Mr. Vertigo Reviews 123

I've finally read this. (I'm perrywhite1 on the WordPerfect site.)

I love Brubaker & Phillips, but they can launch a dud now and then. Pulp, for example, felt like a shaggy dog story to me -- a whole graphic novel taking me to a punchline that was obvious on page one. I finished it and said (probably aloud), "That's it?"

Where the Body Was isn't that bad, but it wasn't up to the standards of Criminal or Femme Fatale. It was helped by the writer clearly being invested in the characters. It was riveting at first, as Brubaker fleshed out these people and their world, because he managed to make them as three-dimensional to us as they were in his head.

But after the bit with the badge was revealed, that told this old man where the story was going, and even to some degree, how this story was going to play out. And so it barreled onward, surprising me not at all, to the conclusion I expected.

Still, it's Brubaker and Phillips, which means it's still head and shoulders above 'most everything else. It's just that the second half was a little disappointing -- especially after the brilliance of the first half. Plot-wise, anyway. The execution was, as always, precise and beautiful.

That was good enough for me to recommend it to my wife, who loved the "Criminal" series and I expect will love the first half of Where the Body Was as much as I did. She's also a more generous critic than I am, and I'm curious to hear her reaction to the work as a whole. If it's interesting, I'll report back.

I don't mean to savage the book, don't get me wrong. I'd still recommend it over almost all other books of its kind. But I wouldn't recommend it over the rest of the Brubaker/Phillips ouevre.

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Captain Comics April 19, 2024 at 11:45pm

I've finally read this. (I'm perrywhite1 on the WordPerfect site.)

I love Brubaker & Phillips, but they can launch a dud now and then. Pulp, for example, felt like a shaggy dog story to me -- a whole graphic novel taking me to a punchline that was obvious on page one. I finished it and said (probably aloud), "That's it?"

Where the Body Was isn't that bad, but it wasn't up to the standards of Criminal or Femme Fatale. It was helped by the writer clearly being invested in the characters. It was riveting at first, as Brubaker fleshed out these people and their world, because he managed to make them as three-dimensional to us as they were in his head.

But after the bit with the badge was revealed, that told this old man where the story was going, and even to some degree, how this story was going to play out. And so it barreled onward, surprising me not at all, to the conclusion I expected.

Still, it's Brubaker and Phillips, which means it's still head and shoulders above 'most everything else. It's just that the second half was a little disappointing -- especially after the brilliance of the first half. Plot-wise, anyway. The execution was, as always, precise and beautiful.

That was good enough for me to recommend it to my wife, who loved the "Criminal" series and I expect will love the first half of Where the Body Was as much as I did. She's also a more generous critic than I am, and I'm curious to hear her reaction to the work as a whole. If it's interesting, I'll report back.

I don't mean to savage the book, don't get me wrong. I'd still recommend it over almost all other books of its kind. But I wouldn't recommend it over the rest of the Brubaker/Phillips ouevre.
- Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod) > Captain Comics April 20, 2024 at 11:36am
  
  I can't say that I disagree (although I will be interested to hear what your wife thinks). My book club is going to do a "choose your own adventure" graphic novel month in July. I expect to be asked for recommendations, and I'm leaning towards a stand-alone Brubaker/Phillips book. I will have to take another look at Pulp, which I remember liking more than you did. Maybe My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies?

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