The comic: Penny & Aggie
URL: http://www.pennyandaggie.com/
By: T. Campbell and Gisele Lagace
Type: Webcomic, updated MWF and published in volumes available at their online shop.
Content Rating: PG, for occasional (fairly tame) sexual content.
Plot: Essentially, Penny & Aggie is a well-written, character-driven high school dramady (dramady = drama + comedy). It centers primarily around the titular characters (as you might expect): Penny Levac, one of the "popular" girls; and Aggie D'amour, a sort of neo-hippie/proud oddball, as well as the friends, family, accquaintances, and antagonists of both. Initially, the pair were fairly two-dimensional and the comic focused on the antagonism between them, fueled by how opposite they were, but eventually their rivalry culminated in the (figurative) birth of Karen Duvall, arch-antagonist of the comic for the majority of its run now. With Karen threatening to dismantle both Penny and Aggie's social networks for her own evil attention-seeking glee, Penny and Aggie have now begun to be steadily less reluctant friends and have been rounding out their characters--Penny has well shown that she's not just another pink-loving fashion plate, and there's more to Aggie's weirdness than meets the eye. The comic draws from a large number of high schooler issues, from sex and relationships, popularity politics, parent-child relations, self-discovery, and more.
Personal thoughts: There's a lot to like here--I've enjoyed watching all the characters, even the minor ones, develop and round out as the comic's writing has gotten tighter--every character is a fully realized person. You can probably find analouges for most of them in your own life. The art style seems to be born of an interesting blend of old Archie comics and manga that I think works very nicely and looks distinct. It's easy for a high-school drama to become overdramatic, but P&A also thankfully avoids this--the drama and humor blend in just the right amounts so that it's neither overbearing nor self-mocking. Karen is also a well-realized villainess...ohhh, you want to see her to fall. You want to see her to fall so hard. It seems like we're allowing ourselves fewer "classic" villains these days--don't get me wrong, a villain with good intentions or lots of admirable qualities, when well-written, can be an amazing thing in a story, but it's used often enough now that someone like Karen, with very little to like, someone who just bathes in their evil and absolutely loves the power it gives them--is refreshing. I've no sympathy for her. As for Penny and Aggie themselves, no matter how much rounding out they do, you'll likely still inextricably find yourself drawn more to one or the other--I'm a bit more of an Aggie fan, personally. Go check it out. And as always, start from the beginning, otherwise you'll miss out on all the yummy character-building.
Holden Out.
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