In Odd We Trust

Title In Odd We Trust
Author/Illustrator Queenie Chan
Author Dean Koontz
Genre Graphic Novel
Pages 204
Publisher Del Rey
Copyright 2008


Synopsis (from web-site)
Odd Thomas is a regular nineteen-year-old with an unusual gift: the ability to see the lingering spirits of the dead. To Odd, it's not such a big deal. And most folks in sleepy Pico Mundo, California, are much more interested in the irresistible pancakes Odd whips up at the local diner. Still, communing with the dead can be useful. Because while some spirits only want a little company, others want justice. When the sad specter of a very frightened boy finds its way to him, Odd vows to root out the evil suddenly infecting the sunny streets of Pico Mundo. But even with his exceptional ability, is Odd any match for a faceless stalker who's always a step ahead, and determined to kill again?

Why I read It
I keep hearing a lot about how graphic novels are a growing media for new novels for the young people. Of course they are developing movies from them, which has my interest. Rather than dismissing it as an extra long comic book I decided to try a few, though I can’t bring myself to count it as a “book read.” Anyways I picked this one up because I have read several of Koontz’s books. I also picked up a more traditional Japanese one to read later as well.

The Good
Very easy to read, and it is always fun to see the characters literally drawn out. Finished in about 20 minutes.

The Bad
Weak plot and given the limits of the genre the dialogue was lacking. The action moved way to fast and wasn’t developed.

The Ugly (my opinion)
It is a long comic book, and while that is not a bad thing, it isn’t a novel. I am going to give the style the benefit of the doubt and read about a dozen of them, but I am not sure I will become a big fan. If anyone has any suggestions for a good one to read, please let me know.

The Truth (reviews by not me)
Comic Mix
Deb's Magna Blog
Comics Worth Reading

Mormon Mentions
None

Author Biographies
When he was a senior in college, Dean Koontz won an Atlantic Monthly fiction competition and has been writing ever since. His books are published in 38 languages. He has sold 400,000,000 copies, a figure that currently increases by more than 17 million copies per year.

Queenie Chan was born in 1980 in Hong Kong, and migrated to Australia when she was six years old. She began drawing at the age of 18, and graduated in 2002 with a degree in Information Systems. In 2004, she began drawing a mystery-horror series called “The Dreaming” for LA-based manga publisher TOKYOPOP. To date, all three volumes have been published, with the last volume published in 2007. It has since then been translated into six languages.