Rating: 
Summary: Filet of Soul
Review: Cop's soul is sttolen. Cop is not pleased. He goes for a long walk to get it back. Yes, I'm leaving out a lot of the good bits (Laurel) but I don't want to be a spoilsport. One reviewer compared this to Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere" because of the "slipping between the cracks" lost people imagery. It's not a stolen idea, or if it was it was stolen from someone else a long, long time ago. It's a recurring theme in societies with large populations. There have always been and probably always will be people who just get lost. It's a frightening thing to us. My opinion: I really liked this one. It's dark, but not obscure. The darkness in this comic is not gratuitous or unnecessarily violent or just there to get some emotions stirred up in people. It's crafted and placed and worked into something that's like wrought iron. And the themes in it; the things that people in despair think, the hopelessness; those are real things. The fear, the stories about going nowhere, those are real. It's like holding two strong magnets with their oposite poles together. You see nothing but you can really feel it, like a shape made by that unseen force that has a texture. You expect your fingers to be able to touch it but there's nothing there; you can only feel how it's making the things you hold react. This story doens't put all the ideas in but you can feel them, taste them, see them by their lack. They are as clear as the patch of paper left unbleached when you take a picture off old wallpaper. There's temptation and despair and anger, and a little humor. There's the dregs of your soul and what keeps you going even when you've got nothing left. Duty, but it's never named. It really touched some feelings in me. It's real art. But like art, different people will see differnt things in it and some will see nothing at all; the art that will touch them is not the same as the art that touches me. I could say that some people will get it and others won't, but that sounds patronizing. And people throughout their lives change; someone might get it at one point and then not get it later... You see what I mean, and that's more a rant about art than about this comic in particular. My favorite part is that for all the social themes there's not a hint of patronization or holier-than-thou attitude in the tone of this book, and I can smell that bull a mile off.
Rating:
Summary: Remarkable
Review: Detective David Gray, LAPD, is investigating what he thinks is just another gangland murder, until he finds himself slipping into a second world beneath the world he knows. He is being pursued by brutal creatures known as "The Men" and is befriended by a group of transients and bums who, like David, have fallen between the cracks of society. It is here that David learns the horrifying truth about what has happened to him -- "The Men" have stolen his soul, and he has less than twelve months to walk from Los Angeles to New York and reclaim it, or he will become one of them. Straczynski is a brilliant storyteller and Frank was the perfect choice to illustrate this graphic novel. It shifts from scary to hauntingly beautiful without missing a beat, and the climax is nothing short of remarkable. It's truly a masterpiece of the form.
Rating: 
Summary: pretty good
Review: First off I have to say that I'm not a fan of comic books. This is the only one I own and I bought only because of the reputation of JMS from B5.
With that said, my main problems with this book are really problems with the genre. I don't understand why every woman is halfway naked in every seen. Why she needs to be naked while simply talking on the phone. Why during battle scenes her clothes have to fly off. This kind of stuff is why I cant take comics seriously.
Which stinks because JMS has a great plot and pretty good dialog. My feeling is that if you like comics and/or Maxim magazine, you'll love this one. If you don't like comics, save your money and buy a novel instead.
Rating:
Summary: Ditto
Review: I echo the reviews below. I was going to fall asleep when I started reading, but then, I couldn't stop. The end bio is very appropriate, it really reasonates, adding another level to the story. Plus, Laurel... What else is there to say? Buy it, read it, experience it.
Rating:
Summary: Ditto
Review: I echo the reviews below. I was going to fall asleep when I started reading, but then, I couldn't stop. The end bio is very appropriate, it really reasonates, adding another level to the story. Plus, Laurel... What else is there to say? Buy it, read it, experience it.
Rating:
Summary: the apotheosis of all graphic novels
Review: I really felt this story; you can feel the emotion that JMS put into it; a tale that is fictionally autobiographical. And what a tale it is! A cop who has "fallen through the cracks of society" goes on a long walk to reclaim himself; Babylon 5 fans will be reminded of "Walkabout", but this goes where that could not. Into the lions den. JMS's best work in the genre and his best work since B5. Briliant. The artistry is the best for any comic work i've seen, just might be the best comic I've ever read--sorry Mr. Gaiman. The price is peanuts compared to what you get, education and entertainment in one--Straczynski style. SWEET!
Rating:
Summary: the apotheosis of all graphic novels
Review: I really felt this story; you can feel the emotion that JMS put into it; a tale that is fictionally autobiographical. And what a tale it is! A cop who has "fallen through the cracks of society" goes on a long walk to reclaim himself; Babylon 5 fans will be reminded of "Walkabout", but this goes where that could not. Into the lions den. JMS's best work in the genre and his best work since B5. Briliant. The artistry is the best for any comic work i've seen, just might be the best comic I've ever read--sorry Mr. Gaiman. The price is peanuts compared to what you get, education and entertainment in one--Straczynski style. SWEET!
