Book Reviews: All Star Superman AND Sight Unseen

[kjc]

I've managed to read a graphic novel and a hardcover comics collection recently and I thought I might share my opinions with you.

A couple months ago, a friend gave me Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's All Star Superman, volume one hardcover (collecting issues 1-6) for my birthday.

I'm not a big reader of superhero comics, but I do love me some Grant Morrison. His run on Doom Patrol (in particular, I believe it was issue #67 ETA: NOPE, it was #57) was the final piece of the puzzle in getting me addicted to comics back in 1992. (They're in trade now - SEEK THEM OUT). So I'll give pretty much anything he writes the benefit of the doubt. Plus, my friend is quite accurate in recommending (or handing me) books that I end up enjoying.

Note that this is an alternative Superman - the things that happen in this comic are not canon and do not impact the continuity of the regular Superman comics.

That said, I wish they did because they are awesome. And I mean that in the old fashioned awe-inspiring sort of way. The story lines are really big, but the impact on the individual's lives is clear from both the story and the marvelously done expressions on the faces of the characters involved. This is a true perfect match of writer with artist.

The stories are also funny. I don't think I've ever seen Clark Kent so human before. The chubby, rumpled oafishness of this Clark is the best disguise I've ever seen. And you have to look a little closely at the art to see his spectacular deftness at play underneath the tripping, the falling, the accidently dropping important things. But it's all so neatly laid out that it almost gives you motion, while being still, so you can trace all the subtle stuff.

This is a great book and gets a strong recommendation from me.

Sight Unseen is a hardcover graphic novel with art by Bo Hampton and story by Robert Tinnell. The first credit is for "creators" and that credit is shared by Hampton and Tinnell, and with good reason. Again, we have a gifted team able to tell a tense story with perfect illustration.

This is a freakin' creepy book. I mean, a really creepy book. The cover is plastered with warnings and quotes, all telling you that it's a creepy book, but when you open it up and start reading it, it's not creepy at all.

And even when it starts to get creepy, it's more unsettling than creepy. And then something... something in the ghosts, something in the terror on people's faces, something about the gorey results tip it over the edge and the book is suddenly REALLY CREEPY. But I don't think I could point to a single image or page and say "this is the tipping point." It's a well-executed accumulation of bits and pieces plus a damn scary transition scene, where we move from hints and flashes to the ugly stuff.

This is definitely a work for horror aficionados and not for the faint of heart. If I have any complaint, it's that the book is too short. The personalities of the main characters are strong and distinct, which is impressive given how short an amount of time we spend with each. A few conversations, some clipped interactions, and we've got the emotionally withdrawn widower father, the nerdy assistant, the bitter daughter, and the outsider. For the secondary characters, we rely almost as much on their appearances for some idea of their personalities as we do on what they say and do. This is not a bad thing. In fact, I often consider it a strength of comics that you really can SHOW more than you can possibly TELL. But the tension could have been drawn out even more by giving us a little more background.

That said, I still recommend the book. It's a solid, scary read.

Thanks for reading!
Kelly J. Cooper