''Blue Monday'' is a comic book series created, written and illustrated by Chynna Clugston Flores. The series follows the adventures of Bleu L. Finnegan and her friends as they attend high school during the early 1990s, specifically between the years 1991–93.

Publication history

Chynna Clugston Flores created ''Blue Monday'' during her own high school years in the early 1990s, beginning with the characters Bleu and Clover. The series is named after the song by British post-punk band New Order. Between 1997 and 2000, individual short stories and one-pagers appeared in such publications as ''

Dark Horse Presents ''Dark Horse Presents'' was a comic book published by American company Dark Horse Comics from 1986. Their first published series, it was their flagship title until its September 2000 cancellation. The second incarnation was published on MySpace, r ...

,'' ''

Action Girl Comics ''Action Girl Comics'' is a comic book anthology series, edited by Sarah Dyer. It features the work of female comic book creators, and is published by Slave Labor Graphics Slave Labor Graphics (SLG) is an independent American comic book publis ...

'' and ''Oni Double Feature''. In 2000, editor Jamie S. Rich picked the title up for Oni Press. The

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

''The Kids Are Alright'' was published in 2000, followed over the next five years by three more miniseries, all released in black and white and collected as digest-sized paperbacks. ''Blue Monday'' then went on a long hiatus, with an attempt to publish a fifth miniseries in 2009 resulting in only a single issue. In 2015, Image Comics acquired publication rights to the series and announced plans to release new editions of the paperbacks. The new books are in standard

trade paperback Trade paperback may refer to: * Trade paperback, a higher-quality softcover version of a book * Trade paperback (comics) In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published ...

size, with colors added by

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

-winning colorist

Jordie Bellaire Jordie Bellaire is an American comic book writer and colorist who lives in Ireland and works for DC, Marvel, Valiant, and Image comic book publishers. She has colored '' Pretty Deadly'', '' The Manhattan Projects'', ''Moon Knight'', '' The Visi ...

. The Image Comics edition of ''The Kids Are Alright'' appeared in July 2016, ''Absolute Beginners'' in December 2016, and ''Inbetween Days'' in July 2017. ''Painted Moon'' was to have been published in the same format in 2018, to be followed by volume five, ''Thieves Like Us'', and an omnibus volume entitled ''Germfree Adolescents'' which would include all the published Blue Monday comics up to that point. ''Painted Moon'' was solicited for pre-order but removed from the schedule, and the future of the series is unknown. Chynna Clugston Flores has stated that she has plans to continue the ''Blue Monday'' stories past the high school years and into the young adulthoods of the characters.

Setting

The story takes place in the early 1990s, mainly in the fictitious northern California town of Deadwood, which is based on the towns of Oakhurst and

Coarsegold Coarsegold is a census-designated place in Madera County, California, United States. The population was 4,144 at the 2020 census, up from 1,840 in 2010. The Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, a federally recognized tribe, is headquartered ...

where the author spent her high school years. The main characters all attend Jefferson High School, based on

Yosemite High School Yosemite High School (YHS) is a secondary school in the Yosemite Unified School District in Oakhurst, California. YHS occupies of rolling, wooded hills and is located within the foothills of California's Sierra Nevada. Yosemite High School was re ...

in Oakhurst. Nearby is the larger city of Fresburger ( Fresno).

Themes

Chynna Clugston Flores has stated that Blue Monday is "...about a group of outcast kids that are completely obnoxious and find themselves endlessly amusing without being self-destructive... They listen to a lot of music, daydream nonstop, are totally hormonally challenged and have a penchant for mischief and pulling pranks on one another." She has also characterized the series as " ''Archie'' on crack, with cursing and smokes." The main characters are social outcasts in their conventional, conservative community, and rely on each other to deal with boredom, bullying, heartbreak, vindictive teachers, and all the challenges of adolescence and coming of age. The characters' (especially Bleu's) interests in pop music and

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...

heavily influence the story.

