Customer Reviews

Torso: A True Crime Graphic Novel

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

 

 

I really enjoyed reading this book so didn't want give a poor rating based on that. However, the book itself literally fell apart. First the cover came off and then chunks of pages began falling out. Very disappointed since I really like the material itself.

Elliot Ness (of Untouchables fame) investigates a series of VERY grisly murders. Bendis is a fine writer but the art is confusing and just no, just no.

Beware of used books sold directly by Amazon. This book by Bendis fell apart as soon as I read the first 10 pages. It was badly bound. A total rip-off. For a few dollars more I could have bought it new. Very aggravating.

That 'official' review up top sounds like it came straight from the horse's mouth, courtesy of "fortune and glory". So awesome, yet strangely hard to read with my eyes closed. tag this review as 'unhelpful'.

I almost gave up on this a couple of different times thanks to artwork and page layouts that were completely amateurish. Most of the characters don't even look the same from panel to panel so that you lose track of which person is which. The only times they are recognizable is when they are exact copies of a prior illustration and in which the character is posing in a way that doesn't fit what is supposed to be happening to them -- frequently on the same page. If you've seen the comic strip Red Meat or some others where the same picture is in each panel with only new words coming out of their mouths, it's pretty similar to this. Plus there are several times when you are suddenly expected to turn the orientation of the book to continue reading the rest of the page. I'm sure this was done with the belief that it would help keep the reader's interest and make it seem more dramatic, but it had the opposite effect.

As far as the story goes, it's pretty basic. It tries to follow the facts of the case for a while, but in a rather lackluster and tedious way. The only time any suspense is established it's for a part that was completely made up in an absurdly cliched way with the heroes confronting the supposed villain. In the real world, the true perpetrator was never caught and no evidence other than wild speculation about who it might have been. Here they make it clear who the killer supposedly was and catch him red handed. This book's publicity claims it was "what really happened," but nothing at all like this ever took place. I'd chalk the claim up to just overzealous marketing, but unfortunately it's clear that many readers don't know this part was fabricated and the notes at the end do not clearly spell it out, insisting that they got the real killer. This comic book even somehow managed to win an award for journalism in the city it was based in, believe it or not. Perhaps they're just really hurting for solid news writing there.