“Grommets” immerses us into a slice of life in 1984. We follow two friends who find refuge in Skate and Punk Rock culture.
I really enjoyed this comic. The authors do a great job of immersing us in the ’80s, through written and visual references. Plus, the graphic style perfectly captures the atmosphere of the skate scene and California.

Some scenes are violent, depicting fights, blood, and discrimination, but they accurately reflect the early skate and punk rock scene and its marginal nature. One scene of police discrimination particularly struck me, where the authorities refuse to believe that a popular and athletic student attacked a group of outcasts on his own, without them having done anything to provoke him.

In volume five, Mike delivers a monologue about how skate and punk rock culture will never become mainstream. This is quite ironic today, when punk rock band T-shirts and accessories are sold in big chain stores and skate culture has become hugely popular.
It’s also a beautiful story of friendship between Rick and Brian.

I recommend this series to anyone who loves skate culture or wants to discover it through the eyes of two authors who grew up with it in the ’80s.

Image Comics provided an early galley for review.

I was a middle-schooler in the late 70's and high-schooler in the early 80's, so this one hits squarely in my nostalgic core. Remender and Posehn, in basing the story on their own youth, capture the attitude and tones of the time very well. Anyone who is part of Gen-X will find aspects of their lives in this work. Parson's artwork is absolutely perfect, adding lots of details (like wall posters, t-shirts, iconic businesses and logos, etc.) that pull the reader right into the specific moments of this period. Dinisio's colors further excentuate the moods, day or night. I could easily see this as an animated show.

I appreciated the inclusion of the letter columns and text pieces from the individual issues as well as the alternate covers. Most collected additions should strive for the level of completeness that this one provides.

Wasn't sure what to expect, but it was enjoyable.
Nice color overall.
Decent story.
Like dit a lot better than I thought I would.

Grommets by Rick Remender is a coming-of-age story about a new kid in town trying to fit in. If I liked skating more, this would have been a home run. But even as someone who was never really into the skating or punk scene, I truly appreciated the overall feel of this series, and there are some genuinely tender and sweet moments.

As a coming-of-age narrative, you see growth through frequent moves, meeting a best friend and a hot girl, and generally trying to figure life out. That aspect of the story works exceptionally well, expertly mixed with the awesome, insane, and often over-the-top art.

The skating parts aren't as intriguing, and the hyper-violence is sometimes so brutal it's hard to take seriously. The tone also shifts to a very dark place at points in the later half.

Despite these caveats, I had a good time overall. 3.5 out of 5.

This book encapsulates nostalgia for the 80s skate scene perfectly. Written more for adults who grew up during that era, than for kids to read. It is a fun look back at teenage angst, finding friendship, and the thrill of the last second before free fall from the top of the half pipe. All told via wonderful art that not only tells the story, but also fits the gnarly vibe!

Turns out there are plenty of crossovers between '90s skater culture in the UK and '80s skater culture in the US - I got several nostalgic feels from this beautifully crafted graphic novel.

It helps that it feels like an animated version of a Richard Linklater movie, sliding by on hang out vibes, before building to the best cut to black I've seen out of The Wrestler (which I know is Darren Aronofsky, but humor me). Highly recommended!

I had a total blast reading this, and crushed it in one sitting. I've already pre-ordered it and I can't wait to add a physical copy of it to my collection. The art is great, the characters are interesting, and I loved the coming of age tale about a couple of skate punks growing up. I highly recommend this!