Silent Partner: The Graphic Novel

Alex Delaware graphic novels

by Ande Parks (Adapter), Michael Gaydos (Illustrator), Jonathan Kellerman (Original Author)

The first graphic novel adaptation from master of psychological suspense Jonathan Kellerman brings a stunning new visual edge to the classic New York Times bestseller Silent Partner—a “harrowing tale of murder and manipulation” (The Plain Dealer) that “hits the reader right between the eyes” (Los Angeles Times Book Review).

Alex Delaware is struggling to keep his relationship with girlfriend Robin Castagna alive when a beautiful face from the past suddenly steps back into his life. Sharon Ransom was Alex’s lover back in the day—until her mind games and increasingly erratic behavior drove them apart. Now Sharon tries to rekindle old feelings and seek his help with some new troubles. Alex turns her away—a decision he bitterly regrets when Sharon ends up dead the next day.

The official ruling is suicide, but for Alex the case won’t be closed until he finds out what happened. Driven by guilt and grief, he plunges deep into the territory he knows best—where dark secrets, dangerous fears, and twisted needs prey on hearts and minds. With the aid of his trusted friend, homicide cop Milo Sturgis, Alex traces Sharon’s fatal path through a world of Hollywood high life riddled with scandal, corruption, and blood—where innocence and lives are easily lost.

Scripted by Ande Parks, author of the acclaimed graphic novels Union Station and Capote in Kansas, and illustrated by Marvel and DC comics veteran Michael Gaydos, Silent Partner captures Jonathan Kellerman’s trademark blend of crime drama and psychodrama with noirish style and eye-catching, page-turning intensity.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Mystery, Comics, Fiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published February 28, 2012

About the author

Ande Parks has worked on several projects with Phil Hester, including Nightbreed (Marvel), Rust (Malibu), Fringe (Caliber), and Freaks Amour (Dark Horse). Currently he inks Anima, Steel and Superboy, all for DC.

Ande Parks (born October 1, 1964) is a professional American comic book artist, known for his work as an inker and writer in the industry. His greatest notoriety has come from his stint with fellow artist Phil Hester on DC Comics' Green Arrow series from 2001 to 2004 and writing the graphic novels Union Station and Capote in Kansas by Oni Press. He grew up in the suburbs of Kansas City and currently lives in Baldwin City, Kansas with his wife and two children.

Parks began his professional career as an inker in comic books with Dark Horse Comics. He has inked the penciled artwork of such titles as Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Superman, Daredevil and Spider-Man. His artistic style has won him praise in the comic books industry, including an industry Harvey nomination as best inker. His idols and influences include Neal Adams, Klaus Janson, Jack Kirby, Dick Giordano, and Mike Grell. Parks has stated in at least one on-line interview that he inks with Hunt 102 and Brause 511 pens and a Raphael #3 brush. For characters from the comic books, Parks has acknowledged he has most enjoyed Batman and Captain America as his favorite characters.

He is probably best known for his work on the relaunched Green Arrow comic book series beginning in 2001, which he inked over his frequent collaborator Phil Hester. On Green Arrow, Hester and Parks worked with writers Kevin Smith, Brad Meltzer, and Judd Winick over their approximate 40-issue run. The book has been collected into several volumes. The American Library Association called it one of the best books for young adults. Parks and Hester have also done work on DC Comics' Nightwing with writer Devin Grayson, allowing Parks to work within the Batman family of characters, and the new revamped Ant-Man comic book for Marvel Comics in 2006-2007.

Although better known for his artwork, Parks considers himself to be more of a writer than artist. He has contributed several articles in comic book trade magazines, such as Draw!, geared towards critiques of artwork and professional tips for inkers. Parks' combined his inking style with his fondness for writing when he created the superhero spoof Uncle Slam & Fire Dog for Action Planet Comics, based to a certain extent on his love of Marvel Comics' Captain America. Uncle Slam appeared in three issues of the Action Planet anthology book series, and in two issues of his own book in the early- to mid-1990s. The character also appeared in a completely on-line comic book for Komicwerks. A new Uncle Slam book, "Uncle Slam Fights Back", was released in the summer of 2008.

For graphic novels, he has often turned to his neighboring region in the Midwest as source material for his writing projects. To date Parks has steered towards writing what is best classified as historical fiction. He has credited Alan Moore's From Hell as being a large influence in his decision to pursue writing in the historical fiction genre. In 2004, Oni Press published Park's first original graphic novel, Union Station. The book dealt with the events surrounding the Kansas City massacre, which took place in 1933 in Kansas City, Missouri, and helped J. Edgar Hoover make the F.B.I. a powerful organization in law enforcement and government for decades to come. Eduardo Barreto provided the artwork, done in black-&-white to give the piece more of a Depression-era period look.

