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csquared85 's review for:
Morning Glories Volume 1
by Nick Spencer
This was a strange one - I felt alternately like too much was going on and yet not enough in this trade edition, and I find myself curious to read the next one, even though I didn't find this satisfying in the least.
The premise is intriguing enough - six bright students with the same birthdate are enrolled into a private boarding school with a nefarious and mysterious agenda. However, it's all flash and violence with no payoff. A lot of curious plot threads are picked up, bombarding the reader with questions, and the most important - just what IS the school trying to accomplish? - is left unanswered, couched in a lot of babble about doing what's best for the world and sublime knowledge and whatever. It's all intentionally vague, and honestly, I think it's just one mystery too much for me. I could deal with juggling everything else if I understood just *that* much. A lot of reviews are comparing this to Lost (and the book itself drops a couple of references), so if that's your cup of tea, this might be right up your alley. I'm not a huge fan of mysteries in enigmas wrapped up in puzzles (there's a fine line between creating suspense and forcing it upon the reader by sheer evasion), so I wasn't into Lost, either. Take that how you will.
This is a minor quibble, but I thought it was strange that the profanity was censored despite the preponderance of graphic violence. If you show someone's eyes being squished out of their sockets, why bother being so shy about the f-word? That's probably the publisher's fault, not the writer's, but it still bothered me. If you want to be hardcore and go there, then really go there.
The art itself looks okay on the surface, but the teenagers and adults are illustrated almost identically, making the characters' ages indeterminate. There's also not much variation in their facial features (or their coloring, beyond hair most of the time), so it's difficult to ascertain cultural identity. Two of the six teenagers are from different cultures - Indian and Japanese - and you really can't tell so much from looking. The cover art included in the trade volume makes these differences crystal clear, AND establishes the characters as teenagers, too. Shame the rest of the illustrations aren't as nuanced.
The premise is intriguing enough - six bright students with the same birthdate are enrolled into a private boarding school with a nefarious and mysterious agenda. However, it's all flash and violence with no payoff. A lot of curious plot threads are picked up, bombarding the reader with questions, and the most important - just what IS the school trying to accomplish? - is left unanswered, couched in a lot of babble about doing what's best for the world and sublime knowledge and whatever. It's all intentionally vague, and honestly, I think it's just one mystery too much for me. I could deal with juggling everything else if I understood just *that* much. A lot of reviews are comparing this to Lost (and the book itself drops a couple of references), so if that's your cup of tea, this might be right up your alley. I'm not a huge fan of mysteries in enigmas wrapped up in puzzles (there's a fine line between creating suspense and forcing it upon the reader by sheer evasion), so I wasn't into Lost, either. Take that how you will.
This is a minor quibble, but I thought it was strange that the profanity was censored despite the preponderance of graphic violence. If you show someone's eyes being squished out of their sockets, why bother being so shy about the f-word? That's probably the publisher's fault, not the writer's, but it still bothered me. If you want to be hardcore and go there, then really go there.
The art itself looks okay on the surface, but the teenagers and adults are illustrated almost identically, making the characters' ages indeterminate. There's also not much variation in their facial features (or their coloring, beyond hair most of the time), so it's difficult to ascertain cultural identity. Two of the six teenagers are from different cultures - Indian and Japanese - and you really can't tell so much from looking. The cover art included in the trade volume makes these differences crystal clear, AND establishes the characters as teenagers, too. Shame the rest of the illustrations aren't as nuanced.