Mood:
caffeinatedTopic: Comic Books - New
TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3223: As already mentioned before in this blog...One of the great pleasures in attending comic-cons, no matter what the size of them, is visiting the sections named 'Artists Alley, and 'Small Press' sections. I usually end up with several new publications to read and possibly review in this blog, after striking up conversations with the creators of the comics or GNs, due to this blog being the #1 'Followed' blog on Facebook for 'comics', 'comic books', and 'graphic novels. per the NetworkedBlogs app, as seen here. Today, I'm going to post 'My Take' on another GN, (Graphic Novel), picked up at the 2010 SDCC. First, here is what the GN's web site says it is about: Strangler Brothers Automotive is about 2 brothers, Josh and Judge Strangler, and their journey to find out the mystery of their small town of Salem Hills. About the Creators: Strangler Brothers Automotive is created by Crowbar Media. We specialize in webcomics and a number of other ventures and oddities. Judge Leverich: Creator, Writer. Josh Frankovich: Creator, Writer. Melinda Davidson: Co-Creator, Artist. The Main Characters are: Josh Strangler - The tech geek of the Strangler Brothers. He acts like a goof, but is an inventor, avid comic book collector, and horror film fanantic. Judge Strangler - The more level headed of the two brothers. He is veryu business oriented and like to run things by the book. Mel - Not much is known about her yet. (Note from Michael: Matter of fact, she doesn't show up in Part 1, and I missed seeing 'her' at the SDCC booth!) The Graphic Novel - Strangler Brothers Origins: Part 1 was a 'Limited Edition' with 56 pages including exclusive artwork and creator bios. Now that the promo info is shown above, here's 'My Take' on the Graphic Novel. First, the cover struck me as something I would be interested in reading, due to the great logo and the main characters surrounded by shadowy figures. I was not aware that those shadowy figures were 'zombies'. Those who have read several of my review blogs will know that I've been flooded with zombie material to possibly be read and then reviewed in this blog. Quite honestly, I find that zombies have been overdone as of late... However I didn't notice that 'zombie influence'at the booth or on the front cover of this GN. If I had bothered to look at the back cover first, I would have seen that the Strangler Brothers "battle zombies, vampires, werewolves, ghosts and all other things that go bump in the night!", so yeah I missed that warning... So I read further into it, and found that I really liked the artwork. The lack of full color actually added to the artwork, and I found that I liked the main characters as the story went on. Additionally I liked the other characters as they were introduced into the storyline. And I found that although there were zombies in this 'Origins' story, it wasn't the usual zombie story. Actually I found myself not wanting to put it down... My only disappointment in the storyline was that at the end it was "To Be Continued". I like my graphic novels, if they are presented as a 'graphic novel' to be self contained. However, since this story is also being presented as a web comic, there is a possibility of seeing additional pages of story as the storyline progresses? Not for sure on that, as the web site only has the first pages of this GN online at this time. So, I'm not going to review this GN like I would a comic book, with the analysis on the Front Cover, Inside Front Cover, Splash Page, tetc., etc., as it doesn't pertain here. Just let me say that I for one enjoyed the characters, (appearing to be based on the creators, (wink), and especially enjoyed the artwork by Melinda Davidson, who I did not meet at the Comic-Con. Indeed, I also enjoyed seeing the sound effects that were placed very well, and the right sound for the panel! The lettering was also placed well, and the coloring accentuated the mood of the story. Very well done, and looking at the credits page, I find this was all done by Melinda. Although I missed see her in the GN and at the booth, her presence in this GN is very noticed! This feature has something going for it, and hopefully the zombies part will finish up, and the other things that go bump in the night will be brought in as the tales continue. I enjoyed this issue, (zombies & all), enough to give this publication a VERY FINE / NEAR MINT (VF/NM) 9.0 on a 10.0 grading scale, due to the fact that although the story was a good one for an 'Origin' story, and the artwork / sound effects / colors were cool...I would have preferred to have a 'complete story' when published in a 'graphic novel' format. Otherwise the term 'trade paperback compilation' of the web comic could have been a better descriptive word for this publication. Again, it may just be me, but a 'graphic novel' means 'done in one' to me. To see more on the "Strangler Brothers" series, check out this link! If YOU are on Facebook check out their Strangler Brothers Fan Page! My personal thanks to Judge and Josh for introducing me to their series! PLUS: My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,220 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog! ~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com
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