A review by arianappstrg
The Stranger by James Patricks

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

A preface: Future me just reminded me that I'd like to revisit my year in books in 2026 and remind myself why I read the things I read and what I thought of them at the time. I will be sure to discuss them with someone, at some point, so let this be a memory exercise. 

  • I never thought I would be into vigilante stories but I guess I am now! That was a solid Kickstarter attempt at a noir investigative story. I would be very excited for a second issue and would fully support it, especially, after the juicy cliff hanger. It's always admirable when creatives and artists come together to produce work and get their voices out there and from everything I bought while at Thought Bubble 2024, I think this is the kind of stuff that I'm 100% interested in seeing more of. It left an impression. The very last page is my favourite one (surprising since it's not purple) where the seven hotel occupants are all in the corridor. It leaves a sizzling amount of unexplored mystery and I dig that quite a lot hence my excitement for a second issue. 
  • It faintly reminds me of Watchmen even though I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. It blends a classic vigilante narrative with a whodunit and the two flow into each other very flawlessly. I thought that was the most interesting bit, actually, innovating the original classic essence of it and  taking it a direction the reader doesn't see coming. 
  • Purple and blue hues in comics... loooooove. The art is crispy and precise, only a single panel confused me. I always try to keep in my mind advice that my partner has given me when reading comics since he is a more experienced reader. He's said sometimes there is subtext and plot between the panels therefore a lack of transitions might be intentional. Don't really think that was the case in the panel I was trying to interpret. However, it overall doesn't subtract from the story. Every first attempt at breathing fresh air into a classic genre comes with its inconsistences so I do believe a second issue will definitely smooth those out and establish a much stronger voice for the comic. 

That's it. That's the review. 
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