Man, the things you do to support the artists you love the most. Earlier this month, I saw The Dear Hunter live, and the combination of my love for graphic novels, FOMO (it’s no longer available online), and my desire to throw a little extra their way caused me to buy this for $20 and read it in the dark of the venue while I waited for the show to start. Probably not the ideal circumstances, mind you, but I don’t know that it deserved better than that. As if you couldn’t tell from the cover, this barely meets the standards of a high school art project. It’s the length of a single-issue comic, the art is amateurish, the writing is weak (which is particularly surprising, coming from a man with such a talent for songwriting), and it doesn’t even feel like it was printed on quality paper. All in all, if I were to price this, there is no way I would come anywhere near that $20 price tag. As a little oddity to add to my collection, and something to support the band, I guess it’s not my worst purchase ever, but I feel like I’m grasping for straws here trying to justify the expense. Casey Crescenzo should stick to music is the gist of what I’m getting at here. He has a wealth of talent and creativity there, but it unfortunately doesn’t translate the tiniest bit to a visual medium like a graphic novel. I guess there has to be a limit to everyone’s talents.
Oh dear…
Act I: The Lake South and the River North by Casey Crescenzo