Vivienne Medrano’s dramedy Zoophobia takes a while for itself to find its footing, but when it does it’s surprisingly thoughtful and nuanced, despite its bizarre and anarchic atmosphere. There are heavy shades of Alice In Wonderland afoot, both revolving around a logic oriented protagonist thrust into a world that at first seemingly has none. However, over time the structure of the world is gradually revealed, partly in what proves to be a cathartic scene for the audience after a few chapters of the heroine being constantly left in the dark.
There are certainly a healthy amount of dangers to be aware of, but so far most the citizens of Safe Haven simply look more twisted than they actually are. The main character, Cameron Walden, is a counselor who’s been transferred to the undisclosed location in order to help the young students of Z.P. Academy, and it turns out that their dilemmas are universally relatable, at least from an emotional standpoint.
Given that Cameron is terrified of most animals, which provides us with the strip’s title, one would think she’d be completely unqualified for this particular assignment. The fact that it takes her until the fourth story arc to stop screaming in terror, finally settle herself mentally and begin taking clients only proves that further. Unfortunately for her, her superior- who is eventually revealed to be some sort of shape shifting creature- sees something in the timid redhead that convinces her she’s capable of handling the job.
One rocky plane ride later, what should have been just a steady paycheck becomes what’s apparently the most difficult period of her life, and Medrano’s kinetic art style does a great job conveying this. Visually, Zoophobia owes a lot to classic Tex Avery style animation, mixed with shades of arguably Tim Burton and some of Spumco’s better work in the facial expressions of the cast. The anatomy is mostly rubber hose limbs, but there’s just enough structure in the figures so that the reader shouldn’t feel too lost or frustrated.
All in all, it resembles a more mature Nicktoon, and I use the word “mature” in the literal sense, not so much in its content- there’s no Ren & Stimpy style gross out gags to be found here. Though there’s a few action scenes, so far they’ve been surprisingly restrained for a comic with such an intense aesthetic. The dialogue is somewhere around a soft R rating, but the large supporting cast is well developed and a good portion of the humor is rooted in the cast bantering with each other.
Cameron is sympathetic enough as a heroine, and one can’t blame her for her initial discomfort, but the supporting cast is the selling point for good reason- they all have wonderful chemistry with each other. She’s comforted by other staff manners like the well mannered Vice Principal Zechariah, a jaguar…thing who’s pretty much the paramount leader of the school, since the actual principal doesn’t do much.
The students themselves are no less charming. Jack is a fuzzy creature plagued by bad luck, with one of his few friends being popular drama kid Zill- who in fact has his own issues with self confidence, not wanting to jeopardize his relationship with his his girlfriend Kayla. There are a variety of other subdivisions of creatures among the animal population, including the son of the devil (I review a lot of things with demons in them for some reason) who’s represented as a brown fuzzy creature who really just wants to be social and make friends with what constitutes normal children in Safe Haven, much to the chagrin of his demonic father.
Once Zoophobia begins dissecting Safe Haven and its odd citizens, it becomes more and more of an enjoyable read. That isn’t to say the buildup is bad or even that the audience will lose patience, I doubt they will. But regardless, I felt I was reading something special by the time I reached the current page, and that’s nothing to sneeze at. Recommended, so click here and do it like they do on the Discovery Channel.