Phonogram



""Has a song ever changed your life? Did you ever wonder how?""

Phonogram is a series by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie that takes Magic Music into the twenty-first century. In this universe, pop songs have power and the people who can use it are known as "phonomancers". There have been two series so far (and sadly, it looks like two is all there'll ever be). The first, Rue Britannia, follows phonomancer David Kohl's attempts to discover who is trying to resurrect the dead goddess of Britpop. The second series, The Singles Club, takes place over one evening in a club, each issue viewing the events through the perspective of a different character. A third series, The Immaterial Girl, will be released sometime in 2012, following the character Emily Aster.

Each issue so is jam-packed with references to bands and music that a 'crib sheet' is included in the back. This is often one of the most entertaining bits of the comic, as its tone is very personal and informal.

"Word of God: Her role is to be every model of the strange, exotic, brilliant, life-affirming, sexy, tempestuous, slightly insane girl who you can't believe you're with all the time you were with her."
 * Anthropomorphic Personification: Britannia, mod-goddess of Britpop; herself an aspect of The Goddess (also called The Feminine Principle), who embodies femininity in general.
 * Berserk Button: Do not do magic at Seth Bingo's club night. Also, don't say Girls Aloud aren't a real band, or he will destroy every thought you've ever had.
 * British English: Well, it's written by two Brits and takes place in Bristol, Bath and London.
 * Came Back Wrong: The goddess Britannia's resurrection doesn't change the fact that she's been rotting since Britpop died.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Almost all of the main cast of The Singles Club. Special mention goes to Laura, however, as she manages to be a Deadpan Snarker while speaking almost exclusively via quotes from songs and writers.
 * Disco Dan: The Retromancers.
 * Do Not Call Me Paul: Lloyd, who would much rather be known as Mr. Logos. Inverted with his friend Marc, whom everyone calls the Marquis despite his protests.
 * Hollywood Homely: Invoked and lampshaded by Gillen when it comes to Laura Heaven, who is meant to be shorter, slightly fuller-figured and not quite as attractive as Penny B or Emily Aster. Only as Gillen points out, this is a world drawn by Jamie McKelvie, so 'less attractive is relative'.
 * It's Popular, Now It Sucks: Used In-Universe. Since the cast is made up primarily of people who are essentially indie music snobs with magic powers who draw their power from their indie music snobbery, this trope can appear from time to time. The crib sheets suggest that the authors aren't entirely free of this trope either.
 * Jerkass: As he gleefully says in the first few pages of Rue Britannia, David Kohl is such a cock. (This leads to him being tricked and then beat down by The Goddess, just on principle, before she informs him someone's trying to resurrect Britannia and makes him try and stop it.)
 * Magic Music: A very postmodern example.
 * Manic Pixie Dream Girl: The Girl (a Polish phonomancer) seems to be like this for Marc.


 * Monochromatic Eyes: The telltale sign that someone is doing magic.
 * Nostalgia Ain't Like It Used to Be/Nostalgia Filter: The whole point of Rue Britannia; the retromancers are driven by their inability to let go of the music they love and the false youth it gives them,
 * Perspective Flip: The Singles Club, where every issue takes place from the point of view of a different character, features a few of these. For example, one issue involves a girl building up to ask a guy to dance, at which point he brushes her off in a way that makes him seem quite cruel and rude. A later issue takes place from his perspective, which reveals that from his point of view he's distracted and depressed about something else when she asks, and doesn't intend to be malicious to her.
 * Post-Modern Magik: With pop music as its vessel.
 * Shown Their Work: Kieron Gillen knows quite a lot about music.
 * Third Person Person: Seth Bingo has been known to do this, according to Word of God.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: Seth Bingo and Silent Girl.
 * Whatevermancy: Phonomancy - sound magic.