Greg Ruth

Well, this just seems self-indulgent. Ethan Hawke hires a guy to draw him into a graphic novel adaptation of a screenplay Hawke was unable to get filmed. Despite promoting the book as the Apache Wars told from the perspective of the Apache, the book instead spends way to much time with Hawke's character and the other white military officers. (And, hey, didn't Jason Patric already star in this movie? Check out "Geronimo: An American Legend.") Individual pictures are nice, but the narrative show more flow left something to be desired. And that's probably a function of the writing, which just left me wishing I had read one of the books cited in the "Further Reading" section instead. show less

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
WHAT'S MEADOWLARK ABOUT?
Things aren't going well for Cooper—a little prank leads his father to stop by his mother's house on his way to work. When his father learns that Cooper's been expelled from school, he drags him along with him to work.

Cooper's dad, Jack "Meadowlark" Jackson used to be a boxer of some local renown, but that was then. He's now a prison guard—one respected by his peers and even most prisoners. But Cooper still show more thinks of him largely as a hero figure. the boxer whose poster hangs on his bedroom wall.

While Jack gets to work in a prison tower, Cooper hangs out with the Warden—clearly a grandmotherly figure in his life. It seems like a pretty okay kind of day, actually. And then an alarm sounds. Several fights have broken out in various parts of the prison—the guards spread out to imposing order, and in the midst of chaos, three prisoners go missing.

It's after this that things really start to go south.

The book then focuses on Cooper and Jack trying to make their way through the ensuing bedlam while they deal with their relationship. Being the father of a teen boy brings a certain level of difficulty, especially if there's trouble between the custodial mother and the father. The violence—horrible violence—of the day creates a heightened atmosphere for their necessary (and rather touching) conversations.

WHAT ABOUT THE ART?
You can't talk about a graphic novel without focusing on the graphic part of it, right? Which is really a shame because I'm not equipped for it.

Ruth's art is exactly what this story needs—as usual, I don't know how to describe the art, but the pencil work—sort of rough and heavy—fits both the action and the characters. The sort of sepia-coloring says Texas to me—and makes the setting ring true.

I did appreciate the not-at-all-subtle use of Ethan Hawke as Jack, it added a little extra flavor.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT MEADOWLARK?
This seems like the kind of story that S. A. Cosby or Jordan Harper would write—a mix of family drama and crime.

The emotions and family dynamic felt real, relatable—and was even touching. The violence and criminal behavior were just as visceral—and disturbing. You put them together with some compelling artwork and you've got yourself a winner.

I'd have liked a touch more depth—but given the medium, I'm not sure you could get too much deeper (without needing another hundred pages or so)—so I'm not holding that against it too much.

There's a lot to commend in this graphic novel, and very little to complain about. I see that Hawke and Ruth have collaborated on an earlier graphic novel and I need to track that down. show less

So is this going to be a regular thing now? As with Indeh, Greg Ruth and Ethan Hawke collaborate on a graphic novel that just happens to have a character that looks a lot like Hawke and could be the storyboards for a ready-to-be-optioned B-movie.

This time Ethan plays a washed up boxer who is shambling through life as a prison guard and thousands of dollars behind on child support to his son's mother. As junior recently got expelled from school, Hawke stumbles into taking the boy to prison on show more the day there happens to be a prison break. In an increasingly unlikely series of events the boy keeps tagging along as Hawke digs himself further and further into loserdom. (And, hey, is that Jean Reno playing Maurice, the prison break mastermind?) But, hey, they're father and son bonding so it's deep and profound drama and not just schlocky action, right? Right? show less

The Lost Boy by Greg Ruth is a graphic novel about a move to a new town and the discovery of a long lost mystery. Nate and his family are new in town and he's not happy to have been transplanted from his old neighborhood and friends. While unpacking his boxes, he finds an old tape recorder and a note remarkably addressed to him. Those two items lead him on a path of adventure, danger, and revelation.

I'm a sucker for old house mysteries. Old things revealing old stories and creating new show more adventures is the recipe for a book I can't resist. Add in an element of the supernatural and I'll probably end up reading in one or two sittings.

The Lost Boy does include the supernatural, though what kind of supernatural is left as part of the big mystery. There are shadowy figures, mysterious creatures, a wood that seems to pop up out of nothing. All of these things are tied to the old tapes that Nate feels compelled to listen to.

It was a fun, roller coaster of a book. I think fans of shows like Supernatural or Gravity Falls will enjoy The Lost Boy show less