novels. But I was in the mood to read one. I decided to pick up Local because it's been on my shelf for a bit. And because I really need to work out, and this hefty sucker is like carrying around a five-pound dumbbell. Win-win!
Local follows our girl Megan from age 18 to 30 (with some younger year flashbacks included as well) as she tries to navigate life. I knew the second I saw this was written and illustrated by two men that the representation of young women was in good hands.
NOT.
I was actually pretty skeptical.
Turns out I was
While Megan is far more adventurous than I ever was, moving from city to city, there were still many things I found myself identifying with - toxic relationships/men, loneliness, fear, abandoning and abandonment, home, family, trying to find myself while not always liking myself. And there are plenty of young women out there who are adventurous and trying to find themselves and travel from place to place not only in their minds but geographically as well. Megan is not always perfect (or actually is usually not perfect at all, come to think of it...). She is sometimes (usually) frustrating and sometimes (usually) quite awkward. I am sometimes (usually) frustrating and awkward, too.
While Megan is not always in the forefront of the chapters/issues, she is in some way involved in each one. I enjoyed having the little breaks from following her every move and seeing her growth in other, often less obvious ways. There's a lot of good stuff in here and enough variety that I wasn't bored for even a minute. I actually had to force myself to slow down and savor the panels.
And - thank you sweet baby Jesus - Megan was represented as a normal young woman. No mega boobs. No corset looking waist. No sky-high beauty pageant hair.
Boys, you did alright.
Both the writing and artwork (oh my - there is SO much to look at) are excellent, so I'm not sure why I couldn't fully commit to the character of Megan. I enjoyed my time with her, but I'm not sure she'll be on my mind after today. I won't wonder how her 30s went. Or how her 40s are going. I wasn't moved, and I feel guilty about it. It's gotta be a "me" thing. Or maybe I'm completely wrong and will have Megan on my mind on some random gloomy day six years from now. I've been wrong before.
One last thing -
Reading Tip: Don't skip the "The Essays/Production Notes & Art" section in the back. There's all sorts of good insight and issue "soundtracks" from both Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly for each issue. If the book alone doesn't give you the vibe that a lot of heart went into this - although it should! - the notes will most certainly make sure you know.
4 Stars
July 18, 2018
Local es un salto al vacío. Tenemos un personaje -la colorada (el libro es en blanco y negro pero nunca pude imaginarla de otra manera que pelirroja) Megan McKeenan- que a lo largo de 12 años (desde sus 17 hasta sus 29) irá apareciendo en un igual número de historias, cada una de ellas ambientada en una ciudad de norteamerica diferente. En algunas historias -la mayoría- Megan es la protagonista, pero en otras es secundaria, apenas extra o simplemente mencionada por otro personaje vinculado de alguna manera con ella. Así, iremos viendo distintos aspectos en la vida de nuestra protagonista -en cierta manera, su madurez- pero también tenemos episodios autoconclusivos construidos de maravilla, con mecanismos narrativos que asombran y donde Wood -veterano de mil batallas- da cátedra de como contar, no una historia, sino muchas y de diferentes maneras. Salvando las distancias -sobre todo de género- me hace acordar mucho a lo que David Lapham hace en Balas Perdidas. De las 12 historias, destaco tres: Ten Thousand Thoughts Per Second, el episodio apertura, donde Megan tiene que comprar drogas para su novio adicto e imagina los distintos finales a su pasada por la farmacia; Theories and Defenses, el tercero, la historieta de una banda que luego de 15 años se separa y regresan todos a su pueblo natal (acá Megan es apenas un cameo, una fan que pide un autógrafo) y Hazardous Youth, el séptimo, protagonizado por el primo de Megan -quien sabe de ella apenas por las postales que le va mandando desde sus múltiples destinos- y es un fiero retrato de ser adolescente (y "diferente") en un pueblito de mierda. En general, la labor del dibujante Kelly acompaña muy bien los relatos -sobre todo en cuanto a investigación y recreación de los muchos pueblos y ciudades- pero hay un punto complicado en los rostros que dibuja -sobre todo de los personajes masculinos- que tienen realmente poca variedad (me pasó más de una vez entender que ese novio actual de Megan era el novio del capítulo anterior y resultó que no). Con el avance de los episodios este pero se va minimizando -no tanto porque Kelly "mejore" pero los personajes comienzan a tener una fisonomía distinta (pasan a ser rubios, de bigote, etc. como si el guionista fuera consciente del problema y lo tratara de solucionar desde la descripción de los personajes)- y el problema deja de importar. Un gran libro -editado de manera maravillosa en un ladrillo genial por Dib-buks- que vale mucho la pena tener.
