B. Clay Moore

My second crime graphic novel of the week and one I adored. The story is set in Hawaii in the 50s with the crime element backed up with zombies and legends making a fascinating read. The main characters are interesting and likeable and the story just moves at pace. However, it’s the artwork which just adds another layer to the story. It’s very untypical of what I’ve seen before, with bright punchy colours where the characters faces are always trying to show or convey emotion. It took show more me a few pages to get used to the style, but it’s an interesting feel which just fits with the book. My only slight niggle, is that the story was only three issues long. show less

A muddled attempt to shoehorn some basic pulp tropes into the DCU version of 1940s Europe. It’s chock full of ideas that don’t get developed in what is a confused narrative that is over-reliant on flashbacks and parallel storylines. To my eye Harris’s distinctive distorted art style doesn’t fit the subject, and is lost behind a muddy color palette.

A nice change of scenery for the typical "grim and gritty" reimaginations that comic books have been seeing for the past decade-or-so, the book combines an honest love for the period with a keen and critical eye for the tropes and stereotypes that made the Golden Age so unique. Although the plot is straightforward and the characters uncomplicated, a reader with no experience of the genre or history behind it may feel at a loss. The characters and plot take heavily from various Golden Age show more characters, but especially Timely Comics, with Captain America (The Proud American), Namor the Sub-Mariner (Quinn Rey), and the android Human Torch (The Artificial Man) having analogues. But if the reader is up to the task, it's obvious both writer and artist enjoy the period, and the story feels like one giant shout-out to everything that was interesting and fun about the Golden Age, without sacrificing seriousness or dignity. show less

I am on a graphic novel kick at the moment, and getting interesting things from the library,

Okay artwork and an interesting story. Stylish detective story set in the 1950's. Loses points for me for being set in Hawaii and drawing loosely on Hawaiian folklore. There is a kamu in this book who is knowledgeable about hawaiian religion, but also studies Tarot and Voodoo (can you say Hollywood plot device?). The Hawaii side of me wishes that it inhabited the culture a little more and not just show more used the setting as a location for story telling.

Although the Nightmarchers were a nice touch. show less