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Platinum Grit Volume 1
In Platinum Grit Chapters #1-5, the fearless Nils and the timid-but-still-surprisingly-together Jeremy take on the Zodiac (they won); Jer's insane Scottish relatives (they sort of win); a 1940s private dick (they draw when poor light stops play); and two sets of alien matchmakers (they...almost).
184 pages, Paperback
First published March 25, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 27, 2016
LOVE this series, esp. the later editions when the art improves. An awesome story with quirky writing... I just wish there was more! :)
September 14, 2020
Before there was the smutty, NSFW fun of Oglaf, there was Platinum Grit.
Platinum Grit follows the misadventures of Jeremy MacConner and gal pal/tormentor Nils Kerr. In later episodes, Kate Provoczki, Nil's friend (roommate?), joins the cast as a combination third wheel and comic straight man.
Originally a webcomic series, Platinum Grit was also published in print form, including a three volume compilation of episodes 1-16. Which is what I actually read. But Goodreads doesn't have those books listed and I'm too lazy to get them added.
It's hard to categorize Platinum Grit under a particular genre. "Weird" is the best descriptor, with early episodes featuring psychopathic Highlander-esque immortals, talking cupboards, and a party with living embodiments of the zodiac. As the story progresses, the tone deepens a bit, but only a bit, with the focus on Jeremy's origins as some sort of eugenics experiment.
Back in the day, before the webcomic ended before its time, I was obsessed with Platinum Grit . Rereading several years later, I still love the zany atmosphere, Nils's unapologetic sexuality, Kate's world-weary cynicism, and Jeremy, the befuddled man-boy genius. This time around, however, the abusive nature of Jeremy and Nil's relationship felt problematic. The juxtaposition of sexually experience woman with naive man is original and laudable. But often, Nils is flat-out cruel to Jeremy. Reading years ago, I ignored the abuse, possibly because of the gender swap. I not only ignored it, but thought it was funny. Now? Not so much.
There's a lot to recommend the story, though, and I still lament its end, unfinished.
Platinum Grit follows the misadventures of Jeremy MacConner and gal pal/tormentor Nils Kerr. In later episodes, Kate Provoczki, Nil's friend (roommate?), joins the cast as a combination third wheel and comic straight man.
Originally a webcomic series, Platinum Grit was also published in print form, including a three volume compilation of episodes 1-16. Which is what I actually read. But Goodreads doesn't have those books listed and I'm too lazy to get them added.
It's hard to categorize Platinum Grit under a particular genre. "Weird" is the best descriptor, with early episodes featuring psychopathic Highlander-esque immortals, talking cupboards, and a party with living embodiments of the zodiac. As the story progresses, the tone deepens a bit, but only a bit, with the focus on Jeremy's origins as some sort of eugenics experiment.
Back in the day, before the webcomic ended before its time, I was obsessed with Platinum Grit . Rereading several years later, I still love the zany atmosphere, Nils's unapologetic sexuality, Kate's world-weary cynicism, and Jeremy, the befuddled man-boy genius. This time around, however, the abusive nature of Jeremy and Nil's relationship felt problematic. The juxtaposition of sexually experience woman with naive man is original and laudable. But often, Nils is flat-out cruel to Jeremy. Reading years ago, I ignored the abuse, possibly because of the gender swap. I not only ignored it, but thought it was funny. Now? Not so much.
There's a lot to recommend the story, though, and I still lament its end, unfinished.
December 10, 2019
Absolutely bonkers, nonsensical fun, through and through. Friends Jeremy and Nils get into all sorts of outrageous situations (a duel with Jeremy's Scottish cousin for ownership of a castle, changing destiny through confronting the zodiac signs, an abduction by matchmaking aliens, etc.) and manage to scrape by, time and time again, while constantly skirting the line of remaining friends or becoming romantically entangled with one another. 3 stars for the wild, constantly wandering plot, 5 stars for the sheer fun, wackiness of it all, and 4 for the dynamic black-and-white illustrations. Fans of the Tank Girl series will enjoy this book!
