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A review by theresidentbookworm
Heartthrob Vol. 1: Never Going Back Again by Nick Filardi, Robert Wilson IV, Christopher Sebela
4.0
10 Reasons You Should Read Heartthrob, Vol. 1
1. Heartthrob, Vol. 1 tells the story of Callie Boudreau, who receives a new lease on life after receiving a heart transplant. However, she also receives some other side effects, mainly the spirit of her heart donor, Mercer. They fall in love, and he encourages her to break free of her dull and unhappy life. Mercer was a thief before he died, and he teaches Callie how to be a criminal. The couple travels the country, pulling jobs and planning heists, but fractures start to occur in their relationship as Callie gets more skilled than Mercer. I won't spoil anymore, but that brief summary is only a fraction of what happens in this volume.
2. The writer, Christopher Sebela, is adept at balancing the serious with the comical. Callie's pain and loneliness is never belittled or treated as a joke, but Sebela still manages to imbue her voice with humor and sarcasm. Some of the book is extremely campy, but it always feels grounded somehow by our main character.
3. Callie is a character that is both easy to sympathize with and hard to understand her motivations. She rationally knows that Mercer is not necessarily real, but she loves him anyway. She's willing to do whatever he says, follow him anywhere, but she also starts to gain confidence. Callie has a great character arc throughout the volume, and it makes the ending even more satisfying.
4. Part of what I like about this book and what you will like is the muted, campiness of the art style. It's not quite caricature, but it does have a great cartoony feel to it. The muted coloring, however, gives the story a grittier, real-life feel to the series. I also like that the characters, particularly Callie, are never particularly glamorized.
5. Setting the book in the 1970s leads to great opportunities in storytelling and humor. It makes everything feel a little more plausible such as the heists and the oddities of the aftermath of Callie's heart transplant. After all, what did we know about high-tech security or heart transplants in the 1970s?
6. Sebela keeps the plot line fresh by starting in the past and flashing forward to the future each issue, leaving the reader to wonder what has happened to reach the current point between Callie and Mercer.
7. Heartthrob, Vol. 1 combines crime and romances expertly with a deeply satisfying psychological and/or supernatural twist. It is a book that has some element that everyone can enjoy.
8. Occasionally, there is a great comedic moment. My favorite is Callie running out of a heist and landing in the dressing room of Stevie Nicks, with whom she has a heart-to-heart. It's very funny, but it's also extremely heartfelt.
9. The love story between Callie and Mercer is a complete whirlwind. Their relationship is passionate and high-stakes and complicated. You want to root for them, but at the same times you're always slightly suspicion of Mercer. I always felt like he was holding back.
10. The cover of this volume is everything the series is: cool, vintage, and rooted in the crime genre. If you don't look at the cover and want to read Heartthrob, I would be surprised.
1. Heartthrob, Vol. 1 tells the story of Callie Boudreau, who receives a new lease on life after receiving a heart transplant. However, she also receives some other side effects, mainly the spirit of her heart donor, Mercer. They fall in love, and he encourages her to break free of her dull and unhappy life. Mercer was a thief before he died, and he teaches Callie how to be a criminal. The couple travels the country, pulling jobs and planning heists, but fractures start to occur in their relationship as Callie gets more skilled than Mercer. I won't spoil anymore, but that brief summary is only a fraction of what happens in this volume.
2. The writer, Christopher Sebela, is adept at balancing the serious with the comical. Callie's pain and loneliness is never belittled or treated as a joke, but Sebela still manages to imbue her voice with humor and sarcasm. Some of the book is extremely campy, but it always feels grounded somehow by our main character.
3. Callie is a character that is both easy to sympathize with and hard to understand her motivations. She rationally knows that Mercer is not necessarily real, but she loves him anyway. She's willing to do whatever he says, follow him anywhere, but she also starts to gain confidence. Callie has a great character arc throughout the volume, and it makes the ending even more satisfying.
4. Part of what I like about this book and what you will like is the muted, campiness of the art style. It's not quite caricature, but it does have a great cartoony feel to it. The muted coloring, however, gives the story a grittier, real-life feel to the series. I also like that the characters, particularly Callie, are never particularly glamorized.
5. Setting the book in the 1970s leads to great opportunities in storytelling and humor. It makes everything feel a little more plausible such as the heists and the oddities of the aftermath of Callie's heart transplant. After all, what did we know about high-tech security or heart transplants in the 1970s?
6. Sebela keeps the plot line fresh by starting in the past and flashing forward to the future each issue, leaving the reader to wonder what has happened to reach the current point between Callie and Mercer.
7. Heartthrob, Vol. 1 combines crime and romances expertly with a deeply satisfying psychological and/or supernatural twist. It is a book that has some element that everyone can enjoy.
8. Occasionally, there is a great comedic moment. My favorite is Callie running out of a heist and landing in the dressing room of Stevie Nicks, with whom she has a heart-to-heart. It's very funny, but it's also extremely heartfelt.
9. The love story between Callie and Mercer is a complete whirlwind. Their relationship is passionate and high-stakes and complicated. You want to root for them, but at the same times you're always slightly suspicion of Mercer. I always felt like he was holding back.
10. The cover of this volume is everything the series is: cool, vintage, and rooted in the crime genre. If you don't look at the cover and want to read Heartthrob, I would be surprised.