A benefit of having an ensemble cast lies with the storytelling potential that the characters bring. A talented writer can create a half dozen or more distinct characters, each with traits and personalities that both compliment and conflict with one another. Character growth can come merely through the interactions of the cast with one another and the relationships they form. What’s more, fans can easily find one or more characters they identify with and grow particularly fond of. Depending on the character, he or she can easily become a fan favorite not only through his or her personality… but also with the relationships that are formed with the character.

Scary Go Round has the benefit of continuing with some of the cast from John Allison’s classic work Bobbins. However, in my eyes it’s not Shelley Winters and Amy Chilton who caught my eyes (though the early SGR stories with Shelley as a zombie are among my favorites in the archives) but rather The Boy and his Girl Friday… Esther De Groot. The relationship between The Boy and Esther is one of the more interesting, partly because of how dissimilar these two are (with Esther being into the goth lifestyle and things dark and mysterious, and The Boy being… rather plain and ordinary). Indeed, before Esther and The Boy hooked up, I would have sworn he and Erin (Shelley’s kid sister) were “destined” to be together.

What’s intrigues me about the Esther/Boy relationship is that I’m rooting for both of them here. It’s not a matter of The Boy chasing after Esther, or Esther going after the Boy. Instead, they kind of fell together almost by accident and found that not only was the sex fun, but that they made a good couple. The Boy helps ground Esther a little; she’s still apt to do crazy things like intruding in on a desecrated Gypsy burial ground… but I get the feeling that she’s calmed down a bit. And Esther gives the Boy a glimpse at a life beyond a dull nine-to-five job with some plain uninteresting girl without spirit or intelligence. They complement each other… and their differences help this pair grow far more than the more mature members of the cast. Scary Go Round is worth reading if only for Esther and the Boy. Fortunately, if they’re not your cup of tea, someone else in the cast will be sure to be more to your liking.