The Mystery Play

A bit of backstory: when I was first exposed to Grant Morrison through Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, I became really intrigued by the description of The Mystery Play -- a detective investigates the murder of an actor portraying God at a mystery play in a small town (a mystery play is a play based on Biblical events). I then proceeded to be totally unable to find a copy of it for 6 years. (Yes, I know I could just get it on Amazon, but I enjoy the thrill of the hunt too much.) Then, I went to Green Apple Books the other day and found 3 copies. So, Green Apple Books is a great place. Moving on.

The Mystery Play is a sort of rare breed -- this is the somber, reflective Grant Morrison of Arkham Asylum rather than the show more hyperkinetic Morrison of Batman and Robin or X-Men. The art is very reminiscent of Dave McKean's work on Arkham Asylum. (There are a few people who say that it's too photorealistic, but I've seen much worse photorealism work than this.)

It's a great tale, with a twist that somehow manages to be both predictable and satisfying. (It's hard to say a lot about the plot, as this is a mystery.) Morrison adroitly creates a spooky small town, with the detective running into strange characters (much the way that Batmen encounters the various supervillains in Arkham Asylum, in fact). My biggest complaint is that there doesn't seem to be a ton of depth to the book -- things that initially seem mysterious and deep are quickly revealed to be pretty shallow at the end of the story. I almost gave the book 4 stars, but ultimately, this is one of those books that I'm going to throw the full five at just to get more people to read things like this. show less

Short graphic novel about a psychiatric patient, escaped from his institution and pretending to be an investigating police officer as he tries to understand his own dark mind. Leaves unanswered questions such as, was the reporter the murderer, or was she somehow infected by his madness?

An economically challenged town is staging a cycle of medieval mystery plays when the actor portraying god is killed. The police inspector who arrives to investigate sparks the curiosity of a reporter eager to move on to greater opportunities. A sudden revelation leads to mob action and a mysterious disappearance. The central mystery--who killed God--is left unanswered. Unlike most graphic novels the illustrations are moody watercolor washes that subtlely fit the atmosphere of longing for answers.. Not a typical "comic"

Intriguing little book, picked up from the library and enjoyed it. Style and art outweighs the plot, so it's more fun as an experience than as a story - there are some unexpected scenes which I loved, and were a great example of where graphic novels can play more.

Overall, worth a read if you see it in the library.

WOW!The art is amazing and then again when you have something Grant Morrison wrote you know something deep is on the way. I had to read this a few times to plenty understand this. It all begins when a small town decides to put "The Mystery Play" together and "God" dies in the middle of the play. A crime scene is settled. A must read.

An actor playing God is murdered. In the ensuing investigation, reality and symbolism blurs. Nothing is quite as it seems. Great art!

I couldn't finish it. 2 stars for the art, though.