Mercy Thompson Homecoming (Mercy Thompson (Del Rey)) [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

So I woke up this morning anxiously awaiting the book store to open so I could rush to get a copy of "Homecoming". Unfortunately, I was not able to get to the book store until 5 minutes before 10pm (which is when they close). By that time, I was able to read early reviews of the book and 90% of the reviews were bad. Like others, I was not aware that this was a graphic novel but I still wanted to give Patricia Briggs a chance since I loved all of her previous works. I got my copy and raced home and arrived around 10:11pm. I finished the book by 10:34pm. Lets just say that I'm not really into graphic novels and the story was a boring for me. In all fairness, if you go to Brigg's website, she informs us that this is the first installment of a Mercy Thompson graphic novel series NOT the 5th book in the Mercy Thompson novel series. The fifth book is set to be released sometime in early (February) 2010. So all in all, let's give Patricia Briggs a break. If you are into comics and graphic novels give "Homecoming" a shot. If not, don't waste your time or borrow a copy from a friend. This story line just gives us background info on Mercy before she moves Tri-Cities (People who have been following the series won't really find the story interesting or exciting). I did purchase her other book that came out today "Hunting Ground" which has received good reviews so far so I'm looking forward to a good read (So far Patricia's good for it!). I hope this helps you all :). Happy reading!

Every time I turn around, another fantasy series is being adapted into graphic novel form. Some good, some bad, and some that just aren't ugly enough.

The newest addition to this genre: "Mercy Thompson: Homecoming," a prequel that explores what happened upon Mercy's arrival in the Tri-Cities area. It's a tightly-written, fast-moving little graphic novel with solid character introductions and some intriguing twists and turns, although the ever-shifting art is a bit offputting.

As the story opens, Mercy is going out for a run, when she is attacked by a pack of werewolves. Just in the nick of time, ANOTHER pack comes to save her, but her car is wrecked in the fight. After a disastrous job interview ("It's more important that a history teacher can coach track than explain the Bill of Rights!"), Mercy heads to the local garage to get her car fixed -- and it turns out the person running the place is is a nine-year-old boy with a fae daddy -- and he quickly runs afoul of a vampire's human "sheep."

Mercy intervenes and offers to help fix it, since she knows how to replace a clutch. The kid even offers her a job, which Mercy finds herself seriously considering. But in the meantime, the savage rogue werewolves are still hunting Mercy, intending to force her to help them. While a friendly local vampire named Stefan helps her a few times, it's only a matter of time before she becomes entangled in a bloody pack war.

Patricia Briggs is something of a rarity in urban fantasy, since her Mercy Thompson series focuses on a small rural town full of "ordinary" (read: nonglamorous) vampires, fae and werecreatures, and its heroine is a shapeshifting mechanic.

So "Mercy Thompson: Homecoming" is not written to be glamorous or sexy, which is part of its rough-hewn appeal -- especially since Briggs dodges many of the cliches. She and David Lawrence spin up a solid little story explaining how the scrappy "walker" came to the town, how she met the vampire Stefan (who looks an awful lot like Vincent Valentine), her boss Zee, and how she got her job.

After the confusing introduction, the taut, quiet plot smooths out into a stream of snappy dialogue ("Adel... bert... smiter? So you smite Adelberts?"), blood-spraying action, and I-need-a-job stress (Mercy's brief stint in a fast food restaurant). In fact, it adds to the supernatural goings-on that Mercy's personal woes are so down-to-earth, though black-and-white flashbacks show her experiences as the Marrok's ward.

And Mercy is a likable heroine -- she's strong enough to stand up for herself, while still being vulnerable enough to stumble. And despite being quickly established as a coyote walker, she seems very much like an "ordinary" woman -- she needs a job, needs an apartment, hopes to be a teacher, and can rearrange the internal parts of a car with no stress.

Francis Tsai's artwork is quite good, albeit kind of uneven -- a shadowy, murky experience filled with grimy walls, blue Washington nights, glitzy fae bars, big hairy werewolves and pallid befanged vampires. Mercy is rather harshly and exaggeratedly drawn initially, but Tsai's lines become more delicate and less cartoony by the midpoint. And with the arrival of the good-guy weres, the color palette shifts from the rainy night colors to burnt lighter ones.

"Mercy Thompson: Homecoming" sets up this prequel nicely, and will leave readers wanting to see more of Mercy's move into this small town.

Mercy Thompson is a walker, a magical being with the power to shapeshift into a coyote at will. As a child she had been handed over to Bran Cornick "the Marrok" who ruled the werewolves, to be raised. The Marrok is the biggest, baddest werewolf of all. Since the age of sixteen Mercy has been on her own.

Mercy leaves Portland for an interview in the Tri-Cities of Washington. Mercy hopes for a teaching position. She ends up being hired by a nine-year-old named Tad as a mechanic for his father's auto repair shop. Tad and his father, Zee, are part of the Fae. Mercy finds herself in the middle of a war zone. She would have left, but the Marrok erred and Mercy decides to spitefully stick around. Seems the Marrok has sent Adam Hauptman to deal with a band of rogue werewolves in the area. Adam is an Alpha, leader of the Columbia Basin Wolf Pack. And whether Adam or the Marrok likes it or not, Mercy is making the war for territory her business!

***** FIVE STARS! An outstanding and original graphic novel set in the Mercy Thompson universe. If, like me, you have not read any of the Mercy Thompson novels, then you are in for a sweet treat! For those fans who have kept up with the series, you will finally get to see how Mercy and her mentor, Zee, met.

As most know, when morphing into another form, the clothes being worn are shredded. The illustrators have done an amazing job of keeping true to that fact by using some pretty cool techniques. I could not be more impressed! Very tastefully done indeed! Mercy's personality and her sense of dark humor flows naturally and I often found myself chuckling aloud as I read. More than once my son stopped, while walking by my room, to glance in and wonder what I was laughing at. That just made me laugh louder.

In the back of this hardback graphic novel, readers will find an art gallery and an interview of the author, Patricia Briggs, by David Lawrence. Will there be more Mercy graphic novels in the future? The interview has me believing there will be. But this one is an original story; made especially for this graphic form. I have no doubt what-so-ever that fans will flock for this major collectable item. And new fans will be won as well. A magnificent graphic debut that will be long celebrated! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.