Pinupocalypse is a comic written and drawn by Andrew Tarusov with co-writing by Brendan Jones and lettering by Vladishav Troshin. Foxy’s birthday plans are put on hold when something strange happens to the town. This is a science fiction story with some romantic elements set in the 1950’s with a clear Americana vibe and two strong ladies at the helm. The first lady we meet is Foxy, a high schooler who is just turning eighteen and who seems a bit unsatisfied with her life. She isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed and all she really wants for her birthday is a specific red dress. The second lady we meet is Roxy, a rebellious girl complete with the leather jacket and smoking habit. She hangs with the rougher crowd and is in a band. The interactions between these two can get very comedic. The story begins at Foxy’s house where she is getting dressed in the morning before coming down for breakfast. The interactions between her and her parents play out like old black-and-white TV shows like Leave It to Beaver but with a bit more meta humor. This takes place in the 1950’s in a world where everybody is generally nice just like the aforementioned show. There are themes of determination and forging your path. The action here is bloody and gory with frequent dismemberment. The pacing is steady with at least a few wordy pages but this is a very long graphic novel so you probably won’t notice. The tone is lighthearted and comfy at first before becoming a desperate mad dash. The dialogue reads like something you’d hear on classic television shows with instances of “gosh”, old phrases, and other words you don’t hear much nowadays. This is a comic with an unpredictable story that’ll keep you on your toes and that stars two leads that will have to navigate through situations both exciting and terrifying.
The art style here looks like classic pinup art from the 1940’s and 50’s but has a slight cartoonish flair. The color range here is very wide and as realistic as possible for the time. This takes place in a California in a town called Pinupolis which is drenched in Americana so the scenery is telephone poles, landscaped lawns with palm trees, and buildings no taller than two stories. If you’ve watched any family based-show that started in the 1950’s you’ve seen this town before. This story begins in a nice neighborhood but eventually touches every major location in the town from the cinema to the botanical gardens. It is rare to see a panel background in this comic without parts of the scene in it. The expression level here is high as these girls go through a whole gamut of emotions throughout this issue. Shock, anger, terror, and sadness are just some of the looks these ladies will show. Thanks to the amount of details in their faces and the strength of their features almost every expression they give comes across clear, which is needed in a conversation-heavy comic. The creatures are like your average zombie complete with the need for brains. The violence here is gory and bloody with body part separation not being uncommon. The actions scenes vary in length but then to be at least a few pages every time. The outfits look like something from Happy Days with dresses for the most of the girls and dress clothes for the men. There is the occasional lewd moment but I wouldn’t say this is a sexualized comic.
“Is this worth reading?”
Yes.
“Would I like this?”
If you like science fiction stories starring a pair of women and taking place in the 1950’s with some lesbian romance, zombies, and plenty of violence and humor than this is for you.
“What would this comic’s film rating be?”
R. Blood, gore, dismemberment.
“Could I get a quote from the comic?”
“Well, I hate to tell ya, mister, but you really dropped the ball on this one.”
Digital Link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1607998501/pinupocalypse-graphic-novel-pdf
Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tarusov/pinupocalypse-graphic-novel/description
***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***
Probably Contains Spoilers
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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 161
Violent Pages: 38, for 24% of the comic
Sexy Pages 4, for 3% of the comic
**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**
Violence Level – 4
“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”
“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”
“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”
“This was a tournament arc.”
“All my life I had to fight.”
Gore Level – 5
“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”
“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”
“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”
“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”
“This is a slaughterhouse.”
Death Level – 3
“And everybody lived happily ever after.”
“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”
“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”
“Yeah this was a tragedy.”
“Think Gettysburg.”
Porn Level – 2
“Everybody kept their clothes on.”
“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”
“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”
“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”
“Oh. This is porn.”
