Something has been exhausting Livvy for most of her life. Her large eyes are wary, ringed by bags. Her narration sounds exhausted. Because Livvy has had to cloak what she can do for most of her life in Meadowlark Park.
On the surface, the suburban neighborhood doesn’t seem like a Wicked Town. But co-creators Francis Stokes and Andrea Dailey know perfectly well that 1970s California suburbia had a few big secrets. Though I might quibble with the purpose of a “conversation pit,” that’s only because I was a little kid at the time and just thought they looked cool.
Suffice to say, there’s no “Satanic Panic” in Meadowlark Park. In fact, PTA mom Janet and the rest of her Bridge Club may be perfectly comfortable with Satan. Such a wicked irony that the one woman in the neighborhood with “magic powers” quietly believes they’re a gift – and a mandate – from God.
Stokes and Dailey take their time laying out the pieces of Wicked Town. From the beginning, we know that Livvy has healing power, maybe triggered by the trauma of her father’s death. Even as a child, she started hiding it, but we don’t see why until late in the first issue.
It took a second reading for me to also notice that Stokes waited until more than halfway through for us to learn Livvy’s name. Before that, she’s always referred to by her place in the family – kid, Dear, Ethan’s mom. It makes sense, as Wicked Town takes place at the edge of when women could start establishing their own identities with credit cards. Even Livvy’s supposedly feminist husband Peter won’t let her have one, because his vision of equal partnership still means he controls the money.
With all that’s going on in the country right now, Wicked Town got timelier. Sure, it takes place about 50 years in the past, but we’re taking backward steps with women’s rights. Believe me, avocado pantsuits are the least of our worries.
Jump on this book. I’ve said it before: Dailey is 100% an artist to watch. Whether writing about the supernatural or not, Stokes has keen insight into humanity. As a first comic for both creators, Wicked Town is a hell of a debut. Pick it up at their eponymous imprint, Wicked Town Studios.
