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jeffgrann's review against another edition
3.0
Fine plot but needs more depth. Nice artwork and pacing.
jekutree's review against another edition
5.0
An affair. A bank robbery. Revenge. Graham Chaffee’s To Have and To Hold is a fantastic crime noir comic. It follows the married couple Lonnie and Kate as Lonnie goes through the motions and Kate strikes up a local rich banker for an affair. This sends Lonnie to stage a bank heist in a wild attempt to save his marriage and his pride.
The story isn’t anything too convoluted, it’s basically what I mentioned above with a few twists and turns I left out. We see Lonnie five deeper and deeper into the hole he’s dig for himself and we watch Kate as she commits more and more to her new lover. To Have and To Hold presents this characters with a past that we don’t quite know. Some characters give us hints on Lonnie and Kate’s past, but nothing too much. Chaffee doesn’t have his characters spoon feed you exposition. Instead, at the end of each “chapter” (I assume this was originally made to be a graphic novel, if not replace chapter with issue) we get a single image cartoon of Lonnie and Kate prior to the events of the story. This is a cool approach to character and Graham Chaffee proves you don’t need to know everything about a character for the story to be successful.
Chaffee’s art is jaw dropping gorgeous. I really love his single page spreads. They hold so much detail and really set the scene for whatever part of the story he’s about to tell. His use of blacks really sells the aesthetic of the book and I really dig his more cartoony look for the world he creates. Speaking of cartoons though, Chaffee’s cartooning is impeccable. His panel to panel storytelling his fantastic and clear and there some page designs that also reinforce his cartooning ability. The first page of the story in fact does this. We get 5 panels, 2 tall panels on both sides of the page topped with a smaller panel with a large tall panel in the middle separating them. On each side of the page we’re introduced to Lonnie and Kate with what they listen to on the radio. Both are getting ready for something, Lonnie pouring himself coffee so we know he’s in for a long night and Kate stuffing her bag with something with no smile on her face, she’s hiding something. We know they’re together due to the middle panel. A house with a silhouette in the top and bottom floor windows. This page also shows how great Graham Chaffee’s writing is. What they’re listening to on the radio is indicative of their conflict and character. Lonnie’s radio is playing the news with an eerie sentence saying the United States will “Do whatever is necessary” foreshadowing his robbing of the bank to save the marriage. Kate on the other hand is listening to music. The lyrics of the song are questioning “Do you love me?” Showing her disillusionment in her marriage. This one page reveals SO much about the book and is a perfect example of why first pages are so important.
An incredible bit of crime cartooning and great visual storytelling. It’s a story of revenge and pettiness that only a genre like noir can tackle. Graham Chaffee is an excellent cartoonist and I can’t wait to dive in and read everything he’s done.
10/10
The story isn’t anything too convoluted, it’s basically what I mentioned above with a few twists and turns I left out. We see Lonnie five deeper and deeper into the hole he’s dig for himself and we watch Kate as she commits more and more to her new lover. To Have and To Hold presents this characters with a past that we don’t quite know. Some characters give us hints on Lonnie and Kate’s past, but nothing too much. Chaffee doesn’t have his characters spoon feed you exposition. Instead, at the end of each “chapter” (I assume this was originally made to be a graphic novel, if not replace chapter with issue) we get a single image cartoon of Lonnie and Kate prior to the events of the story. This is a cool approach to character and Graham Chaffee proves you don’t need to know everything about a character for the story to be successful.
Chaffee’s art is jaw dropping gorgeous. I really love his single page spreads. They hold so much detail and really set the scene for whatever part of the story he’s about to tell. His use of blacks really sells the aesthetic of the book and I really dig his more cartoony look for the world he creates. Speaking of cartoons though, Chaffee’s cartooning is impeccable. His panel to panel storytelling his fantastic and clear and there some page designs that also reinforce his cartooning ability. The first page of the story in fact does this. We get 5 panels, 2 tall panels on both sides of the page topped with a smaller panel with a large tall panel in the middle separating them. On each side of the page we’re introduced to Lonnie and Kate with what they listen to on the radio. Both are getting ready for something, Lonnie pouring himself coffee so we know he’s in for a long night and Kate stuffing her bag with something with no smile on her face, she’s hiding something. We know they’re together due to the middle panel. A house with a silhouette in the top and bottom floor windows. This page also shows how great Graham Chaffee’s writing is. What they’re listening to on the radio is indicative of their conflict and character. Lonnie’s radio is playing the news with an eerie sentence saying the United States will “Do whatever is necessary” foreshadowing his robbing of the bank to save the marriage. Kate on the other hand is listening to music. The lyrics of the song are questioning “Do you love me?” Showing her disillusionment in her marriage. This one page reveals SO much about the book and is a perfect example of why first pages are so important.
An incredible bit of crime cartooning and great visual storytelling. It’s a story of revenge and pettiness that only a genre like noir can tackle. Graham Chaffee is an excellent cartoonist and I can’t wait to dive in and read everything he’s done.
10/10
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