The Interman [Paperback]

Jeff Parker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 22, 2003

The acclaimed adventure graphic novel that introduces Van Meach, world traveller and sole creation of the Interman project. The ability to adapt his genetic code makes him the world's most unique creature....and the target of its greatest hitmen!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When the CIA rediscovers decades-old records of Interman, a genetic experiment aimed at producing perfectly adaptable Cold War secret agents, panic erupts. Without more information, the allied intelligence services decide the mutant, Van Meach, must be killed before he becomes a dangerous rogue warrior. Until now, Van Meach has lived a relatively normal young man's life and is a threat to no one. He's a successful soldier of fortune, aware that his ability to grow gills, etc., as needed is an advantage, but not challenged enough to explore his past or to test his adaptive abilities' limits. That changes when he suddenly finds himself being hunted by government assassins. This book's episodes show him beginning to discover who he is as he jets between exotic locales with danger at every stop. He's accompanied by an older assassin who wants to get to know Van Meach before he kills him. The concept seems vaguely derivative, cobbled together out of generic parts, and Parker's art doesn't set this book apart from other super-powered young adult adventures. The squiggly drawings look like secondhand Doug Wildey (of Johnny Quest) or perhaps a distant photocopy of Alex Toth. Layout and landscapes are more successful than personality or expression, which limits interest in the characters. Fortunately, Parker's script makes the characters distinctive. Van Meach, in particular, is an appealing hero, mildly ironic without the hard-edged cynicism of many Bond imitators.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

" what BOND stopped aspiring to be decades ago, and what comics need more of." -- Augie DeBlieck, Comic Book Resources, Feb 4, 2003

"... an impressive new talent to the comics industry, making in a splash in a very unusual way ." -- Randy Lander, The 4th Rail, January 22, 2003

"INTERMAN is terrific -- an engaging hero, an involving story, plus suspense and adventure that never loses sight of humanity." -- Kurt Busiek, writer, Astro City

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Octopus (January 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972555307
• ISBN-13: 978-0972555302
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,413,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PULP FICTION AT IT'S BEST!, July 19, 2003

By 

Stefan L. Blitz (Providence, RI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Interman (Paperback)

Mr. Parker has assembled one of the most engaging and exciting espionage thrillers that I've read in some time. With clean, tight visuals and sharp writing, the Interman is the book that most genre fans have been waiting for whether they know it or not. Memorable and unforgettable, the Interman has arrived. You won't be disappointed.

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!!!, April 16, 2004

By 

Tom Gurganus (NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Interman (Paperback)

Absolutely one of the best graphic novels of the past 5 years. Mr. Parker has crafted a unique story centering on character rather than flash. But not without plenty of excitement, mystery, and action. It's Jonny Quest meets James Bond with a nod to the pulps. A must have.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre Solo Debut, August 12, 2004

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Interman (Paperback)

Comics vet Parker makes his personal indie debut with this mediocre adventure. The hero is the offspring of a top-secret Western attempt in the 1960s to create a super-soldier to fight the Soviets during the Cold War. When the Pentagon shut down the program in the Vietnam era due to worries about public opinion should word leak out (since the PR implications of genetic fiddling would have been pretty bad no matter what else was going on, this doesn't seem like a particularly plausible reason to shut down such a project), they never bothered to keep track of the one "interman" produced (an even more unlikely scenario!). Now, the awkwardly named Van Meach roams the world as a kind of adventuring problem-solver. He's good at this because he's the ultimate adapter: throw him in water and he grows gills and cartilage shifts to help swimming, put him in hot sun or driving snow and his internal temperature doesn't change, plus he's got a heightened danger sense. On the other hand, he's handicapped by a somewhat amusing naivetÈ.

Anyway... the CIA unearths the Interman project archives and for some reason totally panics. Worried that this ultra-adapter is operating as some kind of ultra-dangerous rouge agent, they scramble top hitmen from across the world to kill him. You would think they'd try and find out if he actually WAS an ultra-dangerous rouge agent first, but since the plot demands that they don't, the hitmen are scrambled. Oddly enough, our hero seems to have no clue as to why random people are trying to kill him. Hmmm... maybe it's because a you're a MUTANT?!?! Finally, it occurs to him to check out his origins (wouldn't he have done this a long time ago?) in order to figure out who's behind the hitmen.

The book then turns into a globe-trotting quest for who he is, with intermittent hitman dodging. Despite the total derivativeness of this framework, the hitmen characters are actually pretty interesting. There's a old-fashioned romantic with a sassy mustache, a female martial artist with an interesting personal code, a nifty gang of four, and an enigmatic German who keeps showing up and not killing the hero! And finally, emerging from the mists is Van's secret sister! Who is... wait for it....evil! Because... wait for it... the KGB raised her! Anyway, virtually none of this is particularly original material, and it leads to a predictable ending.

Artistically, the best thing is the cover. The style is pretty clunky and there's not nearly enough detail to bring the characters to life in the way they deserve. The book is word-heavy, which tends to create very cluttered panels. And it doesn't help the lettering is extremely murkyóthis is one of hardest to read graphic novels I've come across. The concept of the adaptive hero is interesting, but if Parker is continue this series, let's hope he can at least come up with a more original storyline and some cleaner lettering.