Blackout

One hot Summer night in the city, the entire power goes out. The TV shuts off and a boy wails, “Mommm!” His sister can no longer use the phone, Mom cannot work on her computer, and Dad cannot finish cooking dinner. What’s a circle of relatives to do? When they go up to the roof to escape the heat, they find the lights–in stars that may be seen for a change–and such a lot of neighbors it is like a block party in the sky! In the street below, people are having just as much fun–talking, rollerblading, and eating ice cream before it melts. The boy and his circle of relatives enjoy being not so busy for once. They even have time to play a board game together. When the electricity is restored, the whole lot can go back to normal . . . but not everyone likes normal. The boy switches off the lights, and out comes the board game again.

Using a combination of panels and full bleed illustrations that move from color to black-and-white and back to color, John Rocco shows that if we are willing to put our cares aside for a even as, there may be party potential in a Summer blackout.