The Escapists

by Brian K. Vaughan, Michael Chabon (Introduction)

Overview

Inspired by Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, this is Vaughan’s love letter to his chosen medium, a story about what it takes to start out with nothing in Cleveland, Ohio, and end up with a comic so hot a major corporation wants to steal it from you! Brilliantly interweaving the lives of the creators with the world of their creation, artists Steve Rolston and Philip Bond bring the comic-booking trio Maxwell Roth, Case Weaver, and Denny Jones to life, while the inimitable Jason Shawn Alexander and Eduardo Barreto illustrate the thrilling trials and exciting extrications of the new -- and old -- Escapist!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781630089207
Publisher:	Dark Horse Comics
Publication date:	09/14/2016
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	73 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Brian K. Vaughan is a comic book writer, creator, and screenwriter. He is known for creating the series Y: The Last Man, and for contributing on the The Escapists and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Vaughan's screenwriting credits are as impressive as his comics credits, as he has written for the hit series Lost and wrote the critically acclaimed sci-fi film Ex Machina. 

Jason Shawn Alexander is a comic book illustrator, painter, and draftsman. Alexander is known for his work on The Escapists, Queen & Country, Abe Sapien, and many other beloved titles. Alexander's art is exhibited all over the country. You can learn more about Alexander and his work at jasonshawnalexander.com.

Editorial Reviews

Ambition outpaces execution in Vaughan and company’s graphic novel semisequel to Michael Chabon’s celebrated novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Most installments in the “Escapist” comics franchise to date have been perfunctory affairs; Vaughan raises the stakes by setting his story not in that character’s fictional world, but in a present-day setting in which nerdy Max Roth, son of the late king of Escapist collectibles, acquires the rights in order to publish a new comic book series with the aid of a love-interest illustrator and a burly letterer. The book’s plot—including an ill-fated publicity stunt and challenge from a charming corporate manipulator—is outlined with the same broad strokes as its characterizations, sometimes echoing the source text’s events, but achieving none of the novel’s texture. Rolston’s dominant cartoony visual style fails to credibly ground the book’s characters or setting, and alternates with darkly overwrought “Escapist” pages by Alexander. The book’s moral—that inspiration is best honored by total originality—is striking and seems to call for more inspired comics than this. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

06/01/2014
It's impossible to discuss 21st-century superheroes without mentioning Vaughan. Working with various artists over the past decade or so, he has written some of the finest creator-owned work in comics. His stories are deeply rooted in reality but incorporate an element of the fantastic, and they showcase human possibilities rather than superhuman clichés. This exceptional story treats the Escapist—a comic book hero invented by Michael Chabon in The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay—as a forgotten property rediscovered by three young comic lovers who decide to bring their favorite hero back to life. In this case, the heroes are the creators themselves, who use comics to transform their lives.

Library Journal