September 1, 2015
After ten pages I had to check that it is indeed the first volume, after ten more I went online to check that there's no Volume 0. The book felt like watching last five minutes of a movie I've never even heard of – looks great, but confusing as hell (and the Scottish accents are close-to-impossible to read, but I guess it's better for native speakers). I was considering adding a star for “some paranormal nudity”, but if I wanted to get that I would have just bought one of Oglaf books.
PS I know that there is a webcomic but the book has to be readable stand-alone
PS I know that there is a webcomic but the book has to be readable stand-alone
November 1, 2021
Like most everyone, I decided to read this since this is the same team that creates Oglaf, which is a seriously funny strip, so long as you don't mind the smut ('cause there's a lot of it). I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who couldn't make much sense of what the heck was happening here. It doesn't help that they phonetically write out a Scottish accent for the first couple of issues, but beyond that, I couldn't figure out what was leading one event to another. In a way, it made me think I had picked up volume two in the series, since I felt like there was a lot I should've known before starting with this volume.
I gave it two stars because you can see the genesis of the "hapless apprentice" gag from Oglaf, but for the most part, it's not something I would recommend. At all. Which is funny, because this is 100% smut-free (though it's certainly suggesting a lot, and has a little bit of nudity).
I gave it two stars because you can see the genesis of the "hapless apprentice" gag from Oglaf, but for the most part, it's not something I would recommend. At all. Which is funny, because this is 100% smut-free (though it's certainly suggesting a lot, and has a little bit of nudity).
March 19, 2023
I remember catching this as single issues way back when, and being completely in love with the quirkiness of it all.
A very random mix of comedy, homage, sci-fi, mythology, and supernatural with weird-but-adorable/abusive characters.
This volume has a downward trajectory with the story, but I recall it taking off again in later issues.
A very random mix of comedy, homage, sci-fi, mythology, and supernatural with weird-but-adorable/abusive characters.
This volume has a downward trajectory with the story, but I recall it taking off again in later issues.
July 31, 2020
I was hoping it would be fun but it was just nonsense. I almost didn’t finish reading.
August 30, 2018
There are certain things I love so, so much I’m sometimes afraid I’ll squeeze them apart like one of Lenny’s doomed woodland creatures. In the realm of comics, one of those much-loved things is Platinum Grit, which is written and illustrated by the amazing Australian, Trudy Cooper (with script and/or plot assists by Danny Murphy). I discovered it in 1995 (about a year after it began) while flipping through a copy of Diamond Previews. Sensing some genius in the postage-stamp-sized image of the first issue's cover, I ordered it, read it when it arrived, and nearly swooned as a result of its unadulterated awesomeness.
I’m not saying Platinum Grit is the greatest comic book ever made, but if I could save only ten comic book series from nuclear annihilation, Platinum Grit would be among them. Future generations crawling from the ashes, possibly with access to information on the “great” comic book series of the twentieth century, might wonder why the dumbass in charge of saving ten comics had chosen Platinum Grit instead of, say, The Fantastic Four. My response to them would be “Because it rocks, idiots. Deal with it!”
(I do feel compelled to mention here that Platinum Grit owes quite a bit to Jaime Hewlett’s Tank Girl, and I love Tank Girl too-—but I love Platinum Grit even more. Maybe because Tank Girl, for all its charm and humor, was a bit too anarchic for me. I like a little story with my comic-—even if it doesn’t make much sense. Platinum Grit’s story is goofy as hell, but it’s still the kind of thing that makes you long desperately for the next installment.)
I’m not saying Platinum Grit is the greatest comic book ever made, but if I could save only ten comic book series from nuclear annihilation, Platinum Grit would be among them. Future generations crawling from the ashes, possibly with access to information on the “great” comic book series of the twentieth century, might wonder why the dumbass in charge of saving ten comics had chosen Platinum Grit instead of, say, The Fantastic Four. My response to them would be “Because it rocks, idiots. Deal with it!”
(I do feel compelled to mention here that Platinum Grit owes quite a bit to Jaime Hewlett’s Tank Girl, and I love Tank Girl too-—but I love Platinum Grit even more. Maybe because Tank Girl, for all its charm and humor, was a bit too anarchic for me. I like a little story with my comic-—even if it doesn’t make much sense. Platinum Grit’s story is goofy as hell, but it’s still the kind of thing that makes you long desperately for the next installment.)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews