Customer Reviews

The Living And The Dead

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

 

 

Todd Livingston and Bob Tinnell garnered a fistful of well-deserved awards for their previous horror graphic novels, THE BLACK FOREST and THE WICKED WEST. But their latest effort, THE LIVING AND THE DEAD has flown mostly under the radar. That's too bad, since TL&TD, a fascinating extension of the Frankenstein mythos, stands as the best -- and scariest -- of the team's efforts so far. The book's relative obscurity stems from its publication by little-known Speakeasy Comics, as opposed to marketing-savvy Dark Horse Comics (which published BLACK FOREST and THE WICKED WEST). It's certainly NOT a reflection of either the razor-sharp writing or the eerie, expressionist artwork (by gifted newcomer Micah Farritor) of this superb graphic novel.

Without question, TL&TD is the most adult-themed and hardest-hitting work so far from Livingston & Tinnell, a gleefully warped yarn that touches on torture, incest, necrophilia and Satanism in addition to your garden variety murder and resurrection of the living dead. Weighing it at a hefty 122 pages of story (not counting bonus materials), this is also their lengthiest project to date, and the extra space allows them to better develop the characters, especially Baron Franken -- well, actually, the writers meticulously avoid stating the name outright, but do the math. And of course, it enables the story to encompass the previously noted coffin-load of ghoulish goings on.

The plot finds The Baron trying to live down his notorious past, working as a humble village doctor in the company of his wife and children. But fate -- and meddling relatives -- put an end to this bucholic existence and compel him to resume his nefarious experiments. It would be criminal to reveal more, except that the whole business builds to a bone-chilling twist-ending that should inspire the envy of M. Night Shyamalan (and perhaps the ghost of Rod Serling, as well).

The book also includes a rewarding afterward by horror scholar David J. Skal (author of HOLLYWOOD GOTHIC and SCREAMS OF REASON), who places the tale in context within the larger mythology of Frankenstein.

In short, THE LIVING AND THE DEAD is well worth seeking out. It's a must-read for anyone who enjoyed the previous Livingston-Tinnell books, and strongly recommended to anyone interested in the Frankenstein mythos, or who simply enjoy a blood-curdling horror story.

Livingston and Tinnell's The Living And The Dead is the best thing they have produced to date. Their graphic novel extension of Frankenstein works quite nicely. (Far better than say Steve Niles' graphic novel "modernization" of Frankenstein, Wake the Dead.) The artwork by Farritor very much complements the story woven by Livingston and Tinnell. The commentary by Skal on the story and the persistence of Frankenstein in popular culture at the end was good, though it would have been nice had it been a bit more in-depth.

Note, The Living And The Dead is contains some material that is for a more mature reader and thus unlike their graphic novel The Black Forest should not be handed to too young of a reader.

...I loved the Living and the Dead. The hook into the Frankenstein myth pulled me into the story, which was wonderfully dark without being over-the-top. Farritor's artwork is gorgeous, matching the tone set by Livingston and Tinnell. In addition, Farritor did a great job picking his shots, occasionally chosing to leave things out of the frame so that our imaginations run wild with the imagery that he and Livingston and Tinnell had already laid down.

First off, I have to say that after having read Tinnell's "Sight Unseen" graphic novel, I was pretty disappointed with this. And given the great reviews I saw here, I was really expecting better.

The writing isn't bad. But the story, a follow-up to the Frankenstein mythos, just isn't that good. It isn't very scary, and I found it to be pretty mundane and rather predictable. The great "twist" ending this book was supposed to have was anything but. I saw it coming a mile away. I won't spoil it for you, but I find it hard to believe that someone could fail to come to the same conclusion I did WAY before the ending unravels. This, along with the so-so overall story, contributed heavily to the 3 star rating I gave here. And I feel I'm being generous.

I have mixed feelings about the artwork here. It is bleak in its overall appearance, especially the bland coloring. This is intended, however, and it's not without its merits. This look lends itself nicely to the dark, somber tone of the story. It does work on some level. Another thing I'd say about the art is that the angular appearance of the characters and their surroundings also adds and edgy flavor to the imagery.

In the end, this was just not at all what I was expecting. It was an okay story with kinda cool, moody artwork. Unless you're a huge fan of Frankenstein, I'd suggest skipping this one.

Its a difficult thing to continue upon classic horror as it is so well established. The stakes must be higher, and the villain must stand in contrast to his predecessors. The Living and the Dead accomplishes both these with unique and stylish artwork, dialouge that is approachable but still genuine to the era of its setting, and a cinamatic twist.

Todd Lingston and Robert Tinnell spin a captivating tale in this graphic novel. Using the well known Frankenstein legend as a starting point, they imagins an alternate universe, or "what if they had..." direction for the story to follow. Artist Micah Farritor is an excellent choice to render the story, using a limted palette of earth tones he captures the old world feel as well as something of the look of classic horror films. Tinnell is a skilled director and this story displays his talents for pacing. The surprise twists are perfectly timed and completely satisfying. The Living and the Dead manages to be a captivating and chilling ride while providing a thoughtful take on a well known legend.