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Graphic Novel Book Club January 2016

A reread, but another title I brought to the group. I have an outstanding and long-lived love for anything that JMS touches, and I remember when he came back to comics, originally, while I was managing a comic store at the end of my teenage years. I loved it overwhelmingly, and voraciously ate up everything he wrote, and I'm pleased to get to introduce it to others now.

I love this series. I love the mythology of it, and the way it handles homelessness, falling through the cracks and starting not to see people (which has stayed with me and how I try to look at the world, especially the homeless people in it, since reading it the first time). I love the ending, with how painful and beautiful and flawed the main character still is. ( )

I thought I might have read some of these original issues but this was all new to me. As usual with these kinds of theological romps, the devil gets all the best lines. There’s some good stuff about hope and the ending is kinda moving. Gary Frank’s pencil work is gorgeous, but I think this is still a lesser Straczynski work than Rising Stars or even Babylon 5. ( )

I remember reading this in individual comics and seeing right where JMS said what would happen and being nervous. As usual with JMS, it did happen, just in a more horrible and sad way than I ever expected. A great graphic novel, one I reread. ( )

Rereading this one (can't believe I've never reviewed it here). Great story about the forgotten of our world. His afterword is also incredibly potent. I'm only taking off a star because the art is a little too cheesecake as was popular in comics at the time. ( )