COMIC REVIEW: CALL GIRL / WRITER: ERIC HAVENS / ARTIST: DAIJU KURABAYASHI / PUBLISHER: SELF-PUBLISHED PDF / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
There was a time, before VHS took off and everyone could re-watch movies in their own home, when comic strip adaptations were very popular. Particularly successful were horror films; now we have a special sequential art version of the brilliant short film Call Girl. The film, directed by Jill Gevargizian (who is currently finishing her second short and worked alongside the Soska Sisters on The ABCs of Death 2 and tipped for big things) toured the festivals over the past year and is now available to view online. It stars Laurence R. Harvey and Tristan Risk, and although only five minutes long, is a taut, surprising and satisfyingly amusing short. This adaptation marks the international debut for Kurabayashi, and recreates the film closely – right down to idiosyncratic facial expressions – but also adds a little extra.
A newly developed prologue establishes Ed as a sicko into death and a morbid curiosity. This is an approach that would have taken away a lot of the surprise of the film’s (first) twist, but here it’s a great lead-in. There’s also a little extra in the climax, but on the whole it’s a faithful representation of the film.
The artwork is stylised and, as mentioned, captures the characters and action perfectly. It certainly does justice to Jill’s film. It’s something the director should be amazingly proud of; there’s not many young filmmakers who have the chance to get their films immortalised in this format. Kurabayashi has made the comic available online for free, in both English and Japanese editions and with any luck it should open the door for the artist to get some paying work in the west, as he’s certainly a talent to watch out for.
There’s nothing to lose by checking the comic out, download it for free and be sure to send the artist – and the filmmaker – feedback, as we’re sure it would mean the world to them, and encourage their endeavours in the future.
