So Much To Use and Yet Falls Short
So I haven’t done a comic review for a while and one main reason to this is because I’m tired of the super hero genre and Marvel and DC. Though I still get a few because I’ve been collecting them for a while and I wanna be able to say “I was there for the downfall of that”. I picked up this comic, saw that it was a self contained story, scanned two pages and bought it at almost the same price of a normal issue. And I am going to say it now so as to not waste your time by making you read the entire review before you see my verdict but I thought this sucked.
The story? A trio of teens decide to break into an elderly man’s house, and it just so happens to be Halloween. Maybe this is to try and make it eerie or give it atmosphere? Moving on, they go to open a box and the man tells them a story of when he was in a prison camp during WWII and how the Jewish people were slaughtered by the Nazis and that the spirits of all the dead brought the rags to life and killed the Nazis. In modern day the trio have a scuffle, one dies and is possessed by the spirit of the Tattered Man to right wrongs. And we are then left there, with everything up in the air.
Jimmy Palmiotti wanted to tell a story his way, so he said. And he could only do that through a graphic novel. Novel? This is no NOVEL! Ok so a novel is an idea that is new but is commonly used for a work of extended prose fiction, so going off that basis its no extended prose fiction to hold the word “novel”! It is barely longer than a regular issue for any comic book but has some extras and a firmer cover to separate it from a normal back issue.
And don’t get me wrong, WWII is a sensitive time and should never be made fun of and that is not what I am doing. It is only the story behind this “graphic novel” that I find lacking. The hundreds of spirits coming back to seek revenge is cool. I like that. But the teens were shallow (probably intended) with a sudden moral story shoved on the end. So ok I guess I’m more complaining about the execution of this story and not the story itself. I am drawn to stories involving dead coming back to life as a character or supernatural being.
This all felt too short. It felt as though there were thoughts of possibly making this a mini or ongoing series but they thought “stuff it” and crammed all the unfinished thoughts together into one and shoved it into the printers. The characters do not give much to feel for which is sad because the backdrop of WWII has so much emotion behind it I feel this was extremely lacking.
What I find more disappointing is this story had two writers, TWO! The other being Justin Gray. How can the talent of two people get it so wrong? It is something that will constantly perplex me. The art was done by Norberto Fernandez, and I’m just gonna say that it was pretty cool. Look on the internets if you wanna see what I’m talking about.
If you have a small amount of money, or lots and don’t mind parting with a small amount then I suggest to read this. Just for something a little different, otherwise skip it.
written originally on my blog
www.comikkazee.com
