Can Rashida Jones revive the comics industry? Her debut series, Frenemy of the State, promises action, adventure, and Perez Hilton parodies – but will that be enough to hook female readers into the series?
As Jones explained last year, Frenemy started with an intriguing premise:
Back when Paris was at her height of fame and people were just obsessed with her, I had this funny notion that she’s actually some crazy genius who knew exactly what she was doing, and she was just conducting this elaborate anthropological study on the world. I imagined that she was going home every night and whispering into her mini-recorder: “Day three hundred and twenty seven. I continue to have them all fooled.” That was sort of where the idea for this comic started. And also, I’m obsessed with our country’s almost cannibalistic obsession with people who are famous for no other reason than that they’re famous. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be interesting to give somebody like Paris Hilton another layer? What if her fame is something more than just an overwhelming need to be an object of desire?” Ariana is a little bit reluctant to be in the spotlight, and there’s a sadness to that.
Before reading the comic, I found myself concerned about how the storyline would actually play out. Was there enough fun in this one idea to spin a series out of? Luckily, the answer is an overwhelming yes. Jones, alongside married creative team Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis and comic artist Jeff Wamester, created a smart, reflective series about a woman in the spotlight. The group also slid a lot of jokes about our current culture into the mix – does this look familiar?
The narrative revolves around young heiress Arianna Von Holmberg, who feels trapped in her role as a young, affluent, socialite. Exhausted with the role she plays, Arianna often finds herself playing games with the other women of her set who are invested in the wealthy party life.
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