Subculture Omnibus

Join Jason, Arthur, Noel & the entire Kingdom Comix crew as they live - and enjoy - the geek life in this funny and poignant look at fanboy (and fangirl) culture.  This 336-page tome collects the critically-acclaimed four-issue mini-series plus all 501 webcomics published between 2008 and 2012.

It was almost a guarantee at this point to crack open an Action Labs book about nerds and end up loving it.  The huge collection of fandom hijinx we get to see inside Subculture is truly one heck of a ride.  Whether or not you’re a fellow nerd (openly or secretly), you’ll find yourself feeling right at home with this crazy group.

The extensive amount of writing packed into this book was certainly solid, being both accurate to its subject and still entertaining.  While some may find themselves judging it as another stereotypical view on the world of nerdom, I thought it succeeded in avoided that line.  Albeit maybe coming close to stepping over, it still managed to tell that kind of story without straight out overdoing it.  That delicate balance with a comic like this is hard to manage, but this did a pretty decent job in my opinion.

Artistically speaking, we go through quite a plethora of styles between the standard books and webcomics.  The majority of them were all good in their own right, while some may have been a little looser than I care for, but altogether they all did their job.  With such a varied amount of smaller stories and events, the variety was actually nice in this format.

You obviously don’t have to need to go so far as to deem yourself a nerd to enjoy this book, no matter the kind.  Granted, if you have the advantage of being able to possibly relate to some, if not a lot of it, that does sure help.  Either way, this fun filled omnibus is one worth finding a spot for somewhere on your bookshelf.

For more information on Subculture or other Action Labs titles, check out Subculture and Action Labs.

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.