In 2005 Parks returned to the genre of historical fiction with Capote In Kansas, drawn by Chris Samnee. The book details the time Truman Capote spent in Kansas while he worked on his literary masterpiece, In Cold Blood.

Continuing on with the Marvel Universe of characters, Parks co-plotted with Ed Brubaker and wrote "Blood of the Tarantula" fo

Reviews

[Karl Marberger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed revisiting this story in graphic novel form. It was very interesting seeing Alex Delaware in this form.

However, the adaptation was pretty whittled down compared to the source material and some of the artwork was a little blotchy. It seemed like a pretty odd choice for a graphic novel adaption and the medium wasn’t very stellar for the story.

All in all, it was an enjoyable side read.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

No. Just no.

Why was one of Kellerman's most convoluted and preposterous stories turned into a graphic novel? I have read 30+ of Kellerman's books, so I have an idea in my mind of what Alex Delaware would look like (similar to the author's picture, and definitely with a mustache) and this rendition was WAY too young. In addition, Robin's representation was off but Milo had an accurate enough depiction. If I were picking this graphic novel up, without knowing Kellerman's other work, I would never try him again.

[Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not everything has to be turned into a graphic novel.

[Sherri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had read the novel version years ago and much prefer it over this version. I have read all of Kellerman's books and don't really think they lend themselves to this format. Also, after 20+ books my idea of the characters were too different from the illustrations. I think I'll stick to the full novels.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be my favorite Alex Delaware book so far. The twists and turns the book kept taking kept me hooked all night long. There were a couple of times when I had to reread as the jargon used got a bit complicated but nothing to heavy.

[P. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, now I've read a Kellerman, so I can be more helpful in my job when people need books like his. That's all I will say about this.

[Ed Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A chance meeting of an old girlfriend at a party plunges Alex into a world of possible muliple personalities, lies, deceit, manipulaton, suicide, and murder.

[Sally Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alex is my favorite character. Plus I am trying to read the whole Alen Delaware series.

[Shell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book. Loved it.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure why this 4th book in the Alex Delaware series was randomly chosen to be adapted into a graphic novel. Delaware is a psychologist. He's on the outs with his girlfriend when he sees an old flame. She wants to see him professionally but kills herself before their appointment so Alex starts looking into her. Things get extremely complicated. I suggest drawing it all out if you want to understand all of this convoluted story. I'm guessing the novel is a little easier to keep straight in your head. Michael Gaydos is a solid artist and the lack of color works with Gaydos's art.

[Jo Whittemore · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, which I don’t do much with graphic novels. The images were too static and dull, the pages desperately needed a colorist, and there was far too much text on each and every page. The text that WAS chosen couldn’t hold my interest. I think this is a novel that probably works better in standard format.

[Cyprien Saito · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contemporary existentialist novel about house-hold God. Kellerman may be an authorized figure as an intellectual who is always the wise serpant-like merchant.

[Deb Florea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kellerman at his best!

[Molly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kellerman's book did not work as a a graphic novel. I admit I am also not a graphic novel fan (with the exception of Persepolis).

[Daniel Lawson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm going to give this a Meh review, mainly because we have little to no understanding of our protagonist, his allies, or his enemies. There are multiple pages dedicated to talking about people that have no connection to the main story, and in a Graphic Novel that's a lot of space dedicated to nothing important. The issue here is that Silent Partner is book 4 of the Alex Delaware series, but the first one to get an adaptation. That makes no sense, if you are doing a GN adaptation, you aren't doing it for fans of the novels, you want NEW fans. But a new fan picking this up won't be able to form any attachment to the characters and won't care to pick up the next one.

On top of that the art is boring and makes it difficult to distinguish characters and who is speaking. Actually after writing this out, I'm dropping rating to two stars-because despite all that above the main mystery is pretty decent.

[Asciigod · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was completely unfamiliar with Jonathan Kellerman's works before reading this graphic novel. Now if I wonder, could the original work be as effective as this meticulously illustrated, expertly scripted adaptation?

Ande Parks is a surgeon, or a taxidermist. His prose and plotting is pure professionalism. I'm sure the original novel had more twists, turns and breathing room than this work. But it's impossible to tell what's left out. He kept all the meat, and I assume cut exactly the right amount of filler.

