Hugo 2013 Reviews: Graphic Story

A detour from the regular fiction here, to deal with the pictures with words attached.

I always have an interesting time with these.  On one hand, I like graphic novels, and think they can do some pretty awesome stuff with the pictures, as opposed to just words.  On the other hand, I have a preference -- a strong preference -- for complete stories, or at least complete story arcs.  For the few years I've done the Hugo thing, I've struggled on how to rate the graphic novels, especially for many of them that are published collections of ongoing stories, but are not a complete story, or even a complete arc in a story, in and of themselves.  For many of the nominated works in the past, they read more as a chapter in a story than anything else.

This year continues the same tradition for at least two of the nominees (Saga and Saucer Country, both just starting out), while two others (Grandville and Schlock Mercenary) tell what seems to me to be a complete story.  The fifth, Locke & Key, further blurs the lines, because it seems like a chapter in the overall story (some of which I've also read), but also presents at least a story in the flashbacks.

So.  There's that.

• Grandville Bête Noire, written and illustrated by Bryan Talbot (Dark Horse Comics, Jonathan Cape)

Last years' voter packet was my first exposure to Grandville, and I loved it.  I thought at the time that it was a one-off book, though it had a lot of worldbuilding involved.  Silly me.  This year saw another nominated, and now I know that it is an ongoing story, and that I should be paying more attention to what it is doing.  Last year's was one of my favorite graphic novels ever, and unfortunately this year's entry didn't quite hit the same notes, for me, though it's a very solid entry and quite worthy of the nomination.  The art is top-notch, and the worldbuilding remains wonderful.

• Locke & Key Volume 5: Clockworks, written by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)

As I mentioned before, this was a very interesting one.  It continues to be wonderfully illustrated, and the subcurrents of the plot keep it tense for me.  The horror is well-done also.  However, I continue to find it hard to rank the chapters in a longer tale as the best among nominated works.

• Saga, Volume One, written by Brian K. Vaughn, illustrated by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)

I love this introduction to the world and story -- for the most part, at least -- and it has some very effectively creepy images in it.  I am in awe of the imagination that can come up with these images and situations.  However, it suffers twice in my opinion; once from being only part of a story (though it did complete the mini-arc of finding the transportation location), and once from being the introduction, which to me means there's more setup and less payoff in this part.

• Schlock Mercenary: Random Access Memorabilia, written and illustrated by Howard Tayler, colors by Travis Walton (Hypernode Media)

I've been reading Schlock Mercenary for longer than I've been voting on Hugos, and continue to enjoy it on a nearly daily basis (my misses on some days; Howard Tayler's update record is near legendary).  That said, while Random Access Memorabilia is a decent story, it suffers a bit from the same symptoms as Grandville does this year: for me, I've seen these characters in a story I felt was stronger, and though I try not to let that color my opinions too much, it undoubtedly does.  The artwork, while different than all the others, hasn't been any sort of weakness for years now either.

• Saucer Country, Volume 1: Run, written by Paul Cornell, illustrated by Ryan Kelly, Jimmy Broxton and Goran Sudžuka (Vertigo)

I could almost copy and paste sentences from above for this one.  The premise is interesting, and I want to read more of the story, but that's the problem as well in my opinion; this was almost all setup, and really very little payoff (though playing the psychologist was a nice touch).  None of the entries had anything less than solid artwork, and though this is one that I remember the least about, I think that has more to do with what it depicts (mostly modern, non-fantastical settings) than anything else.

My Opinion
I can't go against my strongly-held inclinations toward complete stories.  I inevitably enjoy those stories more than those I only get a chapter of.  With that said, it comes down to a choice between Grandville and Schlock Mercenary for the top choice, and as much enjoyment as Schlock Mercenary has given me through the years, it comes in second in this comparison.  Following that, I'd have to rank them Locke & Key, Saga, and then Saucer Country.