Reviews

Concrete, Volume 1: Depths by Paul Chadwick

cjordahl's review

3.0

The book has an appeal that I can't quite articulate. It wasn't as good as I hoped and expected, though. The art is quite good, but the the chapters' plots are simplistic, the story pacing is erratic, and the dialog is stilted. The series has a good reputation -- maybe it gets better over time (it did improve over the chapters in this book)? Or maybe it's one of those books that doesn't age well?

kgagne's review

4.0

This B&W graphic novel collects the first several issues of the early 1980s comic book "Concrete", about a political speechwriter whose brain is transplanted into an impenetrable body by aliens. Freed from military directives, Concrete sets out to explore the world and do the things he was always afraid or unable to do before. It's a refreshing change from the typical superhero approach and one that feels like it was written as a reflection of, not contemporary to, the Eighties.

When I first started the book, I felt like I'd come in on the middle of the story, and that the trade paperback must've omitted some origin story. As it turns out, all that is revealed by the end of the book.

I wouldn't mind reading more of these.

bkgunderson's review

5.0

I had first heard of Paul Chadwick in connection with the Legend imprint of Dark Horse Comics. Knowing that I liked the works of other creators on that short-lived imprint, I expected something worthy from Chadwick's Concrete. And I was not disappointed. This collection even throws in an autobiographical tale.

The art and story are both interesting and detailed. While Concrete might be a character who could sink into feeling down, alone and alienated, the common drive in the book is survival, no matter what life throws at you.