cover image Jam in the Band

Jam in the Band

Robin Enrico. Alternative (Consortium, dist.), $19.99 trade paper (386p) ISBN 978-1-68148-580-5

Stardom is hard won and easily lost in this chronicle of a punk band. Pitch Girl, a trio out of Watertown, Penn., rises to prominence and acclaim on a wave of sonic girl power. But tensions run high between bandmates, and one question hangs over their triumph like a swollen thundercloud: just how much are they willing to give up in the name of success? Though this is fairly standard stuff, as far as tales from the music industry go, Enrico, who has been publishing this saga in various formats, including a webcomic, for years, has a knack for candid dialogue that enlivens the rise, plateau, and fall of Pitch Girl. That said, the book is badly in need of editing–nearly 400 pages of squabbling wears thin around the halfway mark. Visually, his blocky cartooning has charms, and the use of diary pages and other ephemera lends an unvarnished edge to the story, but nearly every panel is seen from the same angle and at the same distance. (June)