Arpad Okay, Doom Rocket:
“Influenca is a hybrid of traditional comics, prose (you read the magazine in real-time with the character), interface reproductions (drawn phone screen captures), infographics, zine-like combinations. We sometimes turn the pages of what Beatriz is reading for her, and sometimes we just read normal panels. On some pages, characters break the fourth wall and turn a schedule from meta-text to information knowingly provided for the reader by the story’s subjects. All of this to say: this comic is going to do whatever the hell it wants to. The seed of being a zine and answering to no one blooms. Peters channels stylistic yet homogenous chaos to tell a sexy revolution story.
Much like the many formats, brace yourself for the staggering and delightful array of different styles Dodie and Beatriz are drawn in. Once things get down, dirty, and domestic, the teasing mixes with casually cutting conversation, causing a flurry of reaction faces. It’s very cartoony, frequently chibi. But also the details fly in when the mood suits. The muscles in the shoulders and back, tensed, appear out of nowhere. Peters could draw the girls eyes closed; the myriad styles are just evidence that confidence is more powerful in comics than technical skill (which Peters also has, employs when the time is right, etc). It’s a comedy with a lot of talking. Peters makes each and every panel count. Like a newspaper strip, though it’d have to be an alt-weekly with subject matter so blue.”
Read the full review on Doom Rocket’s website here!