Main characters

*Bleu L. Finnegan – The main

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of the series. Bleu has blue hair, and a somewhat innocent, occasionally naive personality. She is obsessed with

mod culture Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...

and music, as well as 1980s New Wave, ska, Madchester and 1990s Britpop. Among her favorite musical artists are Adam Ant, Paul Weller, and Blur. She also has a great love for the silent comedy films of

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

. Bleu has a crush on her history teacher, Mr. Bishop. Chynna Clugston Flores describes her as "...a bit off-kilter, but in a good way (usually), she's an intense daydreamer, can possibly see the supernatural in action (which she tries to ignore and pitifully fails), and really is just a bit of an adorable goof like many fifteen-year-olds are." *Clover Connelly – Born in Ireland, Clover moved to the United States in ninth grade with her whole family and befriended Bleu at a Valentine's Day dance. She lives with her widowed father, her tough older brother Travis, and several unruly younger brothers. Clover is a fan of punk rock music and fashion. She has a fierce temper and, when really angry, is capable of sending strong men to the hospital. Clover often functions as the exasperated voice of reason for the group. *Alan Walsh – Alan deals with his anger and self-esteem issues by often behaving in a crude, obnoxious and arrogant manner. He is proud of his extensive pornography collection, and often goes with Victor on peeping tom excursions. He has romantic feelings for Bleu, but has no idea how to connect with her and more often ends up offending her and Clover with his crude comments and tasteless

practical joke A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...

s. He has been dating Erin in a fruitless attempt to make Bleu jealous. *Victor Gomez – Alan's best friend. Although he usually goes along willingly with Alan's pranks and schemes, he is seldom the instigator and has a certain level of maturity and depth of character. He periodically reinvents his style, having adopted New Wave and

Goth A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were: *Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history *Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history Goth or Goths may also refer to: * Goth (surname) ...

affectations in the past; he is currently focused on ska. Victor has a crush on Clover, which was reciprocated in ''Inbetween Days''. They are keeping their relationship a secret from the others. *Erin O'Neill – Erin has an uninhibited personality; she seems to be sexually promiscuous and is something of an

exhibitionist Exhibitionism is the act of exposing in a public or semi-public context one's intimate parts – for example, the breasts, Sex organ, genitals or buttocks. The practice may arise from a desire or compulsion to expose themselves in such a mann ...

. Erin is attracted to Alan and has attempted to interfere with his interest in Bleu through several different schemes. One such scheme involved persuading Victor to pursue Bleu instead of Clover, spreading a rumor that Clover was gay. As of ''Painted Moon'' she is dating Alan Walsh. *Monkeyboy (Chris) – The youngest member of the group, Monkeyboy is one of the peripheral characters of the comic. He works at a diner and aspires to be a chef. His hair hangs down over his eyes. He usually goes along with whatever the rest of the group is doing, especially Alan and Victor. *Rissa Meade – Another peripheral member of the group. Rissa is level-headed, a good athlete, and habitually wears capes. Her father is the vice-principal of Jefferson High. *Donovan Bishop – Mr. Bishop is a history teacher, a long-term substitute for a teacher recovering from surgery. Bleu has a crush on him, as he is her ideal man, from watching

silent films to driving a "beauty of a Falcon." *Seamus – Seamus is a pooka in the form of a six-foot-tall

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

. He is Bleu's self-appointed protector, sometimes extricating her from unpleasant or dangerous situations (and usually embarrassing her in the process). He is known for drinking beer and for having bad

flatulence Flatulence, in humans, is the expulsion of gas from the intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environm ...

. Aside from Bleu, only Clover can see and hear him clearly (because she's Irish and believes in the supernatural), but others can be affected by his actions.

Influences and background

Clugston Flores has stated that her own personal experiences from high school have helped shape the series, with a scene surrounding Bleu's attempt to mascot for her school being almost identical to her real life experience.Thieves Like Us: Clugston on Blue Monday
Comic Book Resources The characters Bleu and Clover are based on aspects of her own personality and history.

Manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

has also affected the series, with Clugston Flores listing Rumiko Takahashi and Adam Warren as influences. Dan DeCarlo (

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Hernandez brothers ('' Love and Rockets'') are also significant comics influences. The Mod subculture is prevalent throughout the series, with Christine Feldman writing in her book ''We Are the Mods'' that the series reconceptualized Mod femininity. Pop music is a very significant part of ''Blue Monday''. The comic itself, all of the miniseries and all of the individual issues are named after pop songs. Some of the represented genres are 1960s mod-style rock ( The Who, The Kinks), 1980s New Wave ( Adam Ant, The Jam, New Order) and ska ( The Beat, The Specials), punk rock, and 1990s Britpop ( Blur). The coming-of-age romantic comedy films of the 1980s also influenced the series, especially the works of John Hughes and "Savage" Steve Holland.

Collected editions

The chronology of the collected editions is different from the numbering. Timewise, the volumes come in the order: one, two, four, three. As several stories make reference to past events, this order can become confusing. In an add-on comic in volume four, Clugston addresses this issue.

The Kids Are Alright

An escalating war of pranks breaks out after Alan and Victor give Bleu and Clover

cookie A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, n ...

s stolen from home economics class, resulting in detention for the girls. Bleu desperately tries to get tickets to see her favorite rock musician, Adam Ant, in concert, but is frustrated at every turn. She tries to win a contest for the tickets by performing the song "

Stand and Deliver ''Stand and Deliver'' is a 1988 American drama film directed by Ramón Menéndez, written by Menéndez and Tom Musca, based on the true story of a high school mathematics teacher, Jaime Escalante. For portraying Escalante, Edward James Olmos wa ...

," but despite her good performance the drunken

male chauvinist Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotism ...

emcee instead gives the tickets to the busty winner of a wet T-shirt contest. She finally wins the tickets in a radio phone-in contest, but the obnoxious bouncer and receptionist at the concert venue refuse to let her in without photo ID, which she doesn't have because she's too young for a driver's license. Meanwhile, she begins to develop a crush on Mr. Donovan, her substitute history teacher.

Absolute Beginners

The kids are invited to a themed party at a friend's house in which they will act out a 1930s murder mystery. After having wine spilled on her at the party, Bleu takes a bath and is secretly filmed naked by Alan and Victor, who then threaten to circulate the tape around the school. In retribution, the girls challenge the boys to a soccer match, with the real purpose being to beat on and humiliate them through the use of " hooligan rules." Bleu reluctantly agrees to go on a date with Alan to get the tape back, which ends up being a humiliating experience for him as Erin and Seamus the Pooka both separately conspire to sabotage the evening.

Inbetween Days

This collection consists of the holiday-themed one-shots "Dead Man's Party" (

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

), "Lovecats" ( Valentine's Day), and "Nobody's Fool" (

St. Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

and April Fool's Day). "Dead Man's Party": The gang attends a Halloween costume party at Erin's house but are stranded when there is a power failure. They pass the time by making up and telling horror stories. Victor tells a zombie apocalypse story that heavily references '' Return of the Living Dead'', Bleu a gothic vampire romance based heavily on the original '' Dark Shadows'', and Clover a parody of '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show''. Meanwhile, a pair of supernaturally floating Jesus heads (knocked off a statue in a cemetery in a previous story) keep trying to kill Clover because they mistake her devil costume for the real thing. The heads may be a tongue-in-cheek homage to the

Hexham Heads The Hexham Heads were a pair of small stone heads, about 6 cm high, found in 1971 in the English town of Hexham. The heads became associated with alleged paranormal phenomena, and their exact origin is a point of controversy. History The he ...

as they are similar to size and are responsible for unwanted paranormal activity. "Lovecats": a Valentine's Day dance is approaching and Victor tries to work up the courage to ask Clover. There is a flashback scene to an earlier Valentine's Day dance when Bleu met Clover, Alan and Victor for the first time. After many complications, Victor and Clover kiss and begin a covert relationship. "Nobody's Fool Part 1: Everything's Gone Green": It's St. Patrick's Day, and Clover is in a foul mood because of the Irish stereotyping that accompanies the holiday. After drinking too much

punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

, she dreams that she is made to work as a scantily-clad " booth babe" at a

convention Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law * Convention (meeting), meeting of a (usually large) group of individuals and/or companies in a ...

