Comic, David Belanger and Dan Mclaren, Vol 1, davidwinterbelanger.deviantart.com
A fairy tale of two best friends, Goldy and the Bear follows lifelong buddies through their early twenties in Toronto, and their assorted relationships along the way. Though the artistic style changes halfway through the volume, the authors acknowledge it and make it work in their favour. The more realistic style that pops up in the second half facilitates episode 23’s “Who do you look like game” which sees the characters morphing into their celebrity doppelgangers. The pacing of the story is a little fast, which doesn’t allow the reader to relate to the characters on a deeper level. Even though we see them in all the ups and downs of their various relationships, there’s not enough character development to humanize them. By the end of the book, I really just wanted to know more about the characters. The comics were funny, but sometimes relied on cultural references that I didn’t always understand. At the end of episode 12, where most of the frames were lines from a movie I had never seen or heard of, I found myself confused. Though it did make me want to seek out 1958’s Auntie Mame very soon. The book has its flaws, but it was enjoyable to read and set the characters and the authors up for, what I hope will be, further development and exploration in the volumes to come. (Anna Wellman)