If, for some crazy reason, you didn’t read the hilarious, fourth wall-shattering debut installment of White Savior and need some help getting up to speed, writers Scott Burman and Eric Nyugen have a suggestion: “Go out and buy the first issue! Cause if you don’t, you aren’t supporting minorities in leading roles!*”
In the text box that immediately follows they throw down the gauntlet, revealing their foolproof plan: “*This is how we plan on pitching it to Netflix. Imagine being the executive who turns this show down.”
Whether or not White Savior becomes TV series (or video game or podcast or ‘choose your own adventure’ chapter book series or collection of limited edition lunch boxes), the first page of this second installment is a beautifully crafted reminder of the comic medium’s singular power.
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First off, the page layout is brilliant. “So, yeah…,” begins the narration. “The guy vomiting in the plants over here. He’s the ‘hero’ of our story.”
Meanwhile, as we see the aforementioned hero, he’s not only caught in mid-vomit, he’s also urinating in public and passed out at two separate times, in two separate places. Unlike a cinematic montage that unfolds in a series of scenes, we see the whole thing at once. It’s striking, highly efficient, and a visually entertaining reminder of Nathan Garin’s complete buffoonery.
At the same time, our real protagonist, Todd Parker, stands center stage and demands our attention—whether he wants it or not. One glance and it’s abundantly clear this scrawny, spindly-legged gaijin with scruffy hair is the classic fish out of water. He’s wearing cargo shorts, for god’s sake, paired with a yellow V-neck T-shirt. (You can always tell the Americans. They’re the ones dressed like children.)
From the colors to the lettering, the paneling to the bold imagery, illustrator Eric Nguyen, colorist Iwan Joko Triyono, and letterer Micah Meyers deliver a killer first page that works on every level, immediately thrusting the reader right back into the story. And from there, the book only gets better. The artwork whisks us away and propels the story from one joke-filled page to the next, even as new characters are introduced and unexpected plot twists are revealed.
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Like even the most hilarious stand-up comedian’s routine, it’s likely not every joke will land with everyone in the audience. For me, Kenzo Mitsuhide’s extended bit about the merits of forks vs. chopsticks falls a bit flat. Ron DeSantis, by contrast, might fail to see in the humor in the sepia-tone aside about a mythical ‘ancient race’ devoted to ensuring that ‘snow-colored champions earn their rightful place in history.’ (For him, they’re just called the school board.)
Winston Churchill famously described Russia as “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” With wisecracking dialogue, ironic asides, and the occasional splash page that is clearly too gorgeous to clutter with words, White Savior #2 is a biting satire, carried along by a rushing stream of self-deprecating humor, inside a hilarious reappropriation of the classic Euro-centric ‘Hero’s Journey.’ Be like the hypothetical Netflix executive who eventually greenlights a White Savior TV series and pick up this wonderfully crafted issue by an uber-talented, predominantly minority creative team. If not, the joke’s on you.
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