Grommets

This sweet and raunchy slice of life spikes its 1980s California skate-punk nostalgia with brutal face-plants, hard-won lessons, and bursts of violence. Drawing on their own youths, writers Remender (the Sacrificers series) and Posehn (Rifters) craft pitch-perfect dialogue for their likable ruffians on wheels, and a detail-rich suburban Sacramento milieu that both rings true and benefits from comic-book exaggeration. For junior high friends Brian, a boisterously rude metalhead, and Rick, a clean-cut noob who can’t even land the most basic trick, every blowup, put-down, drug trip, humiliation, and botched crush is epic. They grind through their troubles and traumas at skate parks and parking garages, running pranks that go too far and set the stage for a violent showdown with local football stars. Art by Parson (the Tank Girl series) rolls out sugar-rush set pieces, with character designs that blend Mad-worthy caricature with emotionality and stellar period detail. A spirit of authenticity abounds, as in the scene where a mohawked true-believer pontificates that skating and punk rock couldn’t possibly become commodified. It’s a bruiser of a story about finding a crew, wiping out, and still daring to tell a bully, “Take the hint! She’s not that into you, man!” This throwback gem offers rewards for readers well beyond the Thrasher set. (July)