I requested my first batch of reviews on NetGalley.com and totally didn’t expect to get approved for this one, but was so excited when I did. I loved the Dollhouse TV series when it ran and especially loved the two season finales that showed what the Dollhouse would lead to in the future. This comic book continues with that futuristic plot and stays completely true to the characters originally portrayed in the TV show. If you liked the TV show, you should definitely read this comic when it comes out in April!
Title: Dollhouse Volume 1
Authors: Andrew Chambliss, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharden
Pages: 162 paperback (e-copy)
Genre-ish: Comic based on sci-fi TV show by Joss Whedon
Setting: The future after the Dollhouse TV show, during the apocalypse where all the Dollhouse technology goes weaponized and chaos ensues.
Premise: Favorite main characters from the show show up quickly and the book starts with the moments of the apocalypse for several of the main season finale characters. Everyone is then in a mad dash to survive and figure out what is going on and how to stop it.
Strengths:
- The art is lovely and my version was full-color
- Both the character art and writing are very true to the original characters introduced
- Fills in some holes that the TV show had left since it got canceled and further pursues the apocalypse that only barely got introduced in the TV show
- Some funny moments for fans of the TV show when old characters do cooky things
- Well paced and compelling plot, I’m actually quite looking forward to the next one even though I don’t read comics that much!
- Fun extra art at the end!
Weaknesses:
- The copy that I got was not a very high quality one and so a lot of the words were blurry and therefore difficult for me to actually make out, which I hope will be better in the printed copies
- As with most comic art, sometimes the character illustrations just look weird and not like the person they are based on
- A lot of blood and violence and a child perpetrating a fair amount of it
Overall I highly recommend picking up this graphic novel when it comes out in April, especially if you liked the TV show. I don’t think you need to be familiar with the TV show to enjoy this novel though, so if you are interested in started some sci-fi comic book reading by some very talented writers and artists, this a great place to go!
-A
Footnotes: I graduated college! Now on to finding an apartment and heading out to grad school, after a well deserved break ;-).
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