Michael Gaydos' illustrations are, likewise, perfect for this piece. His art leans mostly towards realism, but leaves *just* enough room in the shadows and composition to brilliantly imply dread, unease, and tension. He wields an arsenal of ability. Capable of creating arresting, visually dense panels, he instead prefers the illusion of subtle spaciousness. In combination, the two artist’s styles are supremely effective.

The only flaw here is the fact this is, ultimately, a popcorn fairytale. It's a sexy, potboiler of a mystery with some nagging silliness of premise and purpose. That's OK. We can all enjoy our fair share of popcorn can't we? This adaptation is a gourmet serving.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having enjoyed the art of Michael Gaydos on Marvel's Alias, I took a shot on his collaboration with Ande Parks in this graphic adaptation of Silent Partner. Psychologist Alex Delaware is in a funk following his girlfriend's abrupt departure. Keeping their break quient, he accepts an invitation to a party for the new department chair. Old flame Sharon Ransom turns up, and the two look to get reacquainted. Following the party, Sharonis found dead of an apparent suicide in her home. Looking into the event, Delaware falls down memory lane and recalls their past relationship. Uncovering a scandalous sex tape of Sharon's mother, her identical twin Sherry, and their sordid family history, Delaware must choose between his former love and his current life. While Gaydos delivers on the art, the story - and its triplet angle - is a little over-the-top for a realistic fiction novel.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the complete original book better, but I am a fan of the occasional graphic novelization (grew up loving comic books) so I thought this was pretty good. I am a very big fan of Kellerman's, and I wish that they would make more graphic novel versions of his works. The artist got pretty close to how I imagined Milo in my mind all these years, but the Robin character is a little heavier and not as pixie-like as I've always pictured her, and Alex Delaware is almost nothing like the picture of him I get while reading the novels- I always pictured him looking more like a young, clean shaven version of Tom Selleck. But all in all, this was well worth the 3-4 hours it took me to get through it.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first graphic adaptation derived from best-selling author Jonathan Kellerman's works, the compelling Silent Partner (based on the novel of the same name) follows renowned child psychologist Alex Delaware as he delves into the mystery surrounding the suicide of a former lover. His travails lead him through a harrowing array of mind games and duplicity. Though beautiful, the Gaydos art at times muddies the meandering, dense story. The lettering appears misplaced in several scenes causing some momentary confusion. Even with these flaws, Kellerman, Parks, and Gaydos manage to deliver a taut, psychological and ultimately satisfying drama.

[Sonic · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I thought this was a good story on the whole, as a graphic novel adaptation I feel it could have been better. I think pacing is an issue here as well as rhythm. The first third was a nice build up, the second third felt muddy and convoluted, and finally it wrapped up fairly nicely in the end. But they did not split it up into thirds, it is just a long book without breaks that you kinda need to plow through to keep up with the characters.
The art in black and white by Gaydos is most excellent!

[Lexi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book on recommendation of the author by a colleague at work. All I can say is no thanks. I felt so dirty after reading this convoluted tale of a porn star and her three twin daughters. That's right. I said three twins, which is how they were referred to in the book. Not triplets. Twins. I'm still not sure what went on in the plot. No more Kellerman for me, thank you very much. At least I can count it for my five book challenge on graphic novels.

[Karen Hufman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally like Kellerman books but this wasn't my favorite. Dr Alex Delaware meets up again with an old girlfriend who disappeared suddenly and without explanation many years before. Shortly after seeing her she commits suicide and Alex decides to find out more about her life. Milo isn't in this one and much and I find his relationship problems with his current live-in girlfriend annoying.

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like this series, having read most of the books before this one in the series, but I have to admit: I only got to the first 80 pages on this. I could't get into the story and just didn't seem to care about the history of the characters relationship. It was all reflection and no action or anything to keep my interest. I hope other books in this series are better!

[Mark Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read an Alex Delaware novel for about 30 years. This one was a good example of the series of books that I recall. But this time I thought the author padded the novel with too much information. The book could have been shorter. But I do recall the enjoyment that When the Bough Breaks brought me so I will continue to read this series.

[Cupof Tea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this story would have been less confusing in full novel form, rather than the shortened story I read. Unfortunately the library only had this version of the next book in the series I have been going through in order.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've already read the novel version, so I wasn't AS interested...but it was an interesting version! Very different, but still good.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

nice b&w art. unimpressive mystery. i've tried reading the alex delaware novels in the past and been unable to finish them, thought ande parks could make it interesting.

[Katie Sunsdahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

a bit confusing at times to keep all the characters straight....

[Susan White-Riggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, a typical Jonathan Kellerman story.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hate getting into a book and then discovering I'd read it before. I didn't really remember the ending though, so it was okay.