Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

Downloaded from Netgalley.   

I like the idea of possession as used in this graphic novel, which combines adventure, suspense, and fictional characters such as Dracula and Sherlock Holmes.   Five of these characters - amongst them Dracula and Sherlock Holmes - belong to Fabian Gray in a bizarre possession.   

It's not all sunshine and roses, however.   When he does use the characters he carries within him, he gets strained, so much so that he's begun to pass out recently.   He's starting to lose control.   And worse, he's responsible for his sister's condition.   Silvia is quite unwell, and all Fabian wants is to cure her; he's convinced that these characters, and the dreamstones that allow them to cross over, are the key to bringing Silvia back to full health.   Otherwise, I suppose, he could give away the dreamstone, or simply stop using the characters. 

Not only is the premise rather unique in the way this is done, but it has an old school adventure feel to it.   For some reason, that struck me is particularly charming, and the artwork added to the old-timey adventurer sense.   (Also, the artwork is a genuinely surprising mix of American style and European style graphic novel work.   Even more surprising is how well Chris Mooneyham blends the styles together along with the pang of nostalgia that he adds to each page.   It comes off looking effortless, and again, the combination is rather unique.   I was shocked at how much I liked the art, and how quickly I came to love the style.)

While I find Fabian compelling, I'm taking a half star off for his companion Sebastian.   Fabian is fully formed; we come to see that he's not the hero we might have believed him to be in the beginning when we get a glimpse of his life prior to his possessions.  He 

genuinely grieves over the harm he's caused to Silvia, and he wants to make things right so desperately.   I think this is very relatable, as we've all done things we regret, things we want to make right.    

Sebastian came off as comic relief, but without the fullness of Fabian's character.   We see none of his backstory, and he feels like he's there merely to act as a foil to Fabian, or  to offset the seriousness of situations with his inability to fight.   (It's not funny when Sebastian seems to be in fairly constant danger, and unable to take care of himself.   At all.)   See Sebastian cower when Fabian fights huge spiders - shudder, because I have arachnaphobia.    See Sebastian cower while people threaten Fabian, and make jokes about how he should have run.   Yawn.   

It's a shame.  I believe that if Sebastian had more quirks - nerdy intellectual with no fighting skills is just cliche - or were more quirky with his jokes, or had a fully developed backstory, he'd make a much better foil to Fabian.   If he were an interesting character in his own right, this would have been a five star read for me. 

I'll definitely read the second volume, though.