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Graphic Novel Review: Victor Lavalle’s Destroyer by Victor Lavalle, illustrated by Dietrich Smith

Victor Lavalle’s Destroyer by Victor LaValle, illustrated by Dietrich Smith

BOOM! Studios, 2018

ISBN-13: 9781684150557

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, comiXology

Victor LaValle’s Destroyer is set in a world where Victor Frankenstein is real, and so is his Creature. Having survived by living under the frigid environment of Antarctica, he becomes angered when a whaling vessel invades the waters and sheds blood of the ocean creatures he is seen swimming with in the first pages. Here begins the journey of the Destroyer, his only goal to eliminate humanity from the planet.

But Destroyer isn’t simply the story of Frankenstein’s Creature and his revenge. At the center is Dr. Josephine Baker, who herself is a descendant of the Frankenstein family, and her resurrected son, Akai. He had been gunned down by the Chicago police after a paranoid woman called them insisting a Black man was brandishing a firearm in her neighborhood. Dr. Baker brought him back using nanotechnology, plus a little of her ancestor’s methods. Two scientists, Percy and Byron, believe they’re searching for Dr. Baker to protect her from the Destroyer, but they discover their mission may be greater than they thought. Add to the mix Akai’s estranged father, the Bride, and a ruthless agent who will stop at nothing to get her hands on Dr. Baker’s creation, and you have yourself one amazing story.

LaValle does not shy away from sociopolitical commentary in Destroyer. Strong themes in this graphic novel include misogyny, racism, and police brutality, all of which are timely and necessary topics. LaValle expertly weaves a tale of modern-day United States fear and hatred with the original Frankenstein story using elements and names familiar to readers of Shelley’s original work. The artwork supplied by Smith creates the perfect accompaniment to a gripping story.

I watched a keynote given by LaValle during the Library Journal Library Con Live! 2018 where he discussed the graphic novel. I highly recommend seeing him speak if you have the chance.

Contains: blood, gore, misogyny, police brutality, racism, violence

Highly recommended

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Editor’s note: Victor Lavalle’s Destroyer is on the final ballot for the 2018 Bram Stoker Award in the Graphic Novel category. 

Posted on February 25, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: The Rust Maidens by Gwendolyn Kiste

The Rust Maidens by Gwendolyn Kiste

Journalstone. 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1947654440

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

If there’s someone out there who is unfamiliar with Gwendolyn Kiste’s gorgeous prose of the macabre, The Rust Maidens would be a great place to start. After last year’s stellar collection, And Her Smile Will Untether The Universe, Kiste steps out with her debut novel, which rattles the soul in a disturbing, yet beautiful read.

Set in Cleveland in 1980,  this tale unwinds in a muted, depressive state that feels utterly claustrophobic, brought to life by Kiste’s exquisite, yet unobtrusive, prose. A group of girls in the neighborhood has contracted an illness that defies logic and science. What begins as something relatively innocuous, dripping water from their bodies, becomes much more dangerous and frightening: skin breaking open, revealing glass-like shards and rusted metal where bones should be. The horror is quiet here, like the best of Shirley Jackson and Charles Grant, as Kiste dissects the rotting body of the area which mirrors the internal strife of the people who live within the crumbling town.

The dual narrative of our protagonist, Phoebe, past and present, is a haunting one, as she returns home to revisit the bones of what she escaped long ago. The mystery of what happened to her best friend and cousin Jacqueline looms large over both timelines. The true antagonists of this novel are vague, and should be: the women who strive to hold power of the lives on Denton Street, the government agents who appear to investigate, the Rust Maidens themselves, the self-destruction of the town.

To give away more would strip away the power of this beautifully written novel by one of the best new writers out there today, a tale both unsettling and gut-wrenching. Kiste wraps her story in a veneer that feels like a mix of rust with the dust that has settled over the dying town, and the emotional heft between the covers weighs down on the reader like the crush of a rust-riddled steel beam, suffocating in mood but resulting in a story that begs to be read and savored. Kiste is a star, and The Rust Maidens is a slam dunk as a finalist for this year’s Stoker Award.

Highly recommended for lovers of any any genre.

 

Reviewed by David Simms

 

Posted on February 17, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: Miraculum by Steph Post

Miraculum by Steph Post

Polis Books, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1947993419

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

If readers haven’t yet discovered the magic of Steph Post’s enthralling writing, Miraculum is a fine place to start. This novel should put her on the map. Post’s style falls somewhere between Gillian Flynn’s and John Connelly’s, yet she has carved out a mark all her own.

Who doesn’t love a carnival? Pontillar’s Spectacular Star Light Miraculum  comes to a town on the Louisiana-Texas border, where snake-charmer Ruby, the daughter of the owner of the Miraculum, lives out a curious existence. Ruby has been tattooed in a manner that leaves her a bit of an oddity even in the freak show,  but doesn’t talk of the strange backstory of the wonderful, yet twisted, markings on her flesh.

One night, after a tragedy, a strange man joins the crew as a “geek” (don’t ask – just read). Daniel seems to be anything but the typical carnie type: well dressed, well-spoken, and with something a bit askew about his origin. Also joining the group is Hayden, the only man who ever held Ruby’s heart. A muralist and roughneck, he aims to find his place in a world away from the one that has shunned many members of the carnival. Both men play a crucial role in Ruby’s life as the carnival begins to unravel, the Big Top caught up in a storm brewing from a place darker than the patterns drawn onto Ruby’s body.

Post has drawn both Ruby and Daniel as exquisite characters who are not who they seem to be. They have important parts to play in humankind’s history, even though only one is aware of that fate. Ruby left home after her mother died mysteriously, and emerges from the shadows of New Orleans with her disguise in tattoos in a manner that would cause Ray Bradbury’s Illustrated Man to blink and wonder. She trusts no one, and for good reason, but gravitates towards January, a dancer, Samuel, the mysterious right hand man of her father, and of course, Hayden and Daniel.

Post unfurls Daniel’s secrets like sleight of hand trickery: hia character wields such a power that Daniel keeps it hidden like an ace up his sleeve. He slips into most carnies’ graces, charming the staff, while the few who suspect otherwise and aim to peek behind the curtain encounter an unexpected darkness. To say more would ruin the story.

Miraculum is a pure wonder, both of story and style. It’s deceptively dark Gothic yet also draws from genres of horror, fantasy, and thriller. Steph Post guides the mark(the reader) into the midway’s shadows, leading them by the hand into a world that feels both familiar and fresh.  Darker than pitch, Miraculum has a heart that, while damaged, still beats, resulting in a read that is sure to be one of 2019’s best.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

 

Posted on February 6, 2019 by , Reply
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