Elk's Run - Joshua Fialkov, Noel Tuazon, Scott Keating
Found this one at the library, and the back cover said it's "Harvey Award-nominated" and has blurbs from Warren Ellis and Brian Michael Bendis, so I thought it would be worth checking out. The brief introduction by Charlie Huston makes it a Big Deal sort of book, the sort that you shouldn't read unless you're willing to really consider what you believe in, whether you'd be willing to die for your beliefs, or kill for your beliefs.
Well, as it turns out, I don't think this is a book that's really going to challenge your beliefs unless you're an isolationist extremist who wants to build a society almost totally separate from the rest of the world, since that's basically what takes place. Elk's Run is a little town founded by some Vietnam vets who didn't want to deal with the rest of America when they got back; instead, they formed a community only accessible by a tunnel, which they shut at night and only open to allow deliveries of food and supplies. They think that by shielding their kids from American culture (music, fast food, television) they can live better.
Of course, the kids think otherwise, and when one man's nighttime escape turns out poorly, tensions rise and things quickly get out of hand. But it's fairly predictable: John, the leader of the town, becomes increasingly dangerous as he tries to protect his way of life, while his son decides that this life is not for him. John's wife Sara stands by her man until she finally sees him for who he is.
The illustrations are kind of rough, and at first it's often hard recognizing characters from one scene to the next. The only change is during a kid's flashback, when the style is more cartoony and the colors are bright and cheerful. Everything else is done in a "Day of the Dead" palette, lots of somber tones and reds and oranges.
In short, I wasn't too impressed.
Fed to jonathan's brain | May 23, 2007
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