Customer Reviews

Raptors, Vol. 3

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This was actually my first foray into the "graphic novel" genre. I wasn't disappointed. The storytelling is tight and riveting, the artwork lush and compelling. The Dufaux-Marini pairing is a match made in heaven (well, perhaps hell, in this case). As a native New Yorker, I was impressed by the highly detailed cityscapes that evoked the South Street area, and I also enjoyed the hint of humor that Dufaux employed while writing certain deadly scenarios. Someone told me these were essentially "comic books" but I have to say only the format is comic-book like. The covers are glossy and sturdy, the paper thick, the colors vivid. And needless to say, the storyline isn't for kids. Already ordered Raptors II. The first one was worth every cent. -JE

Lieutenant Lenore and her partner Spiaggi are investigating a bizarre series of murders. Each of the victims have been killed with a simple pin stuck into a cyst they each had behind their left ears. The investigation takes them to corruption and secrets that have been kept for centuries.

The world is not as they had thought. There is a grand conspiracy that began ages ago and has taken control of almost the entire world. One of the things it does not control are a brother and sister, the Raptors, who have decided that the kingdom of the conspiracy must come to an end. The more they learn about the truth, the more danger they are in.

At first Lenore reminded me of Ellen Yindell from The Dark Knight Returns but she quickly took on her own unique personality. The story was quite good. It had a definite ending while still setting up the other books in the series. I thought it made for a great start. Ir pulled no punches and it did not dicker around. The action and revelations came fast and furiously. A very entertaining read backed with excellent artwork.

The first thing the police notice - at least officially - is a string of bizarre murders. Some of the victims are well-known or influential, but the strange part is the means by which they are killed: a pin-prick behind the ear. Not deeply into the skull, not poisoned, just a pin-prick. There's a silent war going on between combatants in our midst that most people doubt even exist. But the police have splits within their own ranks, too at least three different groups with goals in conflict ...

This is the first book in a series, so all we really see is the set of conflicts defined. It lays out the lead characters and factions, and gives each a purpose. Then it ends on a note designed to keep us coming back for more. It works, too. The story is reasonably exciting and the artwork, if mannered, carries it well. The manner is impossibly long and leggy, but crisply drawn. The only real oddity I saw was when Agent Lenore was tied up and left face-down in a burning building. Any other woman would lie flat, the softness of her curves compressed under her weight. Instead, Lenore's upper body appears to be supported off the floor by something resembling large and very rigid cereal bowls. Does she wear a bronze bodice, or just have implants the consistency of concrete? Perhaps we'll find out in the chapters to come.

//wiredweird