My weekend started normal: a late wake up, couple loads of laundry, off to a fund raiser for Special Olympics (which I did not know about until I get a text from my sister sending me my nephews very awesome Joker inspired pumpkin) and some reading. Mostly my reading was graphic novels and each of them became an experience that is hard to put into words. I will say, they all took me on an emotional roller coaster ride.
Blackbird, Volume 1 has several traditional graphic novel/comic staples. Therefore, if you are not a fan of the “comic book style” of the graphic novel, you will probably not like this. It has stereotypical story lines, images and endings. There are adventures that keep you reading, wanting to find out who these people are and WHAT THE FRANKENSTEIN (only I did not say Frankenstein) is going on. The two biggest flaws in the story are the jumping between “then and now” (then when our narrator, Nina, is a child; now whatever year the book was published with a hint of the future; and there is a lot of set up that can make you have to backtrack to keep track).
If I tried to tell the plot, I would tell you the entire book. Let us say: magic is real, cats talk (what is it with talking cats and fantasy?) and the 1980s and pseudo-BDSM outfits are in style with the magical set. Let us say that Nina, is one tough late-teen/early 20’s badass, foul-mouthed chick with some serious mommy (and daddy and sister) issues. Let us say there are some crazy romances, tribal feuding and I think the fate of the world might be involved, too.
The art is fantastic. Which is an understatement. Jen Bartel blends traditional and modern comic/graphic book images. There are colors, drawings, pieces of the art and things within the art that just really hit the right note. Other than the cover, the first illustration I saw was a decadent, bacchanalian event. I almost put the book down. In fact, I did, but later went back to it. There was something about it that made me give it a shot. I jokingly think the book possessed me. It wanted to be read. It is more than just that one scene AND it is that one scene. There are layers that not everyone will like, appreciate or get. Everyone will find something different to love and hate with Sam Humphries new series. Teens 14 and up could do it, but this is an adult read.