I’m not sure where I got this book … it doesn’t appear to have come from NetGalley or Edelweiss (two organizations from whom I receive Advance Readers Copies of books) … but I’m very glad that I got it and read it because it was really delightful.
There is a quality about the boy that reminds me of the best of Edgar Rice Burroughs, in which a human has to come to terms with being among an alien race and taking decisive action, yet still not necessarily being a victor in all combat.
The art in this comic book (and this is a single issue of a book and not a complete graphic novel) is fabulous. It, too, harkens back to a an earlier era of books… of comic books that were drawn with care and talent and not thrown-together-sketch art as I’ve seen too often in books lately. Look at the cover as presented above. Each panel of art manages to capture this same look and feel.
I should also point out that the publisher has understood the value of the two-page spread and for each two-page spread, has put both pages on the viewing screen (for the digital edition, of course). There is still some need on the part of the reader to adapt in order to read the page(s), but it allows for better viewing of the artwork and better understanding of how the pages should be read. Kudos to Noise Trade!
The story of Erik Farrell waking up, lost and alone, the only living boy on the planet, is exciting and captivating. The art is glorious. This is a book that I want to keep reading!
Looking for a good book? The Only Living Boy #1 is an excellent comic that deserves to be purchased and read by lovers of the genre and may bring in new comic book readers.
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The Only Living Boy #1
author: David Gallaher
artist: Steve Ellis
series: The Only Living Boy comic
publisher: Noise Trade
ebook, 49 pages
