Graphic Novel Review Bites

Naja by Jean-David Morvan

Naja is also a woman who feels no pain, neither inside, nor out. It makes her the perfect assassin; number three in Zero’s arsenal. She does not question her purpose. When Zero gives an order, she follows it. Until she discovers that number one and number two are out to kill her, by order of Zero.

Naja’s story is narrated by a mysterious third party who has done his or her research on Naja and knows far more than any casual observer should know. It’s an interesting concept and the art is sharp, capturing Naja’s cold stillness in one moment, and swift and deadly action in the next.

In spite of a strong set up, the story plods along, such that by the time it gets to the big reveal, I’d already lost interest. Both the characters and the story had a lot of potential, but it ultimately lacked the depth and pacing to keep my attention.

Letter 44: Volume 1 by Charles Soule

The 43rd president left a very nice letter for Stephen Blades. It warned the new president that the mess 43 had left behind had a purpose: preparation for aliens. As in, the discovery of an alien mining operation that has, thus far, been kept top secret. Also on a need to know basis is the existence of a team of scientists and soldiers on the Clarke, a ship sent out to make first contact with these aliens.

This isn’t a new concept, but Soule does add his own twists here and there to make it a little more interesting. The political intrigues didn’t grab me as much as the goings on onboard the Clarke, where the crew have developed some potentially volatile relationships that could make or break their mission. Unfortunately, this all seems to revolve around the two female crew members, who, while they have important sciences purposes on the ship, kind of just boil down to the two vaginae that are being fought over/not being fought over.

I was pleased that the alien encounter aspect wasn’t dragged out for too long. We do get to see what’s going on, though it opens up all sorts of new mysteries that have almost convinced me to read more.

The Bunker: Volume 1 by Joshua Hale Fialkov

Five friends decide to bury a time capsule, but instead discover a bunker with instructions from their future selves warning them of what is to come and how to hopefully prevent it.

The concept is interesting and the relationships between the five friends offer a lot of opportunity for conflict, but the dialogue is poorly written, starting with the immaturity of the characters at age twenty-two. Fortunately, with the discovery of the bunker, they grow up pretty quickly once they decide whether or not to believe the letter. But then things get a bit muddy, with the art being of little help in deciphering it all. Not that I dislike the art. I liked the sketchiness and the use of mauves and blues to set the bleak tone. There are tragic backstories to deal with and all sorts of betrayal, and the time travelling….

Liquid City, Vol. 3 by Various

Every writer has a story to tell but sometimes, they never get around to telling those stories. The idea behind the Liquid City collection is: the apocalypse is coming, so what better time than the end of the world to finally let those stories see the light of day.

As with all collections, there will be hits and there will be misses. I had as many favourites as I did ones that did not impress me, but it was the overriding theme of telling your untold stories that really got to me.

With thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copies of these graphic novels in exchange for honest reviews.