Rating:
Summary: Certainly not a masterpiece, but enjoyable
Review: I was not impressed with J. Michael Straczynski's RISING STARS and had written him off as of several years ago. Last week, however, I picked up his rewrite of Marvel Comics' Squadron Supreme, SUPREME POWER, and was blown away. That got me looking for anything by JMS that I may have missed in the interim. The shop owner handed me MIDNIGHT NATION, saying that it was definitely worth the cover price. I can't agree with that, but I certainly didn't hate it. MIDNIGHT NATION boils down to two basic themes: hope vs. no hope, and making up for past mistakes. David Grey has put everything second to his job on the police force, including his marriage. An encounter with some supernatural beings hospitalizes him, and, slipping into a coma, he enters a "shadow earth", populated with the forgotten and marginalized of society. He is, unfortunately, marked for a greater, more horrific purpose by the ruler of this realm, so he must journey on foot with his guardian/guide Laurel to New York, where he may have a chance to regain his soul. Along the way, he comes to realize the errors of his life, as well as how many inhabitants of this other world are in the same situation. Overall, it's a great quest story with a Twilight Zone flavor and a few doses of allegory. What made it a difficult read for me, however, was the dialogue: it's pretty formulaic and stilted. I hate it when writers use unwarranted conflict to build plot and characterization. This is especially apparent during David's arrival in the Midnight Nation - his meeting with Laurel, et al., is a tedious exercise in who can sport the biggest attitude. Also, while Gary Frank's pencils have definitely improved over the years, he hasn't quite shuffled out from under the Image Comics style in this book. As another reviewer mentioned, almost every female character in this book is unnecessarily drawn in some type of pin-up style, from high school guidance counselors wearing mini-skirts to ex-wives always walking around in panties or taking showers. The "really good" about this book is that it reads somewhat like an early Stephen King story (quite reminiscent of THE STAND). Also, it's fairly long, so you won't finish it in a day. Finally, included as an afterword of sorts is MIDNIGHT NATION 1/2, a.k.a. "Precious Objects", written by JMS and beautifully illustrated by Michael Zulli. Originally available as a mail-away through Wizard Magazine, this was my favorite part of the collection.
Rating:
Summary: Certainly not a masterpiece, but enjoyable
Review: I was not impressed with J. Michael Straczynski's RISING STARS and had written him off as of several years ago. Last week, however, I picked up his rewrite of Marvel Comics' Squadron Supreme, SUPREME POWER, and was blown away. That got me looking for anything by JMS that I may have missed in the interim. The shop owner handed me MIDNIGHT NATION, saying that it was definitely worth the cover price. I can't agree with that, but I certainly had a good time reading it. MIDNIGHT NATION boils down to two basic themes: hope vs. no hope, and making up for past mistakes. David Grey has put everything second to his job on the police force, including his marriage. An encounter with some supernatural beings hospitalizes him, and, slipping into a coma, he enters a "shadow earth", populated with the forgotten and marginalized of society. He is, unfortunately, marked for a greater, more horrific purpose by the ruler of this realm, so he must journey on foot with his guardian/guide Laurel to New York, where he may have a chance to regain his soul. Along the way, he comes to realize the errors of his life, as well as how many inhabitants of this other world are in the same situation. Overall, it's a great quest story with a Twilight Zone flavor and a few doses of allegory. What made it a difficult read for me, however, was the dialogue: it's pretty formulaic and stilted. I hate it when writers use unwarranted conflict to build plot and characterization. This is especially apparent during David's arrival in the Midnight Nation - his meeting with Laurel, et al., is a tedious exercise in who can sport the biggest attitude. Also, while Gary Frank's pencils have definitely improved since his stint on RISING STARS, he hasn't quite shuffled out from under the Image Comics style in this book. As another reviewer mentioned, almost every female character in this book is unnecessarily drawn in some type of pin-up style, from high school guidance counselors wearing mini-skirts to ex-wives always walking around in panties or taking showers. The "really good" about this book is that it reads somewhat like an early Stephen King story (quite reminiscent of THE STAND). Also, it's fairly long, so you won't finish it in a day. Finally, included as an afterword of sorts is MIDNIGHT NATION 1/2, a.k.a. "Precious Objects", written by JMS and beautifully illustrated by Michael Zulli. Originally available as a mail-away through Wizard Magazine, this was my favorite part of the collection.
Rating:
Summary: why I love graphic novels
Review: Like all great stories, this novel has depth, and, like all great comic novels, the artwork enhances the story line and expands it's message. This is a must buy for any lover, collecter, of the genre and I can't praise it enough.
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