BLOWBACK, available on January 5th, 2021, is an adventure about a rift in the Bermuda Triangle that transports a group of Marines to 1776 Bermuda.
The Details
- Written By: James Hereth, Rhonda Smiley
- Art By: Kev Hopgood
- Colors By: Charlie Kirchoff
- Letters By: Kev Hopgood
- Cover Art By: Kev Hopgood
- Cover Price: $19.99 (physical)
- Release Date: January 5, 2021
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Was It Good?
BLOWBACK is the type of graphic novel that has the kernel of a good idea. That kernel is fleshed out completely by a team of creators who put in the work to make sure they took the idea as far as they could. That said, this is the type of graphic novel some readers will like and others will not as a matter of taste and preference rather than technical execution.
I’m not trying to play coy with the assessment. The simple answer is I didn’t care for it. More specifically, I was bored. When you’re checking your watch and the page number a quarter of the way through, that’s usually a red flag.
Let’s talk positives. The art by Hopgood and Kirchoff is fairly good. The panel compositions are solid. There’s plenty of combat-style action to pick up the energy of the story. And you get a sense that the art team put research time in to make sure the ships, the weaponry, and the costumes are accurate for their respective time periods. That accuracy speaks to the time and attention put into making sure a time travel adventure feels authentic to the reader.
Next, the story is an interesting concept that weaves the mystical legend of the Bermuda Triangle together with a less-explored location of importance in the Revolutionary War – Bermuda. Again, time and attention to historical detail come through loud and clear for the story. The dates and locations of historical figures play a part in the last act of the book, so the timing of events is critical to getting the story right, and on that count, the story is a success.
“Well?” you wonder. “If it’s all good, what’s the problem?” you chide while you tap your foot impatiently.
Again, I was bored. Chalk it up to a point of personal preference on whether the subject is interesting enough to hold your attention. That said, there are at least two technical points that contribute to why the story doesn’t grab you.
First, it’s long. Very long. Too long. Several scenes could easily be cut because they add nothing to the main plot. You could make the case for keeping the extra scenes as they’re meant to flesh out the characters and get you emotionally invested in what happens to them. You could make that case, but that leads to the second technical issue.
The scenes meant to buildout relationships and establish emotional stakes happen too quickly and don’t land. For all the intricacies of the plot and making sure the times and places are authentic, not even a fraction of that same energy went into making these characters likable or making you feel their interpersonal bonds beyond petty bickering. In other words, the characters come off as generic and you’re given little reason to care what happens to them.
When you have a lot of extra scenes that don’t contribute to the core story populated by characters you don’t care about, an overly-long graphic novel feels even longer.
Again, some of this feeling could be chalked up to personal preference. If you like time travel stories that lean heavily on historical accuracy, especially during the Revolutionary War period, this one might be right up your alley.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We start with a group of Marines out on a mission to Haiti when their flight gets caught and downed by a strange electrical storm. When the crew washes ashore the next morning, they find themselves on the Island of Bermuda… 1776.
The Marines eventually manage to make contact with a group of Revolutionary rebels. Their first efforts focus on finding a way home, but their plans take a backseat when they learn a pirate and his crew, time travel refugees from WWII, are siding with the British to alter the timeline.
Now, the Marines have two missions. Save the timeline from interference by another group of time travelers, and get home before their window of opportunity is gone. We conclude the issue with sea battles, a pirate’s plan that involves a novel approach to stopping Hitler, and a big cameo from a historical figure.
Final Thoughts
BLOWBACK is an interesting idea about combat Marines accidentally transported back in time when they encounter pirates, historical figures, and Revolution-era battles. The artists and writers deserve kudos for the sheer volume of attention paid to accuracy and authenticity from everything to ship design to period costumes. That said, the characters are generic and there are too many extraneous scenes, making for a graphic novel that’s unnecessarily long with no emotional hook.
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