A God Somewhere (New Edition) [Paperback]

John Arcudi (Author), Peter Snejbjerg (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 20, 2011

After a mysterious disaster, a young man named Eric finds that he has just as mysteriously developed extraordinary abilities. He starts out trying to help people, but his solitary position in the world isolates him in ways no average human could understand. This story charts the arc of the evolution of Eric from man to...well, who knows what, as seen through the eyes of his family and his best friend, Sam.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The idea of superpowered humans in the "real world" has become one of the more popular recent tropes in comics, a trend inevitably met with diminishing returns. Arcudi and Snejbjerg's harrowing, occasionally gory take asks a familiar question: what if one single person was suddenly possessed of superhuman power? Yet their answer largely eschews feats of heroism in favor of an extended dark night of the soul. When nice-guy everyman Eric emerges from a mysterious explosion with the familiar flight/strength/invulnerability package, he starts out pulling babies from burning buildings, foiling robberies, etc., but his sudden fame and near omnipotence quickly alienate him from the people he loves and, eventually, humanity as a whole. Seen through the eyes of his best friend Sam, Eric's unexpected transformation from quasisuperman to psychopathic mass murderer comes across as deeply tragic rather than merely sensational. Snejbjerg's art is ideally suited to this jarring transition, as he remains focused on characterization whether a panel calls for cartoony bonhomie or bloodcurdling mayhem. This focus on the characters' essential humanity and sense of loss elevates Arcudi's script above the usual "postmodern deconstruction of the superhero mythos," proving that there are still some new stories out there after all.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"* "The most human take on the super-hero story I have ever seen. This is the book that shows just how good a writer John Arcudi is." - Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy * "Our first real superhero tragedy, in the classic sense of the term." - Dennis O'Neil, writer of Batman" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics; New edition (September 20, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401232469
• ISBN-13: 978-1401232467
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.3 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #314,285 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The comic medium at it's finest, June 24, 2010

By 

grifter78 (Fort Worth, Tx) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A God Somewhere (Paperback)

(SPOILERS, this one was too hard to write without them)

I went back and forth whether or not to pick this up when I first saw it announced. The only exposure I ever had to writer John Arcudi was his run on Gen 13 Volume 1, and I just thought it was ok. The premise was intriguing but it wasn't something I hadn't read in other forms before. All of this coupled with the fact it was an original graphic novel with a $24.99 cover price, made me very hesitant to invest in it. I'm happy to say it was well worth the risk.

Normally, one of the strengths of graphic novels is that they don't have to rely on cliffhangers every 22 pages like a comic book. The writer has more freedom to structure his story any way he wants. Here, Arcudi chose to do 4 chapters at 50 pages each. It'd be interesting to see if this was originally envisioned as a 4-issue mini series but if it was, I'd find it hard to believe each issue would've been 50 pages. But regardless of the original intent, this format works very well here because it allows for cliffhangers and also allows for the passage of time between chapters.

Speaking of time, Arcudi's got an interesting story structure where we follow the 4 main characters in the present while periodically showing flashbacks of significant events in the past between the characters. The main character is Eric Forester. We also follow his brother Hugh, his wife Alma, and Eric's best friend Sam Knowle. Arcudi does a great job of setting up each of these characters and their various struggles before we even get to the superhero parts of the story. But Arcudi doesn't give us too much exposition. He gives us just enough up until the point where Eric is bestowed with his powers.

From here, the story takes off in a very interesting direction. In the story Eric is a Christian so he believes God has blessed him with these powers. Now I must pause and let you know I am a Christian myself (don't worry, I'm not going to start preaching from here on), so that's the perspective I'm coming at this story from. The way Eric takes authority over his powers is almost unbelievable. But Eric is so euphoric about the whole thing, Arucdi lets us feel the elation Eric feels about these new powers.

This brings me to Snejbjerg's art. He does an amazing job throughout the novel but it's his facial expressions on Eric that really convey how happy Eric is this has happened to him. When you look into Eric's eyes as he tells Sam everything's going to be alright and then proceeds to jump out a window and fly into the sky, its Snejbjerg's art that makes you believe Eric.

