Retro Thursday: Blue Monday
In June 2001, I talked with Chynna Clugston (then Clugston-Major), of the comic-book series “Blue Monday.” It was one of my favorite comics, mixing influences like “Ranma 1/2″ and “The Apartment” into a witty, oddball mix. The url in the article no longer works for a free sample of “Blue Monday,” but you can download it here, courtesy of Oni Press. A new “Blue Monday” series is scheduled for December.
The following article ran in the Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman on June 22, 2001. I had only been writing “Word Balloons” for The Oklahoman for about four months.
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Fans of witty teen films will be grateful for the comics work of Chynna Clugston-Major. Her “Blue Monday” captures the wit and charm of teen-age life portrayed with an exciting, Japanese-influenced style.
“It’s about a group of outcast kids that are completely obnoxious and find themselves endlessly amusing without being self-destructive,” Clugston-Major said.
“They listen to a lot of music, daydream nonstop, are totally hormonally challenged and have a penchant for mischief and pulling pranks on one another.”
“Blue Monday” features the imaginative Bleu Finnegan, a blue-haired sophomore who is obsessed with Adam Ant and Buster Keaton.
Her friends include the temperamental Clover Connelly, recently moved from Ireland, and the hyperactive Erin O’Neil.
Then there are the slightly voyeuristic guys. Victor Gomez, who is alternately in love with each of the girls, is a music fanatic who writes poetry. Rounding out the cast is the argumentative Alan Walsh, first-generation American son of an English family.
“These were the kids at your high school you thought were big losers because they wore the weird clothes and had the bizarre haircuts, and you figured they were probably on glue or smoking banana peels, or both,” Clugston-Major said.
When in high school, she said, outside of the Hernandez brothers’ “Love and Rockets,” Evan Dorkin’s “Hectic Planet,” and Jamie Hewlett’s “Tank Girl,” there weren’t comics she felt were aimed at her age group.
Clugston-Major claims several cinematic and comedic influences in the creation of “Blue Monday,” including John Hughes (”Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Sixteen Candles”) and “Savage” Steve Holland (”Better Off Dead,” “One Crazy Summer”).
“Other than Mr. Hughes, ‘Savage’ Steve Holland is a definite major influence! I also like to keep in mind people like Charles Addams with his morbid sense of humor and Billy Wilder and his amazing comedic prowess. When I’m writing about hopeless cases such as Bleu Finnegan, I like to think of Jack Lemmon in ‘The Apartment,’ or with Clover Connolly, I imagine the kind of attitude Lauren Bacall had in ‘How To Marry A Millionaire.’”
Her artistic influences are also a smorgasbord, including one of Japan’s leading manga artists, Rumiko Takahashi (”Ranma 1/2″), the artist responsible for the well-known Archie Comics style, Dan DeCarlo and the Hernandez brothers.
An interesting element of “Blue Monday” is that each issue has a “suggested sound track” of work Clugston-Major recommends to go along with the issue.
“Most of the time the songs alone give me an idea for a scene, so I have to stick them in there just for that person who’s going to look it up and play it while they read or after – it doesn’t matter which.”
The first issue of Clugston-Major’s “Blue Monday: The Kids are Alright ” is available as part of Oni Press’ free comic download program at www.onipress.com/freecomic/.
Upcoming projects for Clugston-Major include the Oni Press Color Special 2001 anthology
In August, “Hopeless Savages,” which Clugston-Major is working on with Jen Van Meter and Christine Norrie, will be released by Oni.
Also in development at Oni is a new series, “Scooter Girl.”
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