Switchblade Stories #8 is a comic written and drawn by Chris Askham. These lovers are taking an under-the-radar road trip across the country. This is a romance drama with 1950’s-era sentiments and style while also showing a bit of crime and violence. The leading ladies here are Francine and Ginger. Francine is significantly older than Ginger with a more serious demeanor and she is slightly struggling with this turn her life has taken. Ginger is has the wide-eyed and optimistic outlook of a young woman at the time and she likes to read The Scarlet Sister. This story begins with these two women driving up to a gas station where Francine goes to use the bathroom and buy cigarettes, and she tells the attendant to fill the car up. While Ginger deals with unwanted advances from the attendant Francine is questioning herself in the mirror. This takes place in a 1950/60’s world down to the style. The violence here is a bit gruesome and very bloody, but rare. The pacing is steady and there is an eerie and cautious tone like that of a thriller. The intensity is more for dramatic reasons than violent ones. The dialogue is conversational with a talking style that fits the era and older slang. There aren’t any word-heavy pages here. This is a riveting issue that focuses on two women who are grabbing life by the horns and trying to avoid a past that is never too far behind.

            The art here is drawn in a detailed pulpy, early comic style with a look that’ll bring to mind old processes from a bygone era. Colors here have that faded look common for the time with a realistic palette and strong lighting and shading. Aside from lengthy stretches of plains/desert there isn’t much natural scenery here. Though these ladies are on the move there are some repeat locations like motels, and they’ll visit a diner and the aforementioned gas station. The backgrounds usually show the nearby and distant surroundings but on occasion it’ll be a singular color. The expression level here is a tad bit below average as these ladies can have muted/unflinching reactions. Some of the emotions seen here are annoyance, anger, sadness, happiness, and fear. The faces here are decently detailed but somewhat stiff so it can be a bit difficult to decipher the intended expression. Weapons used here are knives and guns. The violence is a bit gruesome and there is a good deal of blood. There is only one action scene and it is only a few panels long.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes, if this is up your alley.

“Would I like this?”

If you like sapphic romantic dramas that star two women and take place in1950/60’s America with a bit of crime and violence then this is for you. TW: Abuse.

“What would this comic’s film rating be?”

R. Violence, blood, gruesomeness, nudity, sexual situations.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“But I guess it wasn’t meant to be…”

 

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/switchbladestories/switchblade-stories-issue-1-to-8-complete/description

***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 28

Violent Pages: 2, for 7% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 7, for 25% of the comic

 

**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**

 

Violence Level – 2

“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 – 3

“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 – 1

“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 – 4

“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.”