Customer Reviews

Finder: Sin-Eater, vol. 1 (Finder)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wow. I've finally found something as gripping as _The Sandman_.

I guess the easiest way to describe this series is by analogy; _Finder_ is something like a melding of the best facets of Moebius' _The Airtight Garage_ and Moore's _Strangers in Paradise_. It's about a wanderer named Jaeger who gets embroiled in the domestic problems of a family recovering after escaping from a psychologically abusive father. Along the way, we're introduced to a host of supporting characters and stories, setting up future storylines in the series.

Those pithy sentences can't do justice to the scope and depth of this work, which is of a caliber seen rarely in more "legitimate" mediums. The characters are fully realized, and -- despite the science-fiction setting -- are the focus and driving force of the narrative. Carla's approach to dialogue is just so... real. The words flow naturally, never sounding stilted or forced.

The setting, a huge domed megapolis, is almost a character in itself, and is an example of literary world-building on par with Tolkein (the book includes copious footnotes explaining various cultural practices). One gets the feeling that even though one may not fully understand exactly how this society works, the author has already planned it all out in advance, and it's only a matter of time before it "clicks". It's almost like doing anthropological fieldwork, observing how a foreign culture operates, and teasing out meaning from the clues provided.

Did I mention that I liked this book?

He sleeps in strange places: in a heap of zoo animals; in a bowl held by a statue of a forgotten god; or underwater, for relaxation. He gets into bar brawls, fights wild animals, and swims in polluted water to keep himself feeling healthy. He is so realistically depicted -- muscles, unruly mane, body hair, scrapes and bruises -- you can almost smell the blood, sweat and cigarettes. This is Jaeger, and he is a world unto himself -- as is every character in this book. We meet a few of them in this first volume, and catch a glimpse of their interior worlds. The characters are multi-layered, as is the city, which we learn about through the guided tour, glimpsed in the background as Jaeger travels, before he climbs the rooftops and treats us to views that the inhabitants never see.

I was lucky enough to get the "ashcan" (black and white xerox) editions of the first three issues, as well as the preview edition, which contains short but favorable quotes from some well-known names in comics: Dav Sim, Charles Vess, Teri S. Wood, Donna Barr. If you missed the ashcans and the silver-age sized issues, here's your chance to get 7 in one paperback volume, plus background notes and a portrait gallery. My only complaint about the trade paperback is that I want a cover gallery at the back of the book -- preferably in color!

This book is weird. Really, seriously weird. It's probably the most overtly weird book I've read this year -- outside of some novels for my German literature classes -- which is a sad comment on the current state of sf, fantasy, and comics. What is speculative literature for, after all, if not to show us things we'd never imagine for ourselves, and draw us into different worlds?

This volume contains the first seven issues of "Finder," a black and white comic book written and drawn by Carla Speed McNeil. After seven issues, I'm still not quite clear about the overall story, but honestly, I don't care. I'd be happy to read about the daily lives of people in this world for years, because they are just that: people. As much as there is a main story, it seems to be this: Jaeger, the titular character, is involved with Emma, a woman who, with her three children, abandoned her abusive and controlling husband. Jaeger is also involved with the husband, Brigham, and he's not quite sure how to deal with the situation, or even what the situation really is.

The story can sometimes be hard to follow, not because McNeil's art or layouts are unclear, but because she introduces bits and pieces of characters' lives without explaining how the people got into those situations, or whether the incidents are connected to the "main" story. This adds a level of realism to the characters and the world, but it can be disconcerting. Fortunately, footnotes at the back of the book explain some of those incidents, and some confusing bits of dialogue. The dialogue, incidentally, is only confusing because it's realistic; people don't speak in expository paragraphs, so McNeil's characters don't either, which means characters don't explain their more obscure statements or references.

I have already read "Finder: Sin-Eater" several times, and each time I have loved it more. If I weren't broke, I'd buy the second volume immediately. Read this. Trust me. It's wonderful.

Once you get started on the Finder series, you won't be able to stop. Carla Speed McNeil has created an elaborate universe full of fascinating characters. She maintains the fine balance of giving enough information about her world without boring her readers with the details. If Finder had been a novel, I'm sure I would have loved it, but making it into a graphic novel was pure genius. A picture is truly worth a thousand words (and if you want to know more about the pictures, read the footnotes McNeil has graciously provided). I can't recommend this book enough to fans of Philip Pullman, Neil Gaiman, Neal Stephenson, and (to an extent) William Gibson.

I haven't been able to access Amazon.com from my computer for quite some time due to a bug in the system of some sort. However, during my time away a friend lent me her Finder Vol. 1 by Carla Speed McNeil.

In terms of artistic layout, the book was very interesting -- especially with the layers of pictures, words, and obscure historical and musical references that the artist arranged in certain places. It all adds to an interesting "established world sense," much in the way that the reader finds a world as is -- with genetic, robotic, and cybernetic "construct" beings living side by side with Clans like the militaristic Medawar and the artistic Llaveric along with free-traders in a great underground city.

However, plot-wise it does take a while to figure what is exactly going on. What the struggle comes down to, I find, is precisely what Speed McNeil achieves -- you are put right into the middle of this strange and new world that seems to be in our future, and with very little reference to what made this world you follow the strange and unconventional journey of the Finder Jaeger.

Jaeger's life, as well as those of the other characters seem to fit into this post-modern subterranean world of Anvard in the sense that their lives and behaviors are very fragmented and unpredictable. Their lives and the background panels are frenetic-paced and even despite an ignorance of initial knowledge on the reader's part can draw its audience in. Speed McNeil's footnotes at the end of the book explain a lot about the world around the characters as well as the characters themselves. Whether or not this should have been included more closely into the art is another matter in entirely, and if it would still be the same book.

Either way, the black-and-white fragmented structure of this post-modern, post-apocalyptic world seems seminal to the literature of the 21st century.

Carla Speed McNeil's "FINDER" series is one of the true gems of the American comic/graphic novel genre. She has created a richly textured universe of human beings and cities, of media and culture and history. I suppose you might call it an "alternate history" (or is it alternate future?). The strongest of all the volumes are the two part saga told in "Sine-Eater" and "Sin-Eater, Volume 2." It stands up there with the best of Neil Gaiman's Sandman--one of those stories you will want to read again and again, and everytime you do you notice something you missed/forgot in the previous times. Absolutely enchanting. The art is black and white, forceful and clean, wrapped around intriguing characters, suspenseful situations, and a deep understanding of the hearts of people.

I really wanted to recomend this book; unfortunately, I can't. While there's no doubt that Speed-McNeil is an excellent artist (her characters and settings appear effortlessly fluid), I found the story to have some real problems. The most prominent, the (future?) world this story entails is so deeply thought out that the author includes detailed footnotes in the back of the book giving further explanation and expanding on the concepts; unfortunately, I found that you also needed these footnotes to follow key plot points. While the author may improve in future volumes, I found this intial work frustrating and falling short of its true potential.