Blue Monday (comics)

Chynna Clugston Flores created Blue Monday during her own high school years in the early 1990s, beginning with the characters Bleu and Clover.[3] The series is named after the song by British post-punk band New Order.[4] Between 1997 and 2000, individual short stories and one-pagers appeared in such publications as Dark Horse Presents, Action Girl Comics and Oni Double Feature.

In 2000, editor Jamie S. Rich picked the title up for Oni Press. The miniseries 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.[5] The new books are in standard trade paperback size, with colors added by Eisner Award-winning colorist Jordie Bellaire.[6][7] 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.[8] 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.[4]

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 where the author spent her high school years. The main characters all attend Jefferson High School, based on Yosemite High School in Oakhurst. Nearby is the larger city of Fresburger (Fresno).

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."[9] She has also characterized the series as "Archie on crack, with cursing and smokes."[3]

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 heavily influence the story.

• Bleu L. Finnegan – The main protagonist of the series. Bleu has blue hair, and a somewhat innocent, occasionally naive personality. She is obsessed with mod culture 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. 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."[10]
• 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 jokes. 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 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. 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 Buster Keaton silent films to driving a "beauty of a Falcon."
• Seamus – Seamus is a pooka in the form of a six-foot-tall otter. 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. 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.

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.[11] The characters Bleu and Clover are based on aspects of her own personality and history.[3]

Manga has also affected the series, with Clugston Flores listing Rumiko Takahashi and Adam Warren as influences.[12] Dan DeCarlo (Archie Comics) and the Hernandez brothers (Love and Rockets) are also significant comics influences.[9]

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.[13]

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.[14]

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.

• Official Image Comics Blue Monday page
• Chynna Clugston Flores's Tumblr page