Review:
Kim Harrison, New York Times Best-selling author of urban paranormal fantasy novels, brings some of her best-known characters to the visual medium of the graphic novel. It's a solid effort, a result she is rightly proud of, especially given her strong control over the visuals, at least as portrayed in the bonus segments.
Ivy Tamwood takes the lead. She is a tough, gorgeous but recently demoted detective, kicked down to handling petty street crime. Worse, she's paired with a newbie witch partner, Rachel Morgan. Ivy's disdain for her boss, her partner, her lot in life comes through on page after page.
From troll-rousting to uncovering a plot to murder werewolves, their partnership is never dull and takes them in surprising directions. Can Ivy keep her growing blood-lust - and surprising emotional attraction - for her partner in check long enough to stop the bad guys?
One of the attractions cited by Harrison for penning and producing a graphic novel was the chance to put the images in her head into visuals, not words alone. As a result, she has very specific expectations of how the characters look, and their visual evolution in the bonus sketchbook is a treat. Artist Pedro Maia takes her feedback and crafts even stronger drawings as he approaches the final product.
Maia and Gemma Magno turn Harrison's vision into a sexy and violent book. The body postures can occasionally be overly mechanical and stiff, but their real strength is in the heads and faces. Ivy's Asian features are beautiful and striking. Rachel's hair is a thrilling cascade of curls and braids. And of course, these officers know how to use their curves and cleavage to maximum effect.
Overall, a solid book, well-paced, a great idea worth the effort and the read.
Description:
When Ivy met Rachel, the result wasn’t exactly love at first sight. Sparks flew as the living vampire and the stubborn witch learned what it meant to be partners. Now Kim Harrison, the acclaimed author of Pale Demon and Black Magic Sanction, turns back the clock to tell the tale—in an original full-color graphic novel.
Hot-as-hell, tough-as-nails detective Ivy Tamwood has been demoted from homicide down to lowly street-crime detail. As if rousting trolls and policing pixies instead of catching killers wasn’t bad enough, she’s also been saddled with a newbie partner who’s an earth witch. It’s enough to make any living vampire bare her fangs. But when a coven of murderous witches begins preying on werewolves, Rachel Morgan quickly proves she’s a good witch who knows how to be a badass.
Together, Ivy and Rachel hit the mean streets to deal swift justice to the evil element among Cincinnati’s supernatural set. But there’s more to their partnership than they realize—and more blood and black magic in their future than they bargained for.
Authors: Kim Harrison
Artists: Pedro Maia, Gemma Magno
Published By: Del Rey
Published When: July 12 2011
Parental Rating: Teen+
ISBN: 9780345521019
Pages: 176 pages
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