Comic Book without Pictures

Legacy, coming out October 13th, is the classic super hero story without comic book panels. "An innovative graphic novel?" you ask. No such luck. Legacy, written by Thomas E. Sniegoski, is a teen novel in which all the fight scenes are written and the gadgets described. Readers follow 18 year-old Lucas as he learns his father is the billionaire super-hero the Raptor. What follows is a coming of age story (complete with future love interest) of the grays in the black and white world of super-heroes.

Despite the lack of pictures, I must mention the design of the book. The cover features a collage of comic imagery that entices with its' pop colors and dynamism. The interior is even better. With page numbers on the sides of the pages and large chapter numbers without titles, the design is bold, clean, and quite lovely.

The story isn't bad, there just aren't any surprises if you know anything about super-heroes or coming of age stories. And the writing is seriously lacking, leaving readers wishing for pictures to come to the rescue with details and hints more subtle than the writing. While I think Legacy will be a big hit with the teen boy crowd (Twilight for boys. But with better relationships- I hope), I think they'll be better off with actual comics.

The likelihood of this book becoming a movie is monumental. With all the super-hero movies stolen from comic books that have been coming out in the last few years, perhaps Sniegoski should just have written a screenplay; I think his book may be one of those destined to be a better movie. My mom is already betting Christopher Columbus will direct.