Aron Eli Coleite

I found this book while browsing the graphic novel section at a local library and decided to give it a try. This turned out to be a huge mistake, as I soon realized you *have* to watch the show to understand the comics. I kind of figured the book was using the same characters but doing different stories, but the comics are more like brief snippets continuing what happened after each week’s episodes. I’d imagine if you were a fan of the show, you would absolutely love these comics for show more giving more of the story. For me, a person who’s never seen even one episode, I spent the whole time reading this book with my eyebrows furrowed. Some of the time, the characters’ names weren’t even told, so I was completely lost for those parts of the book. Overall, the graphics were great and the stories seemed interesting although vague to the non-viewer, but I wouldn’t recommend unless you watch the show regularly. show less

Companion graphic novel to the popular superheroes-in-the-real-world TV show, Heroes. Though this book is labelled "Volume One," a second volume does not yet exist.

This is a thick tome, with excellent production values. The cover and much of the art is beautiful, the paper thick, the colors bright and crisp. It is a compilation of the various Heroes stories that were originally posted online. As with any compilation, there are hits and there are misses. Each story is only a few pages long show more (though about a third of the book is a set of linked stories or chapters in a longer tale; we'll come back to this storyline later), and some of the stories because of that length constraint. You really can't tell much of a story in a handful of pages. Some of the stories are better than others (many are downright forgettable, to be honest) and some of the art is mediocre. By and large though, the art and stories are good, as long as you don't mind just reading tidbits about various characters' lives.

I have seen the first season of Heroes -- and loved it -- and it's important that you do so before reading this book. Without being familiar with the show, I'm afraid that these stories wouldn't make much sense otherwise. Many of the stories details various characters' origins. There is really only one story (one of the longer ones) that reveals anything truly of relevance to the show's backstory: the story of how Mr. Linderman and Mr. Petrelli met and realized that they both had powers. As noted above, about a third of the book is devoted to the extremely minor character Hana Gitleman (aka Wireless) from the show. It was interesting, but went on too long, particularly since her role on the show was entirely superfluous (she essentially disappears after having a minor role in about two episodes), plus it ends in a really cinematic and silly fashion that seems a bit out of place in the Heroes setting.

If you haven't yet seen Heroes, by all means, watch the show first. If you loved the show, are a fan of comics, and have some extra bucks, pick this up. Otherwise, you'll be perfectly fine giving it a miss.

Review copyright 2008 J. Andrew Byers show less

I really enjoyed the first TV season of Heroes, so when I saw this graphic novel (booksized collection of comics), I looked forward to it.

I found myself for the most part disappointed. The artwork varies from great to not so good. Sometimes within the length of a couple frames. Some of the stories really make no sense, they are just little blips. Being familiar with the series I thought I should be able to figure them all out - but I didn't. Some of the drawings are good representations of show more the characters and some are not. And with minimal dialogue you cannot always tell who is who. There were several good story arcs included in the collection, so it isn't a waste, but I would have to say that this collection is really only for a hardcore dedicated Heroes fan who has to have it all. A much better supplement to the Heroes mythos is the novel "Saving Charlie" by Aury Wallington. show less

Ugh. Boring. For the most part, it follows characters that appeared momentarily on the show coupled with side tales for characters that we know and love with little to no character growth for the latter. Almost half the book follows Hana Gitelman who appears in one episode of the show and I don't believe was even given a name in the show. If you haven't watched the show, it's nearly unreadable. If you do watch the show, it adds almost nothing of substance.