Lifetime Passes, a sly, graphic novel on friends, life and expectations

Never judge a book by its cover. I led one other review like this and that book, much like Lifetime Passes was nothing like what I thought it would be. From the cover of Lifetime Passes one might think that it’s a group of teen social media savvy vampires who are being escorted through a theme park with their elder queen, who was donning red glasses underneath her umbrella. Had I looked at the back cover I would’ve discovered a more accurate read on what the graphic novel is really about.

Lifetime Passes is a young adult graphic novel with a wink and nod to dark humor. The young adults on the cover who I thought were vampires, were actually just surly teens who play video games and enjoy their local theme park, Kingdom Adventure. It’s a theme park that’s as big as they come, loaded with roller coasters, iconic rides, and generations of people who’ve enjoyed them all.

The vampire queen is actually just a senior citizen that these teens team up with through a scheme that goes sideways. You see, the kids love going to Kingdom Adventure and on one trip there they sneak backstage to be crafty because they’re mischievous teens. They overhear a pair of employees talking about a park policy where complimentary; lifetime passes are given to the park’s guests who have a death within their party while they’re there.

That’s all good and well, but these park guests are around 16 and nowhere near the age that death would randomly come calling. However, one of the girls’ moms works with senior citizens and it’s her work that sparks the big idea. What if the kids volunteer to take a group of senior citizens to Kingdom Adventure and encourage them to go on fast rides that fly in the face of their safety recommendations?

It turns out that such a program exists and the kids already have a group of willing participants, but one of them is far craftier than they give her credit for. This is where the clichéd motto that started out this review comes back full circle. This older woman has a deeper story than these kids realize. She knows the park inside and out and has her own agenda for wanting to visit it.

Now, armed with my vision of Lifetime Passes as a dark, humor graphic novel, and not a vampire tale is clear. It makes sense to me now and has just the right amount of sardonic charm, real emotion, and the ability to know that it’s not too late to do things that can impact others around you, as well as, yourself. The graphic novel also has a couple of ethical situations as to how far one would go and if the supposed payoff, is really worth what you’re about to do.

Then, just as you think it’s going to go one way, it lands a T junction in front of the story and skillfully pivots that another direction that previously didn’t exist. Don’t get lost in the comparison between Kingdom Adventure and other theme parks. Even though I used to work at Walt Disney World, I do not know if such a policy exists. That’s one of the quandaries that the book poses, but it does so in a very human way, albeit through the lens of some mischievous teens.

The illustrations by Claudia Aguirre are realistic and capture all of the emotions that the characters are going through, from the subtle scheming to the deep sadness. They’re also big and detailed when required, like when they’re in the park or flashing back in time. This isn’t a graphic novel that will hook every middle school or high school reader. It’s just a bit left of center, on the human left side of center, with a sly observational look at the complex manner in which generations relate to one another.

Lifetime Passes is by Terry Blas with illustrations by Claudia Aguirre and available on Abrams Comic Arts, an imprint of Abrams Books.

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