THE WORLD OF BLACK HAMMER VOL. 5 - graphic novel


 I was/am unfamiliar with the Black Hammer graphic novel series, but when this came available to me and I saw Jeff Lemire's name, Geoff Johns' name, and Patton Oswalt's name in the credits I thought it was worth checking out.

The book appears to be a graphic novel anthology. There are eight stories collected here, each written and illustrated by a different team of creators. Sort of an Outer Limits or Twilight Zone for graphic novel creators. And like just about any anthology, there were some stories her that I really liked and some that didn't reach me at all.

The first story in the collection was "Transfer Student" by Patton Oswalt, illustrated by Dean Kotz (color by Jason Wordie). I did enjoy this but it wasn't particularly original and we could pick up on the gimmick very quickly. Think Harlan Ellison's "Jeffty is Five".

I enjoyed the story of the working man Cthulhu. Imagine a horrific monster working like Al Bundy. Just the concept made this one worthwhile.

There's a story with a character by the name of Ms. Moonbeam (I'm not familiar with this character) that I enjoyed. I didn't care for the art, however. It looked rough and amateurish (colors were awesome, however, but if what I noticed was the coloring, that doesn't speak well for the general art).

There is one story that I'm still not sure how to rank. A story within a story of actors and superheroes perform a soap opera but their offstage lives mirror their performing lives. I actually read this twice, trying to understand what was happening. The art was great. The story ...? I don't know 2 of 5? 5 of 5? Flip a coin - I can't decide.

The story titled "Uncle Slam" by Chip Zdarsky with art by Johnnie Christmas (Dave Stewart colors) reminded me of some of the Watchmen series, but, as I am an older reader, this hit home with me a bit more than I expected.

The collection rounds out with a couple stories that didn't really do anything for me at all but overall most of the stories fare pretty well.

Looking for a good book? Jeff Lemire's The World of Black Hammer Vol. 5 collects an eclectic group of fantasy graphic novel stories. Anyone looking to expand their graphic novel horizons might want to give this a try.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

3-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

The World of Black Hammer Vol. 5

creator: Jeff Lemire

publisher: Dark Horse Books

ISBN: 9781506732503

hardcover, 248 pages

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