June 14, 2018
I've been a full-time traveller for a bit more than two years now, and there are two pleasures I crave from a stable life: reading graphic novels and eating Finnish salmiakki ice cream. While the ice cream has to wait for my return, I got a chance to read a graphic novel today as I decided to spend the whole day in a library in Belgium.
Local is a short story collection about vagabond Megan who drifts around North America. Each story takes place about a year after the previous one, thus following Megan from her late teens to her 30s. I've wanted to read Local for a long time, and it felt like the right book for the moment.
However, I was slightly disappointed. The stories are gritty and dramatic for sure, but I didn't feel attached to the events and characters. For me, Local never became more than the sum of it disjointed parts. The extra punch missing.
The book was okay, which on Goodreads rating system would translate to two stars. However, I'm giving this an extra star just as a token of appreciation for the comic book artists who've clearly worked hard on this.
Local is a short story collection about vagabond Megan who drifts around North America. Each story takes place about a year after the previous one, thus following Megan from her late teens to her 30s. I've wanted to read Local for a long time, and it felt like the right book for the moment.
However, I was slightly disappointed. The stories are gritty and dramatic for sure, but I didn't feel attached to the events and characters. For me, Local never became more than the sum of it disjointed parts. The extra punch missing.
The book was okay, which on Goodreads rating system would translate to two stars. However, I'm giving this an extra star just as a token of appreciation for the comic book artists who've clearly worked hard on this.
January 1, 2025
Una encantadora historia sobre la madurez que toma fuerza en los escenarios en los que se desarrolla; lugares a los que llegamos con la intención de irnos aunque no lo sepamos, buscando algo que no estaba allí, dejando siempre más de lo que nos llevamos. Pero en el proceso crecemos, aprendemos, evolucionamos. No podemos evitar que los lugares que habitamos nos transformen y que moldeen nuestro capullo, porque tanto como las personas crean las ciudades, las ciudades tienen el incorregible hábito de cambiarnos a nosotros. Entonces salimos de este capullo, siendo otros, pero ahora que tenemos alas decidimos que no queremos volar más, y de nueva cuenta nosotros transformamos a la ciudad en NUESTRA ciudad, y hacemos de una casa un hogar. Y nos quedamos.
Me gustó mucho, y su ambientación grungy alternativa que a menudo me deja algo frío me pareció particularmente bien conseguida.
Me gustó mucho, y su ambientación grungy alternativa que a menudo me deja algo frío me pareció particularmente bien conseguida.
November 24, 2018
An old friend gave me an autographed copy of this long graphic novel book that they had randomly laying around their house and they had never read it. Wow, what a gift! So much time went into the creation of this story. The art is engrossing in this 90’s-2000’s coming of age story that demonstrates the struggles someone can go through finding their way in life. Travel, roommates, relationships, family, serendipitous happenings, you name it. The ending really made this book. I’m happy to have this on my home shelf and would go back to read it because it makes me realize that all our experiences in life (including the bad) make us who we are.
January 6, 2025
Megan is messy and I am here for that. Also told over 10 years pre-smartphones, bless!
Beautifully illustrated book, the emotions of the protagonist captured in the close up drawings and the setting establishing shots made this book for me.
I love a meandering slice of life story, Megan’s character arc worked for me. I think some of the backstory comes a bit late pacing-wise to make sense of her decisions earlier in the story however I would argue the hints are there early on to show more depth in the her younger self through drawings and addition of other characters.
Beautifully illustrated book, the emotions of the protagonist captured in the close up drawings and the setting establishing shots made this book for me.
I love a meandering slice of life story, Megan’s character arc worked for me. I think some of the backstory comes a bit late pacing-wise to make sense of her decisions earlier in the story however I would argue the hints are there early on to show more depth in the her younger self through drawings and addition of other characters.
Want to read
December 27, 2017This has been shifted to ON HOLD to RE-START, therefore back to 'want to read'.
It sits on my bookshelf with a bookmark in it, and there it will sit until I have a few hours to crack it open, start it over, and truly appreciate it. The art is amazing.
It won't count towards my 2017 challenge, and that's okay. I feel like I need to get right for this book.
It's all cool.
It sits on my bookshelf with a bookmark in it, and there it will sit until I have a few hours to crack it open, start it over, and truly appreciate it. The art is amazing.
It won't count towards my 2017 challenge, and that's okay. I feel like I need to get right for this book.
It's all cool.
July 23, 2017
This was a great read. Gave me a lot to think about. Will read it again surely to ponder more about some aspects.
March 12, 2025
read in one hour long sitting at the library and really enjoyed it. I didn't realize that it was the same main character until like 2 or 3 books in though! I found some of the faces similar in the art style but they didn't take away much from the book
March 21, 2017
Absolute perfection!
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