It's Richard Corben one of the best in the field-the only thing that sucked-no sequel-you don't know what happens because there is no book 2 and that's why I gave it 4 out 5.

Helpful

Groove25

First installment includes original cover artwork & extras

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2015

Jeremy Brood: Relativity (1982) was originally intended to be the first of a three-part series of sci-fi graphic novels by Richard Corben and Jan Strnad, but disappointing sales lead to its early conclusion. A single, second installment was published as a comic book, "Fantagor Presents Brood" (1983). Later, the two parts were collected into one volume, entitled "Jeremy Brood" (1989).

While the later collection offers the complete story, I prefer this first book. To start with, the front and back covers are more enjoyable. Corben's rendering of the human form is strangely doll-like in Jeremy Brood, but other aspects of the cover artwork are still satisfying. Further, this volume includes an exclusive 5-page introduction exploring Corben's working methods in developing characters, scenery, and a new artistic direction for the series, illuminated with a number of black and white illustrations—mostly line art, some with tones or modeling effects applied. This is fun, behind-the-scenes stuff and also helps prepare the reader for a stylistic change, which is more a hybrid of line art and modeling technique than his previous works (Den, Arabian Nights, Mutant World). His 1983 story "Roda and the Wolf", reprinted in Werewolf (1984), shows similar style characteristics.

As the first installment of a series, the story in this volume ends with a cliffhanger, building to a sense of increasing conflict and tension that culminates in an expansive double-page spread, imaginatively hinting at a dramatic climax to come.

More than subsequent releases, this book represents the authors' original vision for the Jeremy Brood series. For this reason, I think it's the best of the bunch. (A limited edition hardcover was also released and may include some additional extras but is generally much more expensive and difficult to find.) This edition was also printed on some very nice matte-coated paper, with a flexible cover stock that feels both textured and smooth. Some sections of the book appear to be more richly colored than in the later collection; others are somewhat paler. In any case, the blacks are consistently darker and more even here, probably due to the coated paper.

Jeremy Brood is not Corben's finest hour, but it's an interesting attempt by the artist to break free of the labor-intensive burden of his own unique coloring and rendering method. Ironically, because his color reproduction method was developed and customized to suit his modeling technique, it doesn't work quite so well when line art is prominently involved. His use of a felt-tip marker for inking select elements (panels, balloons, backgrounds) is not a stylistic strength and looks sloppy when rendered in full-color black. This trend continued and became more amplified in the series's concluding publication, "Fantagor Presents Brood".