As if FRIDAY THE 13TH and WAREHOUSE 13 don’t already help give that number an air of danger and mystery, now there’s BOX 13 to continue the tradition. What’s inside the title container? I ain’t tellin’.
The graphic novel from HIGH MOON‘s team of David Gallaher and Steve Ellis originally was presented online in 13 motion-comic chapters, but this start-to-finish collection is the only way to read it, if you ask me. The less you know about it, the better, but Gallaher’s script involves spy-novel author Dan Holiday. Between books, his hobby is researching the CIA’s controversial MKULTRA project, which involved altering subjects’ mental states via drugs and hypnosis.
Apparently, Dan has learned a little too much, because when he finds a black box left behind at his signing, with the number 1 on its top, he wakes up in a hospital with no memory of the events happening after opening it. And there are 12 more to go.
Part BOURNE IDENTITY, part MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, the book succeeds on telling a simple story about a complex conspiracy. Kudos are due to its rapid-fire, breakneck pace, not to mention the sex appeal of Dan’s fan-cum-partner, Olivia, who may or may not know more than she’s letting on.
BOX 13 delivers on the promise of the duo’s werewolf Western HIGH MOON, which, while cool, grew needlessly convoluted as it went on. Gallaher is great working in such a straightforward narrative, and Ellis’ artwork is rather appealing in a color palette that strangely, but effectively, is limited to black, red and green. —Rod Lott
Related posts:
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Actually, there was a radio crime series back in the day called “Box 13.” It starred Alan Ladd as a mystery writer who had people write to him at box 13, requesting his help. His adventures then went into his books and stories. Pretty good series. dgb
What’s a radio?
I’ve read Box 13 on the iPhone app. Fun, excellent read. Once I started, I couldn’t stop! Would love to see it in actual print!
Anyone interested in learning more about the original Dan Holiday and the radio series Box 13 go here:
http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Box_13_Singles
I recommend “The Haunted Artist” and “The Better Man”