Customer Reviews

The Escapists

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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In Michael Chabon's Pulitzer-Prize winning "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay," two teenagers create the comic book character The Escapist in the forties. Since then Dark Horse comics has been featuring comics about the Escapist and other characters from Chabons book. This book, however, is actually a sequel to the original book.

Just in case you're unaware, Amazon offers a "Search Inside" feature. If you go up to the image of this graphic novel above and click on it, you can read the first six pages of the book. Go up and read it. Seriously. Those pages sold me on the book.

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After his father's death, Maxwell Roth discovers his collection of Escapist comics. We see young Max's geeky, awkward youth. We meet his equally awkward but much bigger--and therefore bully repelant--friend Denny Jones. When Max's mother dies, she leaves him an inheritance which he uses to buy the rights to the Escapist. He bumps into Case Weaver, a cute starving artist, who he approaches to illustrate the book.

After months of work and a publicity stunt gone horribly right, they achieve a modicum of success, but a big businessman is interested in reacquiring the rights to the now popluar character, and he has the money and the lawyers to do it.

Broken down that plot sounds like a cheesy eighties movie, but the characterization is done well so you don't notice, and the story doesn't play out in a predictable or sacharine fashion. Through some major highs and major lows, the book ends with a simple but strong ending.

If you haven't heard of Brian K. Vaughan, you should know he's one of the top comics writers of his generation. This book proves why.

"The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" used the comics industry of the forties, fifties, sixties, and seventies as a back drop. This book uses the present. While this story and its characters aren't as complicated (and to be fair it has less than half the page count, and Michael Chabon uses more words in one sentence than most comics have on a page) The Escapists is still a great book, and really shows what the medium of sequential art can achieve while holding onto and honoring its superhero roots.

Brian K. Vaughan is so predictable. Predictable in the sense that his stuff is always the best f what comics can be. Pride of Baghdad, Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways. I've been reading comic for over 30 years and BKV makes me more excited about the medium than I've ever been.
This book is beautiful. The story is exciting, moving, personal and, most of all, fun. It works as a sequel to Michael Chabon's delightful The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.
A collection of extremely talented artist take on different aspects of the story and it really works. Instead of feeling disjointed, the various art styles take us to the different moods and states of mind the story weaves in and out of. Word and pictures here work like the music and lyrics of a beautiful song. Masterful.
If you love comics and good storytelling, you'll love this book. I sure did!

Beautiful, dialog and character driven story. The artwork was amazing on all accounts, with Bond and Rolston making a near flawless transition that could not have been pulled off better. i Can't read this book enough. This is just one smart and fun read for anyone who likes reading about a major character from the past who never existed.

A big fan of graphic novels, I read The Escapists before I even knew about Michael Chabon's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. I enjoyed it so much that I went on to read Kavalier and Clay and then came back and read The Escapists again. I enjoyed it even more on the second reading, knowing the entire story on which it is based.

Brian K. Vaughan does a terrific job of elevating The Escapists from mere fan fiction to a complete story all its own. A young man finds his deceased father's extensive collection of Escapist memorabilia from the 1930's and 1940's, and aspires to re-launch the brand with his friends on an indie shoestring budget. Their book and efforts at promotion are both fascinating and revealing about the modern indie comics scene.

If you enjoyed the delightful Kavalier and Clay, The Escapists is a natural companion, and vice versa. The free sample pages on Amazon are a good start to give you the flavor. In addition, Michael Chabon himself joins in the fun by including a nice continuation of Kavalier and Clay several decades later to tie it in with the graphic novel. It is lots of fun.

BKV proves why television snagged him up. A comic book that literally redoes the genre. I didn't think it was possible after Moore did it over 20 years ago.

This book is a testament to the true love for a character that develops within all comic fan boys. If you have ever loved a superhero this book will make you smile.

Buy it. Seriously. You don't need to know anything else, just click 'add to cart' you'll love it.

This book is a great companion to "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay". The artwork and writing are top notch. My only complaint is in the packaging, the book is smaller than a normal comic book, but larger than a Manga. I wish they had made it a standard hardcover size.