Review: Grommets

​There aren’t many graphic novels out there about the 1980s, but having grown up during that era, I get excited when one pops up. Although I was in no way a part of that decade's now famous skate culture, Grommets got my attention anyway. The title comes from skater slang — as a “grommet” is a young, up-and-coming skater or surfer.

Authors Rick Reminder and Brian Posehn (whom you probably know better as Burt from The Big Bang Theory and Stuart Fails to Save the Universe) are both Gen X, and they certainly nail the clothing, cars, music, trends, homophobia, and slang in this semi-autobiographical masterwork.

The story centers around Rick, an aspiring skateboarder who feels like a perpetual outsider as his Yuppie parents constantly move from place to place, forever on the prowl for the next big thing while trying to stave off middle age. Rick’s father is a recovering drug addict, and his mother is a classic enabler. When the family lands in Sacramento in 1984, it’s a new house, a new school, and a new attempt by Rick to overcome the stigma of being the “outsider” when trying to make friends. When the other skaters at his new high school promptly reject him, fellow outsider Brian invites him to go skating instead.

As problematic as Rick’s family life may be, Brian’s is much worse. Abandoned by his self-righteous mother who considers him nothing more than a criminal, Brian is being raised (after a fashion) by his heavy drinking, heavy cursing, over-sexed grandfather who’s suffering serious memory lapses.  In this vacuum of parental care, the boys create their own family with other teens. 

Brian introduces Rick to a trio of skater girls known as “The Jens” because they are all named Jennifer. Brian is in love with Jen 2, who it’s rumored murdered her father and burned down the family home. The rumor isn’t true, of course, but Jen 2 relishes her reputation and definitely suffers from a bad temper and a lack of self-control. 

Other members of their group of “weirdos” include Liberty Spike Mike, a punk rocker whose fierce, defiant mannerisms mask a cowardly heart, and a beautiful Latina Valley Girl named Samra, who’s crushing hard on Rick. 

As the school year progresses, they skate, party, skinny-dip, skate some more, and run from police, mall security guards, and the high school football team alike. The streets, skateparks, malls, arcades, aqueducts, and parking garages of Sacramento become their playground as they try to find the next best place to skate and forget their miserable home lives.

But just as Rick begins to feel at home in Sacramento, his parents announce that the family is relocating again —this time to Phoenix, Arizona. Like most teenage boys, Rick and Brian struggle to express how the forced separation is affecting them. Having found each other through skating — which Liberty Spike Mike calls “the official sport of weirdos” — they’re now looking to start all over again… and do it alone. 

As I said at the top of this review, I was never into the skate scene of the 1980s, but I definitely recognized its impact on youth culture, even then. The legendary Z-Boys, a group of innovative skaters in the mid- to late-1970s, became celebrities in their own right and transformed the sport into a phenomenon when many thought it was akin to juvenile delinquency. While Grommets — to its credit — doesn’t rehash the now well-known story of Dogtown and the Z-Boys, it is certainly influenced by personal accounts from Z-Boys like Jay Adams, Tony Alva, and Stacy Peralta. But more to the point, it's the story of teens who feel like freaks finding each other and realizing that they're actually special. And what teen can't relate to that?

The book's writing, dialogue, and caricaturization are first-rate and make for an excellent coming-of-age story… even if you know nothing or care nothing about skating. Likewise, the artwork has a real 1980s feel. The gritty realism, experimental layouts, exaggerated action, graphic violence, and caricaturesque personalities reminded me of what you might see in CARtoons, Road Rash, Shred, and even Mad Magazine of that era. 

Conclusion: Grommets is an excellent read, and I hope we get more from this creative team!