AKA #1 of 3 (and "A Night at Oldfields" in Digital Webbing Presents #4)
By Dara Naraghi and Steve Black
Published by Ferret Press
Writer Dara Naraghi recently sent me a self-published work with artist Steve Black: AKA #1. This comes on the heels of the pair's contribution to Digital Webbing Presents #4, "A Night at Oldfields." Both stories have a unique, appealing voice. While Naraghi is clearly a beginning writer, I think his work merits examination and I suggest you seek out both these issues.
"A Night at Oldfields" is a character study about Naraghi himself, and the jealousy he feels one night at a bar when his girlfriend spends some time with another guy. An old-fashioned typewriter font (the lettering is credited to Naraghi) gives the story a documentary feel, and although it's a wordy piece with huge blocks of text, the writing is honest and strong and my eyes didn't wander off to the next point of interest, as they sometimes do when confronted with this technique. Naraghi's bluntness about the anger and uncertainty the night's events bring down on him is refreshing, indicating a Harvey Pekar-like ability to self-criticize. Black's artwork is rough -- perhaps deliberately so -- and sets the scene very well. The ending of the story isn't particularly dramatic or enlightening, but Naraghi acknowledges that in the script, pointing out that not every tale ends with a life-changing revelation. A number of other features round out DWP #4, but "A Night at Oldfields" is the strongest piece in the issue and makes it worth picking up.
As for AKA #1, my wife had the same reaction that I did upon seeing the cover: "Is that Enid and Rebecca from Ghost World?" You could see this as a sequel in which Enid has moved back into town and the two have become private detectives.
Alison and Katie run the Albright/Kristopher Agency (AKA), and an investigation into a cheating spouse develops into a videotape retrieval mission that goes wrong. It's a fairly simple start to the three-issue mini-series, but Naraghi handles the characters well and the situations they get into both proceed from and reveal the nature of the characters. If there's any weakness to the writing, it's in the plot, which seems a bit formulaic in comparision to the more naturalistic "A Night at Oldfields."
Black's art seems stronger and more assured, although its stylized starkness may not appeal to all readers. I very much like the style he uses for the cover painting, which is a genuine work of art.
Naraghi and Black strike me as an extremely promising writer/artist team with great potential. I definitely want to see more of what they can do, and I'm looking forward to future issues of AKA. Grades: "A Night at Oldfields" - 4/5; AKA #1 - 3.5/5