Rate this book

Heck (2013)

by Zander Cannon(Favorite Author)

4.14 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

160309301X (ISBN13: 9781603093019)

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Top Shelf Productions

review 1: I've followed the work of Zander Cannon since he debuted his THE REPLACEMENT GOD series in the 1990s. He has focused largely on his artistic skill since then, drawing a number of high profile series, including TOP 10 and SMAX for Top 10 Comics. Fortunately for us all, HECK sees Cannon returning to writing and drawing. HECK is a unique mix of pulp adventure mixed with Dante's Inferno, and it's a remarkable piece of craftsmanship. I don't want to include many plot points because I don't want to ruin any of it for you, but it's a study of love, grief, maturity, friendship, and loss. It's also an adventure story and a morality tale. Highly recommended!
review 2: Heck is a very creative and well-told yet spare epic that despite its fantastic setting uses an em... morephasis on character to make its impact - as well as some first-rate command of black-and-white composition and sequential art. The story focuses on Hector Hammarskjold, a former high-school football star grappling with an adult life focused on his past glory, whose father's death leads to a turn of events in which he becomes a kind of private detective who literally travels to hell and back for his clients. Without giving away too much, a new client soon forces Heck to confront his own failings and try to avoid the fate of those he has been seeing around him. While reading it, I was both impressed by Cannon's skill in storytelling and puzzled by the simpler style in which he was drawing - less polished than in past works. At the end, an afterword explains that this was by design, as part of an experiment to work more quickly, the effect of which is to pare the story down to the essentials. Good art and sequential storytelling does not require elaborate illustrations, and Cannon makes this apparent through strong characters and a clear narrative. The setting does grow increasingly fantastic and the imagery is just enough to show this, but it is in his command of the comics medium that he makes Heck effective for the reader. Subtle changes in light and dark, composition, and panel size slow down and speed up the narrative. As the story reached its climax, I found myself turning the pages faster and faster, eager to see what would come next. Heck is not Cannon's best work as an illustrator (by design), but may be some of his best as a storyteller, which in the world of graphic novels is ultimately what is important. less

Download links for: Heck

Advertising