By Dustin Cabeal
I know what’s happening in Things You Shouldn’t Remember, but I sure as hell don’t know where the story is going. That’s not a bad thing, by the way, just a way to say that I get what I read, but I don’t know jack about why I read it.
The concept seems to be this, there are things that have fallen out of existence in the world, and the entire population just forgets that it exists. Occasionally though, some people remember, and they must be recruited or killed to stop others from remembering. It’s not clear why it matters, but we do get a hint of a giant fucking demon destroying existence in the first issue. One of the characters watches this over and over on a TV as if he’s trying to learn something or just excepting his fate the only way he can.
The story follows a few individuals, but three of them are the most prominent. One man is the only person that remembers an entire civilization. The people after him are trying to kill him because he’s aware of the fact that he’s the only one that remembers.
The other side, which is more interesting due to the character development, follows Marc and eventually Monica. Marc remembers a song by a band that no one else knows and ends up making Monica remember which is how she gets roped into his situation. Before that, she turns him over to a mob boss that he beat at cards. It’s still not 100% clear if he won legit or if he cheated and was better at not getting caught than the rest of the people at the table. The guy that comes for him comes to recruit him, but Marc and Monica don’t particularly like his threatening style.
Three issues in and there’s a lot of questions. More questions than answers, but at this point, I have no idea how long it’s going to run for, and so it feels as if this is just the start. Almost as if the stage is still being set before the real story begins.
There is a problem of focus for the story. There are too many characters, and aside from four of them, it’s unclear what role the rest play to the story. While writing this, I remembered a fourth main character. Her role in the story isn’t quite clear, but there’s a dog following her and watching her non-stop which was pretty funny. Which brings me to the tone of the story… I think it’s a comedy of sorts. I laugh while reading it and find it to be strangely lighthearted. I mean, a dog stalking someone? That’s funny. If it’s not supposed to be, then there’s a real problem with the storytelling, but I’m like 90% sure it’s supposed to be funny. Other than the problem of too many characters, the story is well-written and interesting. It could use some reveals in the future, but we’ll worry about that in the future.
The artwork surprised me. I haven’t liked one single cover, but the interior art is great. It’s not quite as strange as it could be given the subject matter, but it manages to get the job done. One thing that excels with the artwork is the variety of character designs. That and the clothing is realistic. That’s one of my biggest gripes with comics; characters are always wearing out of style awkward fitting clothing, which is not the case here. The line work is detailed, and the coloring is a good fit for it. The coloring tows the line of being water colored looking and gives the book a nice warm look to it. It helps with the sci-fi elements, that’s for sure.
Right now, there’s enough mystery to bring me back. Even though there’s an abundance of characters, it’s not overwhelming the story. It could easily change, but with these first three issues, it manages to hold your interest. It’s a strange story that makes sense but keeps the reader clueless which when done right, is a treat to read. That said, Things You Shouldn’t Remember is a treat to read.
Score: 4/5
Things You Shouldn’t Remember #1-3
Writer/Letterer: Luis Roldán Torquemada
Artist: Mariano Eliceche
Colorist: Angel Lidon
Publisher: Darby Pop Publishing