Graphic Novel Review: Broken Lines by Standard Design

I’m not sure what I expected when I began to read Broken Lines: Book One of Four, Maybe but it surpassed whatever thought I might have had. It is so unlike everything else that I have ever read that I hate to make any sort of comparisons.

Cowboy, Spaceman, Vampire, and a waitress by the name of Maggie are the good guys. You know the kind of good guys I’m talking about right? Yep, the kind that fight evil. When firemen show up at the trailer park Maggie is living in and start to set fire to things, she can’t imagine why. She asks the two who show up on her doorstep and they are kind enough to fill her in:

'Oh, no, ma’am. You’re confusing us with firefighters,' the second fireman explains through the door, “They put out fires and save people.”

'They’re America’s Heroes,' the first fireman chimes in.

'Yeah. We’re firemen. We’re basically evil. We’re here to burn and kill.

But since we know, well at least we guessed, that Maggie is one of our heroes, this can’t be the end of her. That is when Cowboy and Spaceman show up. With the help of Vampire they rescue the lady in distress and hightail it out of there. 

What follows is a slightly peculiar journey to... well, we aren’t exactly sure. They travel around in a rental van, which, by the way, is more than it appears, with Vampire hanging out in the back. Where they are from and who they are - those are questions that are never really answered. They simply are. Believe me, it is more than enough.

Coffee imbibing and all-night stints stocking-up at a grocery store also figure in Broken Lines, adding to its unique quality. There are some illustrations, a few traditional comic book boxes, but for the most part it is comprised of words - very funny words I might add. The characters are simply brilliant and the dialog is smart and entertaining.

Broken Lines is unusual. It starts out with a character washing his hands and ends with someone asking where the microwavable chalupas are. Completely irresistible once you start reading, you will not stop until you have reached the last page. Once there you will immediately start looking for volume two.

Since it isn’t available on Amazon just yet check out the website for ordering information. There is also a ten page preview of the book as well as artwork with a comments section.

Article Author: Katie Trattner

Ms. Trattner works for a non-profit agency where she is thankful for any internet time she can squeeze into her day. In her free time she reads one of the thousands of books stacked in her tiny apartment.

Visit Katie Trattner's author page — Katie Trattner's Blog