Saturday, May 14, 2011

Doorways by George R. R. Martin

I received a sneak peak up the upcoming graphic novel George R. R. Martin's Doorways from NetGalley, as a free Advanced Reader's Copy. I am a huge fan of Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, so I jumped at this.

My Rating: ★★★★

Let me start by saying that I only received the first part of this, and this review covers only that. I enjoyed it. The art and coloring was good (comic book quality good, not Rembrandt, of course). The panels flowed well into each other, never leaving me wondering which was next. The brief glimpse of the story I had was interesting. As with many “super-hero” type comics, it seemed a bit rushed. Unfortunately for the comic genre, the writers have very few pages to grab the reader's interest. If they fail that, the reader will not purchase the next issue. I consider the rushed air part of the genre.

There were a few moments that stretched my suspension of disbelief. I was left pondering, “Would a government agency really do that?” There was an explanation given, but it didn't quite work for me. This, too, might be because of the limitations (expectations?) of the genre. The characters needed to be off and running by page XX, so it happened.

I love George R. R. Martin. He puts amazing depth to his worlds and characters. I am eagerly awaiting to see what he can do with this. Admittedly, I worry if his talent can truly be expressed in this medium. I'm looking forward to the rest of Doorways, and recommend this one to comic/graphic novel readers.

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