The Situation: Allison has spent most of her life helping her stage magician father. He insists that until she is 18, her life is his, and she suffers his anger for the smallest mistakes and disappointments. When her father brings home a new computer, she meets Samir online, and begins to believe there may be another world out there for her. Richard is the new kid at school, and as soon as he walks into his first class, he is labeled a "creeper." When the bullying becomes relentless, he receives assistance from an unlikely friend. Tina may be small, but she is also terrifying, and when she says she will protect someone, she means it. Richard is introduced to the rest of her friends, and when she appears to be in trouble with the police, he hatches a plan to throw them off of her trail.
The Problem: Allison's dad has always told her to never show her legs to boys. So he would be furious if he ever found out she has not only been chatting to a boy online, but that she has already met up with him in real life. And when she decides to run away, her father reaches a new level of furious. When Samir reluctantly agrees to help her out, he also must leave his own house if he wants to keep his friend safe. The two of them must hatch a plan and figure some stuff out if they want Allison to finally be free from her father, but there is another problem. When Allison left her house, she was only in pajamas. And when Samir left his house, he was not wearing any pants at all. It becomes a night of evasion and frustrated plans, but it is one that will eventually bring the four teenagers together.
Genre, Themes, History: This is a graphic novel set in 1994, at the dawn of the age of the internet. Allison may be the character that receives most of the focus, but there is also Samir, a boy she meets on the Bulletin Board System (BBS) online. Then there is Richard, the new guy at school who is immediately in trouble with a bully. An anonymous note left in his locker leads him the fierce, intense, and confusing Tina, who is committed to protecting him from harm. These four teenagers find each other, working only with dial-up connections, through the new world of the internet. Since this is before smart phones and tablets, finding information online means logging onto the family computer after your parents have gone to bed; or telling your mom you are doing homework when you are really in a chat room; or borrowing a neighbor's computer under the guise of helping them with a project. Incredible Doom mixes the issues of being a teen in 1990s America, and the early days of when the internet was becoming widely available to the public.
My Verdict: My main issue with graphic novels is that they go by so quickly. No matter how engaging the story is, or incredible the drawings are, I am done with them in less than a day, though if I actually bought my own copy, I do get to enjoy the work for a lifetime. I am assuming that the "vol 1" on the title page of this book means there is more to come, which would make sense because of where the story ended, but even so. I want to know more about Richard and why he has had to move to a new town. Or why Tina lives in a house with a seemingly random assortment of young people. And of course, there is the question of what is going to happen between Allison and her father. I wanted more, and it seems there will be more, eventually. But for now, there are so many questions, and I have to wonder how the internet will continue to play into it.
Favorite Moment: When Allison proves she is a master escape artist.
Favorite Character: Allison is smart and determined. She does not give up when in seemingly impossible situations, and is brave enough to walk into a restaurant and order chicken nuggets, even when she is not quite dressed for it.
Recommended Reading: I recommend Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, another book that reaches back in time, and focuses on teenagers attempting to connect while their worlds fall apart.
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