Spontaneous by Joe Harris and Brett Weldele
Publisher: Oni Press, 2012
Genre: Science Fiction
Sub-genre: Comic book, Contemporary
Rating: 3 pints of blood
Cover art has a lot going on here, and it partially obscures itself. It's hard to see what's going on in all the explosing. But he art style is consistent with the art inside the book, and the explosions are certainly eye-catching. After all, stuff that's on fire and blowing up is always good (as long as it's fiction).
The premise of a boy investigating Spontaneous Human Combustion after witnessing the sudden death of his father intrigued me, so here I am, reading and reviewing.
Melvin was three years old when his father died of spontaneous combustion. Everyone's told him it's impossible, that humans don't spontaneously combust, but Melvin knows what he saw. He's spent his whole life researching the phenomenon and hunting down what he calls "burners," people likely to combust like his father.
After the sudden and fiery death of a man in the food court, Melvin is questioned by Emily, an investigative reporter nosy and stubborn enough to help him find the answers he's looking for... if he can trust her. The closer he gets to solving things, though, the more Melvin comes to realize he might have been happier not knowing.
The story runs at a quick pace, the book brief enough we tend to have caricatures more than actual characters. Emily is a modernized version of Lois Lane, her job made harder by the fact that print newspapers are dying. Melvin is appropriately tormented, but there isn't much more to him than that. There's even less substance to the secondary characters, each of whom is defined by their role in the comic rather than any personality traits.
Brevity keeps all attention on the unfolding plot and the mystery of the spontaneously combusing people. The tension is relentless, but it's not entirely a grim book; there are moments of humour to break up the dark plotline, which takes a couple of small turns before the big plot twist you're at least half expecting, but it's revealed in such a surprisingly emotional way it ends up working anyway.
The art style is unique, a combination of hard lines rendered in soft watercolours. The sketchy, monochrome drawings create a mood without overshadowing the story they're trying to tell.
Weldele is talented, and a story like this plays to his strengths.
The hardcover price will probably scare off a lot of potential consumers, and I'm not sure I'd be willing to pony up 25$ for it myself, but if you get a chance to read the thing, it's well worth a look.
Spontaneous is available in hardcover
. My copy was generously provided by the publisher.
Genre: Science Fiction
Sub-genre: Comic book, Contemporary
Rating: 3 pints of blood
Cover art has a lot going on here, and it partially obscures itself. It's hard to see what's going on in all the explosing. But he art style is consistent with the art inside the book, and the explosions are certainly eye-catching. After all, stuff that's on fire and blowing up is always good (as long as it's fiction).
The premise of a boy investigating Spontaneous Human Combustion after witnessing the sudden death of his father intrigued me, so here I am, reading and reviewing.
Melvin was three years old when his father died of spontaneous combustion. Everyone's told him it's impossible, that humans don't spontaneously combust, but Melvin knows what he saw. He's spent his whole life researching the phenomenon and hunting down what he calls "burners," people likely to combust like his father.
After the sudden and fiery death of a man in the food court, Melvin is questioned by Emily, an investigative reporter nosy and stubborn enough to help him find the answers he's looking for... if he can trust her. The closer he gets to solving things, though, the more Melvin comes to realize he might have been happier not knowing.
The story runs at a quick pace, the book brief enough we tend to have caricatures more than actual characters. Emily is a modernized version of Lois Lane, her job made harder by the fact that print newspapers are dying. Melvin is appropriately tormented, but there isn't much more to him than that. There's even less substance to the secondary characters, each of whom is defined by their role in the comic rather than any personality traits.
Brevity keeps all attention on the unfolding plot and the mystery of the spontaneously combusing people. The tension is relentless, but it's not entirely a grim book; there are moments of humour to break up the dark plotline, which takes a couple of small turns before the big plot twist you're at least half expecting, but it's revealed in such a surprisingly emotional way it ends up working anyway.
The art style is unique, a combination of hard lines rendered in soft watercolours. The sketchy, monochrome drawings create a mood without overshadowing the story they're trying to tell.
Weldele is talented, and a story like this plays to his strengths.
The hardcover price will probably scare off a lot of potential consumers, and I'm not sure I'd be willing to pony up 25$ for it myself, but if you get a chance to read the thing, it's well worth a look.
Spontaneous is available in hardcover
. My copy was generously provided by the publisher.