Veronika gets a desk job at a company that makes energy drinks or herbal supplements or… something. It’s a murky operation and what’s in their products is murkier still. With her new colleagues Persephone and Dave, they set off to find out the secrets of the company deep down in… The Well!
Jon Allen’s latest Ohio-based animal-headed cast comic The Well is his best one since Ohio Is For Sale. The Well is both a compelling look at life in your 20s/the search for identity and a portrayal of the current toxic climate of wellness and productivity and its impact on society.
I really liked the main character a lot - she’s very relatable and endearing. We meet Veronika at a transitional moment in her life. She’s left her shitty dad and indifferent mother at home for a run-down apartment, recently vacated by her ne'er-do-well boyfriend who’s touring Ohio with his band, and started a new job - both are stepping stones to somewhere better, eventually, but the crappiness of her situation mirrors her internal conflict.
And that’s what I would’ve preferred the whole book be about: an exploration of Veronika’s dark well of feelings and why she’s trying to disappear/hide. Because, for me, the only part where the book becomes dull is the hammy action melodrama that’s shoe-horned into the final act to give the story the feel of a finale.
There’s a literal well that has to do with the company’s product and… well, without giving anything away, it’s a fairly meh reveal. Allen falls back on cliches in this part, even throwing in an expository speech from the villain too. I think the book would’ve been better without this forced melodrama or the supernatural sub-plot, which sat awkwardly amidst the mostly slice-of-life story.
Besides the actual well beneath the company, the well could be a reference to the metaphorical well Veronika feels within her, representing her empty life; it could be a reference to Radclyffe Hall’s classic lesbian novel The Well of Loneliness; it could be a reference to the wellness industry the company’s engaged in and the quest for feeling “well”.
There are also themes of the consequences of unfettered industrialisation/capitalism, and the goal of constant high productivity having negative impacts on the environment and people. Dave is frequently pushing himself to be better and more productive and is arguably the least happy person in the story. Material success is kind of empty and no substitute for human connection, which is something that continually evades him. Jake and Susan, the company owners, are even more warped because of similar motivations. Persephone meanwhile is happier because she’s less concerned with productivity and enjoys life for what it is.
I don’t want to make it seem like the book is overly intellectual, just that it’s deliberately layered and I appreciate when a creator does that - it shows they’ve thought about their project and really made an effort. You can totally just read and enjoy the book for its surface level story, which is very entertaining and an accomplishment in itself.
Like Jason, Allen draws his characters with animal heads, though, similar to Jason, his stories aren’t childish. The style is simple yet effectively expressive and appealing to look at. The book reminded me a bit of Seth at times too - the shots of empty places, the black and white colouring, the moody narration. All to the good - Jason and Seth are both world-class cartoonists!
Jon Allen just makes good comics. I’m always pleased to see a new book from him and he doesn’t disappoint with his latest. The Well is a fun contemporary mystery/light horror comic with some thoughtful character moments and cultural commentary mixed in. Well worth checking out.
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