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gaderianne's review
3.0
I liked the premise of this comic: Paul Revere (famed silver smith of the American Revolution immortalized in Longfellow's poem) is not only a patriot to the colonies but a werewolf hunter. Although the secret of werewolves (and other scary creatures) is hidden, in the aftermath of Lexington and Concord, Revere feels he needs to let his fellow patriots in the Sons of Liberty know about their existence. (Better that they know what they are fighting fully in the coming months and years.) Much like the disappearance of the Roanoke Colony is blamed on vampires in Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, in this comic it is blamed on werewolves - the curse of the colonies.
While the premise of this story is good, it was too disparate and, therefore, none of the stories were very well developed. The artwork was very dark, but it did not help to clarify the storyline. There were multiple stories that connected together, but not well in terms of artwork and dialogue. Understanding that by its nature the dialogue in comics is not as developed as in books, the artwork needs to strongly convey connections, plots, and characters. I found myself often times confused by what was going on and who was who.
This may be nit-picky but I also had a hard time reading the text. When entire words did not fit in the bubbles they were hyphenated, which did not help with the flow of the story. In addition, sometimes there was too much text in any one bubble. Plus the font was often times very, very small. The epilogue at the end was also written in a cursive font (meant to emulate the writing of the 18th century) but it was difficult to read. I, therefore, had a hard time following the flow and pattern of this story with graphics and text.
As a new comic reader, I know that I have a lot to learn and explore. While I loved the incorporation of historical elements and Longfellow's poem into this story, it was overall lacking in content and character development.
While the premise of this story is good, it was too disparate and, therefore, none of the stories were very well developed. The artwork was very dark, but it did not help to clarify the storyline. There were multiple stories that connected together, but not well in terms of artwork and dialogue. Understanding that by its nature the dialogue in comics is not as developed as in books, the artwork needs to strongly convey connections, plots, and characters. I found myself often times confused by what was going on and who was who.
This may be nit-picky but I also had a hard time reading the text. When entire words did not fit in the bubbles they were hyphenated, which did not help with the flow of the story. In addition, sometimes there was too much text in any one bubble. Plus the font was often times very, very small. The epilogue at the end was also written in a cursive font (meant to emulate the writing of the 18th century) but it was difficult to read. I, therefore, had a hard time following the flow and pattern of this story with graphics and text.
As a new comic reader, I know that I have a lot to learn and explore. While I loved the incorporation of historical elements and Longfellow's poem into this story, it was overall lacking in content and character development.
b1llz1lla's review
4.0
Mash-ups are all the rage; whether it be Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, or any number of lesser-known works, putting two seemingly unlikely things together has become a literary obsession recently. Revere: Revolution in Silver carries on this growing tradition, positing that, in his spare time, Paul Revere was actually a werewolf hunter and member of an occult organization dedicated to defending the world against supernatural threats.
With the early days of the American Revolution as the backdrop, Revere: Revolution in Silver takes this premise and runs with it. Doing an interesting bit of world-building, writer Lavallee and artist Bond create a whole new mythology around the famous American revolutionary.
The art style is reminiscent of the Hellboy comics from Dark Horse: spare and cartoonish, and occasionally appearing a bit rough. I find the style perfectly serviceable for the medium, and have no quarrel with it. I like the subtle, effective shading done to achieve different lighting effects – from overcast to torchlit night and full daylight – it caught even caught my artistically untrained eye.
Without giving too much away, it seems apparent that Revere and the chief villain know each other and have history together. Their animosity towards each other is clear, though an explanation is not forthcoming – at least in this first volume. The dialogue is clear and fairly concise, with use of period speech used sparsely for effect rather than overwhelmingly so. A few cliches pop up from time to time, but nothing to really draw one’s attention.
The storyline is solid and eventful, the characters have depth and sensible motivations, and the world-building at work is intriguing; there are more than just werewolves prowling around Colonial New England, and wandering around at night – whether alone or in a group – is clearly a chancy and potentially dangerous proposition. While I wouldn’t view this as a major complaint in any way, I would like to have seen a slightly less heavy hand in portraying the villains – the British are totally insufferable bastards in the story, and while we know that this was true from time to time, there were also less than pleasant people on the other side as well.
At $19.95 for a print copy, or about $10 for a download, the pricing is fairly standard and pretty reasonable. I bought a download copy on spec – just because it sounded interesting – and I wasn’t disappointed. I look forward to future issues and continuation of the current plot arc; I’m eager to see where Lavallee and Bond take this story.
This review first appeared at FlamesRising.com.
With the early days of the American Revolution as the backdrop, Revere: Revolution in Silver takes this premise and runs with it. Doing an interesting bit of world-building, writer Lavallee and artist Bond create a whole new mythology around the famous American revolutionary.
The art style is reminiscent of the Hellboy comics from Dark Horse: spare and cartoonish, and occasionally appearing a bit rough. I find the style perfectly serviceable for the medium, and have no quarrel with it. I like the subtle, effective shading done to achieve different lighting effects – from overcast to torchlit night and full daylight – it caught even caught my artistically untrained eye.
Without giving too much away, it seems apparent that Revere and the chief villain know each other and have history together. Their animosity towards each other is clear, though an explanation is not forthcoming – at least in this first volume. The dialogue is clear and fairly concise, with use of period speech used sparsely for effect rather than overwhelmingly so. A few cliches pop up from time to time, but nothing to really draw one’s attention.
The storyline is solid and eventful, the characters have depth and sensible motivations, and the world-building at work is intriguing; there are more than just werewolves prowling around Colonial New England, and wandering around at night – whether alone or in a group – is clearly a chancy and potentially dangerous proposition. While I wouldn’t view this as a major complaint in any way, I would like to have seen a slightly less heavy hand in portraying the villains – the British are totally insufferable bastards in the story, and while we know that this was true from time to time, there were also less than pleasant people on the other side as well.
At $19.95 for a print copy, or about $10 for a download, the pricing is fairly standard and pretty reasonable. I bought a download copy on spec – just because it sounded interesting – and I wasn’t disappointed. I look forward to future issues and continuation of the current plot arc; I’m eager to see where Lavallee and Bond take this story.
This review first appeared at FlamesRising.com.
vreadsabook's review
3.0
This graphic novel was a really fun "What would happen if we took history and inserted vampires/zombies/werewolves?" in the recent vein of horror/history mash-ups. Paul Revere's profession as a silversmith takes on a whole new level of meaning as a werewolf-slaying hero. The graphics are nice, although the plot, for all of its fun, is a little sub-par, trading in gore for story. Nonetheless, it was short, fun, and definitely a worthwhile quick read.
rovertoak's review
4.0
Ever wonder why Paul Revere was a silversmith? Well, to have a legit front for the whole werewolf (and other silver-fearing monster) hunting he does 'round Boston! The visuals are bathed in greys and many characters appear having a sickly green pallor, as if the scourge of darkness inhabiting the colonies isn't limited to the werewolves (or the British soldiers for that matter).
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