Of course, from here we follow as Eric becomes a messiah of sorts (even though he outright states he does not compare himself to Jesus Christ). But his godhood loses its impact as he begins to see the corruption of man and how despite his great powers, the corruption still remains. At this point Eric has been simultaneously hurt by society and by those he loves like his brother, Hugh. It is this realization that begins to send him over the edge and where Arucdi takes us to some very dark places.

The battles that ensue which Snejbjerg illustrates beautifully are absolutely brutal following these events. Those following Boom Studios' Irredeemable have gotten a taste of the "superhero gone bad" story but here, there is no holding back. The story becomes heartbreaking as we see Eric driven mad by the idea that humanity is lost and not worth saving. There are even two plot points which I thought were interesting because they are two possible origins to his powers. One is where Eric dreams that he was once a god of another smaller universe who became bored and came to our bigger universe. The other is that Eric's powers are telekinetic in nature which could either be separate, or go hand in hand with the "god" explanation. In fact, the origins of his powers are never fully explained but that's ok because in this story they are mainly a catalyst for everything else.

By the end, Arucdi is not shoving some religious message down out throats. He is simply giving us a human story in a superhero setting. To see these ordinary people faced with extraordinary circumstances and how they handle it is the strength of this story. I cannot recommend this graphic novel enough. It is a further testament that comics can be a powerful medium to convey meaningful stories that can reach a lot of people.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will Undoubtedly Find a Spot Among Some of the Great Graphic Novels of This Age, July 8, 2010

By 

GraphicNovelReporter.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A God Somewhere (Paperback)

A God Somewhere is a tragedy, in the classic comedy/tragedy sense of the word. Whereas the progression of a comedy goes from bad to good, tragedy begins with its characters in a good place, and over the progression of the story turns to bad. A God Somewhere bestows one man with infinite powers. But rather than tell the traditional superhero tale of a man rising to protect humanity, writer John Arcudi and artist Peter Snejbjerg tell the tale of a man corrupted by ultimate power, essentially becoming the villain. In that, it is already somewhat unique, but the duo takes it one step further and tells the story from the perspective of a group of the character's friends who are impacted by the change, rather than focusing on the all-powerful man.

Comics have long been based on the premise that power brings with it responsibility. That's why our comic characters, when bestowed with something special, use that power for the good of humanity. Of course, that's one side of the story, and the other side is full of villains who have used their respective powers for evil. Arcudi and Snejbjerg, if A God Somewhere is any indication, present, for our consideration, that it is much more in man's nature to wind up on the dark side of things.

Eric and Sam are best friends. After a mysterious disaster that kills many at his apartment complex, Eric finds himself with Superman-like powers, which he immediately uses to pull the other survivors from the rubble. What causes the disaster or Eric's powers is never fully explained, and in the scheme of things, the true cause is irrelevant. What's relevant is how Eric thinks he attained the powers--either God bestowed him with them or he is, in fact, a god himself. And that belief ultimately leads to his feeling of separation from the rest of humanity.

Its human, "What if it happened in the real world?" approach to comics may sound like something out of the old cynical and grim likes of Alan Moore's Watchmen. And it is hard not to be reminded of the line from that book while reading A God Somewhere, "The Superman exists, and he's American." As Arcudi suggests with A God Somewhere, if the Superman really is American, that could be a problem.

Arcudi's tale is very much about the modern world. And, much like any great superhero tale, has a lot less to do with fantasy heroics as it does with real-world concerns. A God Somewhere is a tale about a man. It's about humans, nations, attacked by someone (or something) who thinks he is of holier stock than the rest of us. He applies flawed logic to the situation, surmising that if he was the one granted these special powers, and if he indeed has power over the rest of us, it is because he is better than us, and therefore his way must be imposed upon the world by using those powers.

The story is told from the perspective of Sam, who--as Eric increasingly shies away from public attention--makes something out of the situation for himself, and ultimately becomes our window to Eric. Even as Eric commits increasingly unspeakable actions, it takes Sam longer to hate him than anyone else, especially when there is something in all of it for him to benefit from. In many ways, we're intended to relate most with Sam. There's a difficulty in recognizing how out of hand a power has become when one is so close to it, and profiting from the mess is all too easy. But Sam isn't bad in the scheme of things. He tries to talk sense into Eric. Tries to understand him. Even if it's all to no avail.

