REVIEW: Honor

Rating if the Book Were a Movie: R

Story: Bill Jemas, Julian Rowe, Michael Coast, Jonathan Ashley 
Writer: Bill Jemas, Frank Ortega, Jeff McComsky, Ian Deming
Layouts: Julian Rowe, Stan Chou, Alassandra Divizia, Benjamin Silberstein 
Pencils: Carlos Rodriguez, Jose Luis, Brent Peeples, Novo Malgapo, Fernando Melek, Raphael Sam, Dennis Crisostomo, Jethro Morales, 
Colors: Peter Pantazis, Dinei R., Ross Hughes, Carlos Lopez, Brett Smith, Robert Nix, Lisa Moore, Juanmar Studios 
Letters: Charlotte Greenbaum, Elysia Liang
Cover: Apple Qingyang Zhang and Crystal Graziano
Editor: Charlotte Greenbaum
Publisher: Double Take 

I love when my friend Nicole has her online comic book auctions. She usually doesn’t have any “keys” or “grails”. She does have a terrific variety at reasonable prices. She has become one of my go to sources for filling in runs and snagging reader copies. “Honor” was in the latest box of geeky goodness from her.

When I saw it in the auction I was intrigued by the artwork on the cover. I’m always amazed how some artists have the ability to make their work look like a photograph. I didn’t realize I was getting a TPB at the time. I was happy to get more of the story at the same price as what I thought was going to be one book.

“Honor” begins in the spring of 1966 in Evans County, PA.  We see a horrific vehicle accident that kills one person and leaves two more with serious injuries. After the police leave we see the man in the body bag sit up and get out of the bag.

We see something similar in a hospital and a morgue. That’s when we learn a parasite of sorts is infecting people and turning them into zombies. 

These are not your typical zombies. They are intelligent and organized. The government is aware of the issue and trying to keep it under wraps. It’s up to the sheriff and his deputies to contain this mess before the entire county is infected.

Artwork: .75 Stars 

The artwork on the cover is breathtaking. Honestly it’s what made me buy the book in the first place. The interior artwork was very well done. I really liked the full page of Fred on his souped up tractor.

Story: .75 Stars 

I really liked the concept behind the story. It reminded me of the X-Files meeting the Walking Dead. I would have liked to see more character development. After being five books into the story I didn’t feel a connection with any of the characters.

Dialogue: .75 Stars 

There’s a lot of dialogue that gives the reader quite a bit of information. It’s still unclear to me what the initial cause of the outbreak was though. 

Editing: .75 Stars 

From cover to cover the lettering is perfect. It’s an easy to read font with black ink on white balloons. I’m confused about the purpose of the different ads and clippings from the 1960’s. Was it to help keep the reader in the proper setting? 

Mechanics: .5 Stars 

The story itself is relatively easy to fall into. As it goes along transitions between scenes aren’t as smooth as they could have been. From book to book the focal point of the story seemed to shift without resolving issues from the previous book. I chalk some of that up to having eight different writers for the script and story on a five book run.

At the end of the book, I saw that this is just one of ten stories that take place in Evans County, PA. I suspect reading the others will go a long way towards filling in gaps regarding what is transpiring. I have a couple of books from “Dedication”, which is part of the saga. Hopefully, that will provide more enlightenment when I dive into them.