About Heroes

Writers: Stephen King & Peter Straub (Script - Robin Furth)
Artists: Nei Ruffino & Tony Shasteen:
Letterer: Bill Tortolini

So I got the first two issues of the Talisman back a week or so ago and they have been sitting in my pile, mocking me.

Originally I had tried listening to the audiobook version of King & Straub's "The Talisman" a year or so ago and I feel asleep I was soo bored by it. The comics apparently hit a better flow with me.

The initial story is set back around the 80s and centers around a boy and his mother. The two travel to an area of New Hampshire after the death of the father and more recently the boy's Uncle Tommy. Essentially the mother is driving there to escape another "evil uncle" whilest at the same time finding a place to fight the cancer that is slowly consuming her. The boy is all too aware of things going on around him and his inability to do anything about it. Eventually an old fellow named Speedy runs into Jack (the boy) and tells Jack that the daydreams he often has are not daydreams but in fact visions of another real world, wherein sorcerers, queens, etc all exist. Apparently his evil uncle in his reality is an evil wizard in the other reality and slowly taking over everything. Eventually Speedy tells the kid that he must go to this other reality and obtain "The Talisman" should he want to save everyone. The kid says his vague goodbye's to his mother, telling her he has to disappear for awhile and soon enough after Speedy sends the boy on his way to the other reality.

Ok so first and foremost, this is not one of those "symbolic" stories where everything is an analogy for what's happening in the boy's life and everything is simply a figment of the boy's imagination....all of this is actually happening. Now that I got that little tidbit out of the way, I'll say that from what I have read, these first two issues of "The Talisman" have been alright, and I didn't fall asleep completely while turning each page. I do have a problem with Jack's mother being ok with him disappearing for an indeterminate amount of time, not probing him with questions or arguing with her son, I mean ok...fantasy story and all yea but still...the mother is ok with her son just saying he's gonna vanish for awhile...seems to push believability there a bit but, I digress. The story again so far is ok, the inclusion of wizards and alternate realities is interesting and intriguing on it's own, especially when you realize it's not another one of those tired "EVERYTHING IS A METAPHOR FOR SOMETHING" stories. The story looks like it will have a slow burn though as being based off a large book there is still a lot of material left for the comic to cover, so your best off buying or borrowing a trade of this when it comes out if slow burns aren't your idea of fun. (There's a joke there but I'm not taking it). The actual text is pretty close to the original content, with descriptions handled decently by the artists.I am not a huge fan of the style but by the second issue I think it was starting to grow on me a little.

Final thought, if you like Stephen King, or even just fantasy try checking this title out. B+