MNEMOVORE #1 REVIEW

[Alex Groff]

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0405/MnemovoreCv1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0405/MnemovoreCv1T.jpg" alt="Mnemovore #1 Preview" hspace=10 align=left></a>Reviewer: Alex Groff, ag_phlebas@yahoo.com

Writers: Hans Rodionoff and Ray Fawkes
Artist and cover by: Mike Huddleston
Colorist: Jeromy Cox
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Asst. Editor: Pornsak Pichetshote
Editor: Karen Berger
Publisher: DC/Vertigo Comics
Mnemovore created by: Rodionoff, Fawkes, and Huddleston

The premise is fairly basic: sexy redheads, Cthulhuian monsters, and snowboarding. Really, that was all you needed to catch my attention. Vertigo has been, as far as I'm concerned, hit or miss for years, with a number of projects like Fables and Y, the Last Man which are interesting, but lack the kind of intensity that I came to expect from the company that gave us Mr. Punch, The Extremist and The Invisibles. What we have here is the best of both worlds: a story that is intense enough to keep me interested, but straightforward and lucid enough to not scare away readers who believe that The Filth causes brain-damage.

The story is fairly basic: a girl lost her memory in a sports-related injury, and her mother, psychologist and live-in boyfriend all try to help her remember who she is. All very straightforward and casual, until the aforementioned monsters show up. Now, the designs are not terribly original. These small creatures reminds me a lot of those evil seeker-destroyers in The Matrix, kind of like techno-squid or nanotech versions of the breeders from Alien. But there is something mysterious about what they represent, and the way they are used certainly helps the reader ignore this flaw. (I wonder if the cover didn't set the bar too high-- because that cover is a work of beauty, and the monster inside pales by comparison.)

The set-up is fairly basic, but the dialogue seems to be as much about symbolism as it is about story, as much mood-setting as character-development. The art, likewise, does an incredible job of setting a tone that gets the reader interested. I can't go so far as to say it's frightening, but story does create an atmosphere that evokes emotion. There needs to be more character development in the next chapter if I'm going to follow the story to the end, but Mnemovore #1 certainly sets the stage for a great miniseries.

However, you don't need to take my word on it. Listen to the writers, Rodionoff and Fawkes: "Most people will tell you that the cause of [our] faultering memories is age, illness, or injury. Most people don't know the truth.... As our memories fall away, we find ourselves drowning in a maelstrom of new information. The technology of noise delivery has become diabolically efficient. There is, in the year 2005, an artificially induced overpopulation of thought. We have difficulty separating our own remembrance from the implanted associations of mass media.... What if something is taking advantage of this specific time in history, this unique set of circumstances? What if it's out there, and it doesn't want us to understand what we're doing to ourselves?"

No. The story not as basic as you would think.

ART:
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STORY:
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OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vnone.jpg

[Anand Khatri]

...but straightforward and lucid enough to not scare away readers who believe that The Filth causes brain-damage.

Hey it does cause brain-damage. :LOL: Still a great story though.

This sounds interesting enough, but since I am short of cash I'll just wait for the trade most likely.

btw...Great Review! :D

[Jared Oberholtzer]

I was waiting to read a review of it before I went to pick it up. I guess I'll go buy it tomorrow. It sounds interesting enough.

[JAD]

That cover is something else.

[Dylan McKay]

Hey it does cause brain-damage. :LOL: Still a great story though.

It repairs damaged parts of the brain that we are accustomed to being damaged.

[Mitch Brown]

Been looking forward to this one for a while now. Shame I won't get to read it until next week.

[James Groves]

Great review, Alex. I picked this up and loved it. Love the concept and the premise is great fun: a strange blend of the weird and the fantastical.

I was a little disappointed with the inner artwork, but it was still good. The cover is excellent and i guess i was hoping for more of the same inside.

Shall definitely follow this series and look forward to the second issue.

[Bill Blank]

Picked it up but it was a miss for me. Artwork had more down spots than up. The monster just seemed to come out of nowhere with no reason. The boyfriend uses the f-word to "keep things real", but it felt forced to me. Seemed a little short on story overall.

Great cover. Its why I bought the book. But issue 2 won't be in my bag a month from now.

[Alex Groff]

I'm used to Huddleston's artwork from Deep Sleeper, so it didn't seem that out of the ordinary for me. It reminds me of Philip Bond, although I like Bond better.

The monster was supposed to come out of the middle of nowhere. This was all ambiance and set-up, so it was built on mood, not story. I'll need more story in the next issue, but for now my curiosity's piqued.