attended by lecherous leprechauns. "Nobody's Fool Part 2: Everybody Plays the Fool": While reminiscing on his birthday (April 1) about his younger days, Victor dresses up in his old

makeup and clothing and is spotted dancing in his bedroom by Bleu and Clover. To avoid being embarrassed by their gossip, he shows up to school looking like Robert Smith of The Cure, intending to pass it off later as an April Fool's Day joke. When all the girls at school swoon over him, though, Victor decides he may have a good thing going. ''Inbetween Days'' also includes the short story "Blue Belles," a crossover with Paul Dini's

Jingle Belle Jingle Belle is a fictional comics character created by Paul Dini. The spoiled teenage daughter of Santa Claus, she has a humorously contentious relationship with her famous father. She is usually motivated by feeling unappreciated or being jea ...

. The gang has a memorable Christmas Eve encounter with Santa's wayward daughter.

Painted Moon

This story follows immediately after the end of ''Absolute Beginners'', and before ''Inbetween Days''. Bleu is still upset and depressed over the incident with the videotape. Erin tries to manipulate Victor into asking Bleu out, so that Alan will stop thinking about her and date Erin instead. Victor's attempts to romance Bleu go drastically wrong, however, much to the embarrassment of both. Bleu resorts to

masturbation Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...

to try to cure her insomnia, but becomes addicted to it and is mortified when she thinks Mr. Bishop suspects her "dirty secret." Erin covertly spreads a rumor that Clover is gay, in hopes that Victor will lose interest in her and pursue Bleu instead (with some success, though he is disappointed by the rumor). To dispel the rumor, Clover ostentatiously kisses Monkeyboy while the gang is at a bowling party. This upsets Victor, but ultimately prompts him to realise his feelings for Clover and apologise to her, to amend their friendship. Bleu, meanwhile, finally confesses her feelings to Mr. Bishop. He lets her down gently, telling her the story of how he once thought he was in love with one of his own teachers. Bleu is undeterred, however, assuming that Mr. Bishop is only put off by the fact that she's underage, and vowing to try again when she's legal. Alan, tired of Bleu's obsession with her teacher, begins dating Erin.

Thieves Like Us

A fifth miniseries, entitled ''Thieves Like Us'', was scheduled for release in 2009, but only the first issue was published. In an interview conducted at WonderCon 2012 (March 16–18, 2012), Chynna Clugston Flores stated that she was working on "finishing up" ''Thieves Like Us'' after its extended hiatus. In January 2013, Clugston Flores stated that she had finished scripting ''Thieves Like Us'', was in the process of drawing it, and had many more ''Blue Monday'' stories left to tell. In July 2015,

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

announced that it had acquired publication rights to the ''Blue Monday'' series and would be releasing ''Thieves Like Us'' as a series in 2016. As of May 2016, the miniseries had been delayed so that it could appear after the Image Comics re-releases of the first four trade paperbacks. However, Image has released no new volumes of the series since ''Inbetween Days'', and the status of this story is unknown. In the first issue of the series, the gang makes a springtime visit to the local zoo, and Bleu is mortified at the sight of all the animals mating. Embarrassed by her lack of experience, she resolves to lose her virginity.

Germfree Adolescents

In July 2015,

announced that it had acquired publication rights to ''Blue Monday'' and would be releasing a single-volume anthology containing all previously published miniseries and one-shots, entitled ''Germfree Adolescents''."July 2015 Image Expo Announcements Revealed"
, July 2, 2015. Retrieved on August 28, 2015 Continuing the ''Blue Monday'' tradition of music-related titles, this volume is named after the 1978 album and song by British punk band X-Ray Spex. In May 2016, Chynna Clugston Flores clarified that ''Germfree Adolescents'' would be released in 2017, so that it could include the new miniseries, ''Thieves Like Us''. This date was pushed back to 2018 at the earliest, and Clugston Flores has said that its release may depend upon the success of ''Thieves Like Us''. However, the Image Comics editions of ''Painted Moon'', ''Thieves Like Us'' and ''Germfree Adolescents'' have not appeared.

References

External links

Official Image Comics Blue Monday pageChynna Clugston Flores's Tumblr page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Monday (Comics) 2000 comics debuts Teen comedy comics Slice of life comics Comics set in the 1990s Comics set in California Original English-language manga