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Sid Love
By Philip Schweier
November 1, 2009 - 05:30

Choice Comix
Writer(s): Terry Toledo
Penciller(s): Terry Toledo
Inker(s): Terry Toledo
Cover Artist(s): Terry Toledo



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Terry Toledo's debut comic, Sid Love, can't be described as, "It is the story of..." It is, in fact, many stories, as it follows what might be called the "choose-your-path" format. At the bottom of certain pages, characters are often presented with two options, and readers are invited to make the choice for the character by turning one page for Option A or another page for Option B. Writer/artist Toledo adds a new wrinkle to the format by having some of the story variations end in an audio file available at his website.

In my case, I found myself a little burnt out after reading three different outcomes of the book. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. I am not the type of person who can watch a day-long marathon of television episodes on DVD. They begin to blur one into another. Instead I will watch maybe two, and come back the next day and watch a couple more.

With Sid Love, without feeling the need to sit and follow all the potential storylines in one sitting, it allowed me to read subsequent variations over a longer period of time, enjoying the book longer than most graphic novels (and delaying this review). And it was an enjoyable read, with engaging characters and interesting – perhaps a little confusing – situations that kept me interested to each often varied ending.

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What serves the story best I think is the art. It is simple and cartoony, easy on the eyes, and thereby an effective contrast to following the multiple narratives themselves. Were it perhaps at the other end of the spectrum, akin to a hyper-detailed George Perez approach, it would be enormously distracting. Instead, Toledo makes the wise choice of allowing story and art to work together effectively.