Suvudu Universe

You know, I think I may have to give up on reviewing graphic novel ARCs. With all of the efforts to thwart digital piracy, the books themselves are ruined. Between the low quality images, the fuzzy text, and the watermarks that obscure the content, some of these are almost unreadable. What's more, graphic novels are all about visual appeal, and it's hard to fairly review the work of the authors and artists when that appeal is deliberately hindered.

Having said that, Memory Collectors was a great concept, a great story, and (I suspect) a great looking book - without, of course, all the copyright measures. It's really unlike anything I've ever read before. Menton3 is really to be commended on doing something so drastically different. Where I was expecting something campy and awkwardly titillating, this was haunting . . . gothic . . . creepy . . . and darkly appealing. The interplay between the visually erotic (i.e. fetish supermodels) and the visually horrific (i.e. the monsters around them) is absolutely superb, almost in glossier, flashier Clive Barker sort of way.

Unfortunately, it's not clear what the overall story arc of the series is, or what the larger implications of the events in these three issues might be, and that's the story's only drawback. What was on the page was great, no question about it, but it felt like there should have been (and may very well be) more. We do get some back-story, and we do get a little mythology, but it still feels unfinished.

While the story had a very dark, Batman-like vigilante vibe to it, there was also a sort of Buffy the Vampire Slayer feel - minus the teenage angst and hipster humor. This is one book I would very much like to pick up in a glossy hardcopy to get a better look, and to spend more time admiring the detail - without having to squint and tilt my head.


Hardcover, 120 pages
Expected publication: July 15th 2014 by IDW Publishing