graph·ic nov·el
noun1. a novel in comic-strip format.
I read them all. The good and the bad, so you don’t have to.
Welcome to The Pull List.
And, as always…Spoilers ahead!
Resident Alien Volume 2: The Suicide Blonde TPB
Writer: Peter Hogan
Artist: Steve Parkhouse
Cover: Steve Parkhouse
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $14.99
Release Date: May 28, 2014
There is something unique about an alien walking among us like he is a member of every day society.
Of course, no one knows that Harry, the titular resident, is from out of town, thanks to his telepathic powers that mask his alien features.
Peter Hogan puts the reader through a loop by constantly conveying Harry’s normalcy until we are brought back to reality with the government agents lurking in the shadows. Asta, Harry’s friend, brings the human element into the equation. She really cares about him, and while she may or may not know his secret, you get the sense that it doesn’t matter to her which makes her extremely likable.
Without context, it’s funny to see a pink skinned, pointy eared doctor helping patients, but Steve Parkhouse did a wonderful job establishing the tone of the story with realistic visuals coupled with solid coloring. I’m a cape and cowl guy when it comes to my comics and I was thoroughly impressed with Resident Alien.
It works on every level of storytelling that presents something fresh where you are vested in this cohesive and creative story.
Score: 8/10
Andre the Giant: Life and Legend
Writer: Box Brown
Artist: Box Brown
Publisher: First Second Books
Price: $17.99
Release Date: May 21, 2014
It doesn’t matter if you are an avid professional wrestling fan or if you’ve never witnessed a single body slam because Andre the Giant is known the world over.
He is one of the elite few that transcended his industry and made an indelible impression on pop culture.
Now, it’s hard to say the same about wrestling comic books. Let’s be real…they suck. It’s hard to put the blame on any one creator. It’s hard to write about a genre that often doesn’t take itself too seriously. You have to truly “get”pro wrestling to appreciate its unique brand of storytelling.
Box Brown gets it.
He doesn’t paint Andre in a particular light to tell a good story.
The big man’s life is the really good story. Brown tells the most accurate account of Andre’s life from his humble beginnings to superstardom and beyond. You noticed I said “most accurate account”. Wrestling used to be a closed business that operated in secrecy, similar to a magician`s world.
Often times, wrestlers will lie and augment previously told fables to protect the business. Andre was billed at 7’4’ even though he wasn’t actually that tall.
However, wrestlers will put their hand on the bible and swear he was that tall in order to keep up the illusion. There are a lot legendary tales about Andre and Brown does a marvelous job of separating the fiction within the fiction.
Brown’s artwork is great and perfect for this type of biographical story. It’s reminiscent of comic strips in a newspaper. He gives us small drawings that tell a story of a giant among men.
As a wrestling pundit and participant, Andre the Giant was the only wrestler I was legitimately afraid of as he rag-dolled my hero, Hulk Hogan, at every turn leading into their epic encounter at WrestleMania 3.
Even if you didn’t like him, you respected him, which speaks to his mass appeal. It is that essence that Box Brown magnificently captures as this labor of love speaks volumes to anyone willing to listen. Trust me.
Score: 10/10
Protectors Inc. Vol. 1 TP
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Art: Gordon Purcell
Colorist: Michael Atiyeh
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $12.99
Release Date: June 4, 2014
The idea of superheroes being employed by a Fortune 500 company or a popular franchise seems interesting.
However, the best ideas don’t work if you don’t care about the characters.
Detective John Riley works the most high profile case of his career when one of the Protectors is found dead.
How could this be? Are there super villains running amuck? Was this the work of another Protector? Or, is it all of the above?
The concept of a slow burn is replaced with verbose dialog that tries to make plot threads important simply because we are told they are. We are supposed to care about Protectors getting killed due to a deep rooted conspiracy. The main character, Riley, sees them as spoiled brats, which is the lens we see them in.
We don’t see the events unfold to a degree where the payoff is worth the time invested. The writing and artwork are not bad at all.
It’s just boring.
Score: 5/10
Star Trek: Khan TP
Writer: Mike Johnson
Artist: David Messina, Luca Lamberti, Claudia Balboni
Colorist: Claudia Scarletgothica, Valentina Cuomo
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Price; $19.99
Release Date: May 21, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed the movie Star Trek Into Darkness.
I know quite a few people don’t share my sentiment and the Khan saga is at the center of it for most. If you enjoyed the film and everything Benedict Cumberbatch brought to the table, you are in for a treat.
Mike Johnson gives us an origin story that at first, gives us more questions than answers. The court room proceedings during Khan’s trail sets up each chapter as a tasty bread crumb leading us closer to the beginning of the film.
There are plot points that will make you despise or appreciate Khan and Admiral Marcus even more. There are also a few things I would’ve like to have seen in the film such as the reason behind the alias, John Harrison.
Reading this almost makes me feel that I know something that the rest of the world doesn’t and therefore, I can’t talk about it with anyone because no one would understand me. It’s kind of thrilling at the same time because you realize that Khan was always going to end up an ingenious cutthroat no matter who found him floating in space.
Overall, this serves as an outstanding companion piece for this new Star Trek Universe.
Score: 8/10
