Over My Dead Body, an original Graphic Novel is brought forth, kicking and punching, from Image.
Written by Jay Faerber, with pencils by Simone Guglielmini, inks by Gigi Baldassini, and colour by Ron Riley, this book is the story of a convict, Mr. Markham, being set loose on an agenda for the prison warden. It seems that the warden’s daughter has gotten herself mixed in with some white supremacists, and that ain’t good. You see, she’s all the warden’s got, and so on and so forth. So, the violent offender Markham infiltrates the gang and gets in deeper and deeper.
The story reads well if a bit straightforward. And don’t misunderstand, I LIKE straightforward. I, probably like many comic readers, get irritated by stories that bounce all over the place, changing timelines, characters, locales. It can get confusing. Over My Dead Body, however, goes from A to B to C, as if narrated in one sitting. Many scenes are a bit long, and could have been (perhaps) edited tighter, or shortened.
The visuals are well crafted, and indeed, there are a few bonus pages at the end of the book that illustrate the lengths that Guglielmini has gone for accuracy; photo reference was likely a strong resource upon which the art was based. The environments, the cars, the people, the expressions are excellent. What seems to be missing is some of the more advanced storytelling techniques that allow the viewer a bit of relief in long stories. Such as the use of silhouettes, dramatically framed shots, that sort of thing. Comic style techniques that help abbreviate the narrative and keep things looking fresh and innovative.
But those are minor quibbles. Over My Dead Body is a solid piece of crime fiction, with clear characters, solid motives and lots of suspense. If you like reading Criminals by Ed Brubaker, for example, you will enjoy this graphic novel!
Image, Over My Dead Body, $16.99 for 124 pages of content. Teen +
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