(The following contains spoilers for Moped Army.)
Given how much I’ve complained about the recent trend of ethical failure in mainstream super-hero comics, it seems weird that I’d find fault with an excess of moral clarity in a graphic novel, especially one as fine as Paul Sizer’s Moped Army (Café Digital Comics). It nags, though, because it limits the story’s suspense and impact.
Moped Army tells the story of Simone, a privileged young woman who lives in Upper Bolt Harbor. She lives in comfort and security, mingling with other rich teens in a rarefied environment. Upper Bolt Harbor is literally named, as it looms high and aloof over Lower Bolt Harbor, crumbling home of the lower class.
As the story begins, Simone is uncomfortable with certain elements of her life and society. She rebels in small ways, refusing to indulge in the kind of body modification and obsession with appearance that’s standard with her peers. She’s also having doubts about her boyfriend, wealthy, obnoxious Chéz, who belittles her for seemingly trivial shortcomings (Simone’s glasses, her apparent indifference to status).
Her doubts crystallize when Chéz and a group of his lackeys take their aircars down to the lower city for cheap thrills. They encounter a group of moped-riding kids and make sport of trying to knock them off the road. Things spiral out of control, and one of the moped riders is killed. Chéz and company flee back to their penthouses, ordering Simone to keep her mouth shut.
But she’s badly shaken by the experience and travels to Lower Bolt Harbor to find out more about the people her friends have callously harmed. She meets the Moped Army, a resourceful group of free spirits who have formed a loyal, surrogate family based on their shared passion for the old-fashioned means of transportation. The kids in the Moped Army are the polar opposites of Simone’s Upper crowd. The Lower kids scrabble by with limited resources, keeping their antique rides going through toil and creativity. While the Uppers seem bound by greed and intimidation, the Moped Army is a family of choice, protective of each other and appreciative of individual contributions.
Moped Army follows Simone’s shifting loyalties, but the distinctions between her two choices are so clear and so extreme that there isn’t very much suspense. The Upper crowd is uniformly loathsome – greedy, craven, abusive, and driven by self-interest. Even Simone’s parents have been corrupted by the culture. The Moped Army has all the spirit and decency, even as they bend and break laws to pursue their passion. (Gasoline is illegal in the futuristic setting, and it’s more than a little strange to be rooting for the group that actively wants to use fossil fuels.) Except for comfort and security, Simone’s status quo has no intrinsic attractions, and her new world is evidently more honorable and rewarding.
Despite the simplicity of the driving narrative, though, Moped Army has a number of strengths. Sizer has created a very dramatic future society, even if it lacks shadings. The have-and-have-not distinctions are depressingly credible. He does nice work with the Army, too, defining its shared passion and the individual personalities of its members. (They’re all decent and plucky, but they’re decent and plucky in distinct, personal ways.)
His illustrations are wonderfully detailed, and he gives Lower Bolt City a gritty, almost archeological allure. Character designs are appealing and stylish, and Sizer is adept at portraying the charged emotions his cast experiences. Action sequences rely on a very smart juxtaposition of words and images, supplying useful (but not expository) information to support visual clarity and impact. It’s a great-looking book.
I just wish there had been a few more grey areas between Simone’s old life and her potential new one. I’d love to see a sequel where Simone tries to reconcile Upper and Lower cultures, as there’s not really room for that here. She’s got all of the foundations to fulfill that kind of role, and she’s positioned well to be an ambassador of sorts. I think it would make for a great follow-up to a very good graphic novel.
