Toby D. (bookswapper) reviewed on 8/26/2009 + 188 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 3

This is a very quick read - so short that they didn't put page numbers on the book, so I can't tell you exactly how short but I'm getting less than a hundred pages. It contain several sections, which might have been individually released comics detailing the origin story of how Mercy Thompson became a VW mechanic in the Tri-City area and got involved with werewolves, vampires, and fae. A ton of primary and secondary characters in the later books are introduced here, setting the stage for later conflicts. I'm a much bigger fan of the books than the graphic novels, as I like meatier stories. These read like a few short stories or back-story, in illustrated format. The edition I got was hardcopy from the library, and I would not have paid $23 for 30 minutes of page flipping and reading. Hopefully the author will come back to this time period in flashbacks in the books or write a more detailed book that covers these events.

Unlike the other reviewers, I didn't think the drawings were bad, but the opening sequences had a ton of gratuitous nudity due to shapeshifting without spare clothes. A different artist did illustrations for later in the book that had some clothes and a bit less over-emphasis on Mercy's sexuality (which seemed over the top during fight scenes). The pictures of the coyotes and vampires looked good, some very gritty/realistic while others were very dreamy and blurred, based on the atmosphere they were trying to convey.

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