Walter Koenig’s Raver - Review
I am a huge fan of Walter Koenig’s Buck Alice and the Actor Robot and graphic novel, Things to Come. When I saw Raver in the iBookstore, I had to get it. It’s not available in paperback even though the first three issues of the comic are.
Raver had a different flair to it, but I found myself enjoying it. It is more of a psychological thriller than anything else. If you want a good picture of it before you dive in, read the description. This sounds very lazy of me considering I'm writing a review, but it’s true!
There are some novels/comics/etc with descriptions that fail to meet the mark, but this one? It states everything like it is and leaves no room for questions….In other words, there are no surprises. You know exactly what you are getting yourself into.
The worlds Norman creates in his mind have a good amount of action, monsters, and everything that makes a comic book entertaining. One world is a sordid mess of fairy tale characters trapped in their own lives, and at first, I cast a skeptical eye.When I read comics, I want super powers and action--lots and lots of action!
The scene held my interest as it progressed. It also helped that Koenig weaved some of his views into it, views which are on the opposite end of the spectrum as my least favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand. Hey, what can I say? I’m human to the core!
The first three issues were written in 1993 and were drawn by the same artist. The graphic novel includes a fourth issue drawn by another artist (equally as talented as the first). The style is a little different and makes heavy use of digital mediums. I want to go out on a limb and say that issue #4 was written years later. I couldn’t find any solid evidence for it, but parts of the dialogue lead me to believe that it was written sometime in 2012.
The final issue was good up until parts of the dialogue got a little too political. It doesn’t matter if I agree with the politics or not; if politics are going to be put into a story, I prefer them to be subtle and weaved seamlessly into the storyline. Regardless, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of Raver!
I give Raver 4/5 imaginary super powers!
I recommend it for avid comic book readers and for fans of Walter Koenig. If you enjoy his other works, you will enjoy this one.
