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A review by twicomb
The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn, Volume 1 by Tri Vuong
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.0
The graphic novel collects together a series of interconnected stories about a paranormal investigator who is himself paranormal (?). The art has a simple, clean style to it that creates an interesting counterpoint to the dark themes and often-explicit violence. Characters tend to be drawn in a more rounded style which I quite liked. The muted but not dull palette is a nice choice as well.
The stories didn't hold my attention as much as I had hoped. Perhaps these struggled in adaptation from webcomic format to graphic novel format; I've seen that have a negative impact on story flow before. I think it's more that the stories just didn't grab my personal attention, not that there was anything wrong with them. Perhaps it's because they had a meandering feel that spent time creating a vibe than moving the storyline forward. There's nothing wrong with that if you enjoy that sort of graphic novel; it's just not my general preference. Nevertheless, the main character (Oscar) was engaging enough to carry it through for me.
Something that didn't sit quite right: many characters speak with a very modern vernacular. I found that odd, especially when they're supposed to be soldiers in World War II (for example). I would have appreciated it if they had spoken in a more authentic voice for that time period.
If you enjoy slower-paced, creepy, thought-provoking graphic novels, this may be a good one for you.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC for unbiased review.
The stories didn't hold my attention as much as I had hoped. Perhaps these struggled in adaptation from webcomic format to graphic novel format; I've seen that have a negative impact on story flow before. I think it's more that the stories just didn't grab my personal attention, not that there was anything wrong with them. Perhaps it's because they had a meandering feel that spent time creating a vibe than moving the storyline forward. There's nothing wrong with that if you enjoy that sort of graphic novel; it's just not my general preference. Nevertheless, the main character (Oscar) was engaging enough to carry it through for me.
Something that didn't sit quite right: many characters speak with a very modern vernacular. I found that odd, especially when they're supposed to be soldiers in World War II (for example). I would have appreciated it if they had spoken in a more authentic voice for that time period.
If you enjoy slower-paced, creepy, thought-provoking graphic novels, this may be a good one for you.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC for unbiased review.