An unusually affecting tale of a man and his dog, complemented by frequently strong artwork.
A man and his faithful canine wander through the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse in this debut graphic novel.
With the zombie catastrophe banging at their door, Alex Kelly and his dog, Boots, are about to have a very bad day. Their escape plan has been stymied by Alex’s dog-averse friends and so he and Boots prepare to brave the no man’s land without help. But when Alex succumbs to a nasty neck bite courtesy of one of the walking dead, he is left as glassy-eyed and shambling as the hordes outside. This will cause Boots to answer the age-old question: What if the owner of Greyfriars Bobby—the famous Skye terrier who spent 14 years guarding his caretaker’s grave in 19th-century Scotland—had risen from the dead? At first, Boots is confused by her owner’s new lack of interest and affection, but she nevertheless follows at Alex’s heels as the two encounter a George Romero–flavored landscape of staggering zombies, packs of ravenous dogs, and—perhaps the most dangerous of all—those few haggard survivors who will stop at nothing to stay that way. Throughout it all, Boots remains steadfast, but will her undying loyalty to her master get through that rotting brain of his, or is their relationship—like the world around them—doomed to destruction and decay? While the story may be wrapped in the familiar tropes of zombie fiction, Shepherd’s book is concerned more with the bond between man and man’s best friend than it is the standard apocalyptic nihilism of the subgenre, buoyed by sensitive work by Beaird (Action Land #3, 2018, etc.). Although the author’s narration occasionally veers into purple prose and Alex’s characterization is (understandably) minimal, Boots is effectively written and expressively drawn. And while some of the textured backgrounds, particularly in the smaller panels, threaten to overwhelm the action, Beaird excels with larger ones that allow him thicker, bolder lines and give the art a woodcut quality that fits the fablelike quality of the graphic novel. Should writer and artist embrace their strengths, they will undoubtedly be ones to watch in the future.
An unusually affecting tale of a man and his dog, complemented by frequently strong artwork.Pub Date: March 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5255-1795-2
Page Count: 108
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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