Author and illustrator
Mark Crilley (
Facebook), probably best known for his "How to draw"
Youtube videos, has written and drawn a manga style story called
Brody's Ghost, published by Dark Horse comics.
Having grown up reading American style comics from DC and Marvel, manga is not a style which I'm usually interested in. The truth is that what primarily drew me to this story was Crilley's art skills. If you have ever watched any of his YouTube videos, you will realise that the man has amazing drawing skills. The other reason is that Crilley has given so much to the art community through his "How to draw" videos, and I wanted to show my support for his work.
I have read quite a number of novels since my high school days, some good, some not so good. A good story hooks you in and makes you want to keep reading to find out more. It makes you care about the characters and feel their pain and sadness. I feel that
Brody's Ghost does those things well.
Some may find the plot a bit too plain, a simple detective-style story of good versus evil. But I think it would be wrong to mistake "plain" for "boring" or "mediocre". The story is actually a refreshing change from the edgy and dark stories full of twists and turns that I've read before. This is not to say that
Brody's Ghost does not have its share of surprises, but the story as a whole gave me a feeling of innocence (for want of a better term) that I have not found in comics for some time (or maybe I am just reading the wrong titles?).
The book is made better by the fact that Crilley has included concept sketches and other goodies (such as a "How to draw Talia" one-pager in book 2) at the end of each book. And little "easter eggs" such as the graffiti on page 73 of book 1 makes an already enjoyable reading experience even better.
If there is one criticism though, it's that the I've found the quality of the fight sequences somewhat lacking compared the rest of Crilley's art in the books.
Ultimately, however, this issue is not enough to detract me from enjoying
Brody's Ghost. I didn't want to write a review until I've finished book 4 (currently just started book 3), because I really wanted to finish all four books in one sitting. But when I discover something wonderful, I can't help but tell people about it.