It's an incredibly well told, well-paced story, thanks in large part to the art of Snejbjerg. The opening page of A God Somewhere is one of the most engaging and haunting I've seen in a comic. As much as the art, the coloring of Bjarne Hansen contributes to great tones that help depict the tragic downfall of Eric and his friends. When we see the background stories of the four main characters, we're looking at a very different style than when we're looking at the aftermath of Eric acquiring his powers.

A God Somewhere uses the comics medium to offer a fresh take on a tale of power corrupting absolutely. It wisely uses its origins to bring race into the conversation. And ultimately, as Mike Mignola suggests on the paperback's cover, brings readers one of the most "human" superhero stories in the medium. From start to finish, it is gripping, and while it has debuted with less attention than it deserves, will undoubtedly find a spot among some of the great graphic novels of this age.

-- William Jones

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars John Arcudi & Peter Snejbjerg's 'A God Somewhere' ... The Authority With Consequences & More, July 26, 2010

By 

Chris Thompson "popculturehound" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A God Somewhere (Paperback)

I've just finished reading John Arcudi and Peter Snejbjerg's A God Somewhere and I'm still mulling it over ... In fact, I think I'll be mulling it over for a little while to come. It'd be easy to hang one of a dozen cliches on it. It is this generation's Watchmen, and it is The Authority with consequences, but beyond that it's something more. This book asks you to imagine what would happen if just one person ended up miraculously gifted with super powers. Then it asks: What if it was the wrong person? These are quite heady concepts on their own, but they have been touched on before. If A God Somewhere left it there then it would be easier to dismiss ... But it asks one further question of its readers which really gets you thinking: Is there actually a 'right' person? And there's the kicker.

Like any great super powered origin, it starts with an unexplained explosion and a miraculous bestowing of powers. No one knows how or why, and that's not really the point - the fact is it happened, and Eric Forster is forever changed as a result. He gains super-strength, the ability to fly, a seeming invulnerability, and other powers we can't even begin to understand. At first he uses these powers to help - rescuing others from the rubble of his building, stopping bank robbers and thwarting crime - but slowly he withdraws from those around him and becomes more insular, like an island or a god unto himself. And so Lord Acton's words ring true once again, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

I think most people are familiar with this famous adage and think of it in circumstances such as these. Lord Acton said it so well, but over 100 years previous William Pitt the Elder said something similar which holds even much more significance for this particular tale ... "Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it; and this I know, my lords, that where laws end, tyranny begins." Eric Forster is a corrupted man. The law no longer applies to him, at least in his mind, and as he comes to that realisation the real changes come. Nothing matters to him anymore - not politics or religion, friendship or brotherhood. It all pales before him, and that's when the tyranny starts. Eric wages a one-man war against the world, starting with those closest to him and radiating out in a spiral of unstoppable destruction. It's brutal, it's graphic, and it's shocking. I found some things hard to read, yet it's illustrated with a sensitivity that makes you realise just how desensitised you've become.

I feel almost wrong saying this, but I didn't know John Arcudi and Peter Snejbjerg had this in them. Both have been good solid creators over the years, and each has produced some memorable work, but this ... This is something else. And when did Wildstorm become such a boutique publisher? I used to just think of them as big boobs, big battles and big guns. They still have those, by the way, but they're also cultivating a wonderful library of brave and innovative releases like A God Somewhere. It's an interesting juxtaposition and I like it. I really don't want to say too much more about the book because this is a review, not a synopsis. I don't want to spoil anything, I just want to tell you to buy it. Buy it, read it, and pass it on to your friends. Talk about it and consider what it says. It might not be everyone's cup of tea but, like any great work, it asks you to think, and that's what makes it really worthwhile. Bravo! I give it 9 out of 10 because a perfect score would seem to contradict the high concept of the book. See more reviews like this at Pop Culture Hound (popculturehound dot com).