I have just read "Full Throttle" a collection of short stories by Joe Hill, and this tale was amongst my favorites! It holds up well in this graphic novel format, and the artwork is wonderful, but the short story version was a bit better. Good news! That version is in here too! You can read for yourself, but I found that the biggest difference was in the ending. For my value, I liked that short story version of that better too!

In addition, there is a short, short story in this volume titled "Kodiak". Decent story, great artwork also, and a nice little ending! Not related at all to the main story, but a nice little bonus! ( )

"My name is Private First Class Mallory Grennan, and this is my confession."

Mallory has a great deal for which to confess. She was at Abu Ghraib. She got confessions. She got them through humiliation, verbal abuse, and physical torture. And she was good at it. Proud of it. When she got out and came home she thought she could get past it, that it was over, but it wasn't, and there was no way she ever could.

But Mallory wasn't the only one who couldn't get past it. Someone is stalking her, sending her messages that are nothing but a single thumbprint, a different one each time.

This is a book about war and what it does to everyone involved. It's a horror story, because it has to be. Because it has no other choice.

The final image of this book will stay with me.

(Provided by publisher) ( )

For those who don't know - Joe Hill is the son of Stephen King.

Another short story by him and another good one. Quite a few great decently profound sentences. Touches on a gruesome subject - Abu Graib - and p[arts of the book aren't comfortable. Is the end a bit of a , nasty, parable? Unsure but definitely worth the hourish to read. ( )

"You’d be surprised what you can do to people".

I haven’t read or watched a lot of fiction that has to do with war. I've only really seen a handful of movies and the majority of them paint soldiers in a glowing light. I’m not about to sit here and criticize those who put themselves directly in harm’s way on a daily basis – a job I could never find the balls to do myself – I’ll leave that to others; others like Joe Hill.

The bulk of this story follows Mal Greenfell, a soldier that returned from Iraq and is trying to adjust to life as a private citizen. Having died approximately ten hours before her arrival back in America, Mal’s father left her his home as well as his car.

Mal takes a job as a bartender and slowly realizes that she’s not the person she was when she ventured overseas, that her true self is who she is now – a careless and ruthless individual who isn't above violence and theft.

Following the arrival of a letter containing only a single fingerprint, Mal begins to question if someone is threatening her. Given Mal’s sordid past, she may have created several enemies.

Over the past year, I've become a pretty big supporter of Joe Hill having read his novel, Horns, as well as his awesome graphic novel series, Locke & Key. I thought this was pretty average; not bad but not on the level that he’s capable of. That being said, I thought it was paced well and had a decently satisfying conclusion. So a solid 3 stars.

**The above portion was taken from my review of the original short story. Below are my thoughts on the graphic novel adaptation.**


So I recently had the good fortune of reading the graphic novel adaptation by Vic Malhotra and Jason Ciaramella. Ciaramella has worked with Joe in the past, bringing his short story The Cape to life in a comic form. In my opinion, he knocked it out of the park, so a second collaboration was more than welcome.

Malhotra’s art is perfect for the story. Minimalist visuals coupled with drab and bleak colors paint the perfect picture of Mal’s post war world. The story moves along swiftly, keeping that frantic pace that enhances Mal’s growing paranoia as well as her search for the person responsible.

It’s a great mini-series compiled in a quick one shot graphic novel. Check it out! ( )

Graphic novel. A traumatized vet who participated in the horrors of Abu Ghraib begins to receive ominous messages—thumbprints. She becomes paranoid, though of course someone really is out to get her. Psychological horror with a standard arc: doing monstrous things, as well as having monstrous things done to you, can drive you out of your mind. It didn’t really move me. ( )