BOOKHUNTER – graphic novel | Looking For a Good Book

THROWBACK THURSDAY: REVIEWING A REISSUE

From the whacked-out mind that brought us the Demon graphic novel series, comes a rip-roaring mystery-thriller graphic novel set in … a library? Yup, a library!

It is 1973 and the Oakland Public Library has its own police force known as Bookhunters. They’e tough, seasoned, and a bit grizzled but gosh darn if they aren’t good at their job. The library has a priceless book that they’ve borrowed from another library and now that book is missing. Special Agent Bay and his crack squad will investigate every angle and lead. But first they have to retrieve some overdue library books. Like a well-trained SWAT team, they bust down doors and negotiate with a patron holding the overdue books hostage.

The book is a tongue-in-cheek action-adventure story with librarians as tough as nails and Agent Bay as cagey as Grissom from C.S.I. or Temperance Brennan from Bones.

It’s a bit violent, which is no surprise if you’ve read Jason Shiga, but because of the cartoony style of the art the violence doesn’t feel quite so bad.

There’s a lot of action and a lot of humor (perhaps my favorite moment was after Agent Bay shoots someone who wasn’t had overdue books and wouldn’t return them and as the book patron lies writhing on the ground in agony Bay simply says, “Shh!”).

What I like about this (and Shiga’s Demon series) is that we see a whole new possibility for graphic novels. Shiga pushes the possibilities and offers something we didn’t quite expect, and we enjoy ourselves along the way.

Although a decade old now, this is definitely a book worth reading.

Looking for a good book? Bookhunter is a dark parody on the criminal investigation units seen quite often on tv, by Jason Shiga. It is fun and funny and worth reading.