It is books like Meteor Men that have restored my faith in the graphic novel as a literary form. This book is beautiful to look at and delightful to read. To me, this is precisely what the graphic novel medium is intended to be. I know that the bulk of the graphic novels out there are compilations of superhero comic books, but the more I’ve been reading lately, the more I really appreciate the non-superhero graphic novels. A book such as this might be just the ticket to get the young adult/teen readers in to the graphic novel market.
The story is a rather basic ‘first contact’ story. A group of teens gather to watch the annual meteor shower only this year it appears that one has struck the earth. Bright, loner Alden discovers that the meteor has landed on his property. After exploring and experimenting with the meteor, he intends to give it to a local museum. But when Alden learns that similar meteors have struck the earth all over the world and there are coinciding reports of disappearances of local people, Alden realizes that there may be more to this than a random meteor. When Alden discovers and befriends an alien, neither Alden, nor the Earth, will ever be the same.
The story flows so naturally and author Jeff Parker not only creates an interesting and page-turning story, but he has also created unique, distinct, and involved characters. Even our minor characters here have more personality and depth than some of the long-runnig superheroes I’ve read lately! And while it’s a teen-type book, the adults are not always the villians here.
The art is really delightful. Appropriate and effective and the sort of book you might thumb through just to look at the art.
This is one of those books which I didn’t know what to expect when I requested it from NetGalley and it turned out to be a beautiful surprise. This is highly recommended to graphic novel fans and teen readers.
Looking for a good book? Meteor Men is a beautiful graphic novel with compelling characters and a strong story.
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Meteor Men
author: Jeff Parker
artists: Sandy Jarrell, Kevin Volo
publisher: Oni Press
ISBN: 1620101513
paperback, 128 pages
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