The Griff: A Graphic Novel
Christopher Moore and Ian Corson, illustrated by Jennyson Rosero
William Morrow
Paperback
160 pages
July 2011
This time out, the wonderfully inventive novelist Christopher Moore ventures into the world of graphic novels. There isn't a lot of text here, but as usual Moore manages to say a lot with very little.
The world has been attacked by alien dragons that look like mythological griffins--hence the title. A perky trio of New York survivors does battle with the cosmic creatures. Mo is an irreverent game maker; Steve is a skateboard punker; and Curt is a muscled commando who is the
de rigeur weapons expert (and a master with cosmetics). Together, this trio does battle and ultimately defeats the flying lizards.
The artwork is big and bold and colorful and the dragons are scary.
Moore has stepped outside of his normal oeuvre, and in an interview snippet he explains why. "The story came to me, partially, in a dream, and it was so visual and action-based that I didn't think it was appropriate for a novel.
Most of my novels are character based, and with The Griff, the characters were going to be secondary to the bigger action. Initially I thought it would be appropriate for a film, which is where Ian came in."
You can read this in a couple hours. If you're already a fan of Moore's witty writing, you'll want to.