Family Ties: An Alaskan Crime Drama

by Eric Hobbs, Noel Tuazon (Illustrator)

Hoping to secure a future for his three children, an aging Alaskan crime boss looks to retire and divide his empire among his heirs. But when his idealistic son refuses the inheritance, the old man disowns him. This proves to be a fatal mistake, as his cold-blooded daughters use their new-found power and influence against him. An epic tale of betrayal and loss, this engrossing graphic novel is a mix of King Lear and The Godfather in the dramatic setting of Alaska.

Genres: Graphic Novels

184 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2013

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

King Lear is now a noir and set in present day Alaska and instead of a royal family we have a crime family. Power is divided, the youngest child (a son who works as a male nurse and wants no part of the criminal life) rejects his piece of the action and is essentially disowned. If you're familiar with King Lear you know how this goes. It was a neat experiment though and then almost wispy black and white art fit the environment perfectly.

[Chris Parsons · Rating 2 out of 5]

The rushed illustrations really let this one down. Maybe such would work for some stories, but not this one. There were points I couldn't even tell which character it was or what I was looking at.

[Joseph Young · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story about a mob family falling apart due to the decline of the patriarch was kind of terrible and stupid. The leaders are greedy and stupid, the art is not great enough to make it easy to tell characters apart when they change outfits, and the overarching theme seems played out. It's readable, but not great or good.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG! This was absolutely brilliant! I was riveted. A page-turner that had me glued to my seat. I love a good mafia story and using the plot of King Lear this brings the elements of a Shakespearean tragedy to the drama of a mafioso family epic. While the plot deviates from the play quite a bit the basics are there shaping a new unique retelling. The father of the family here has dementia and his decline in health along with the siblings' and friends' differing opinions on how to deal with him are also a major plot point. Just like Shakespeare, there are many different threads that all weave together from different angles until they meet up together. Then I was blown away with the awesome violent explosive and emotional climax. The art is done with black and white in a sketchy manner which brings about the stark nature of the story. One of the best dramatic graphic novels I've read this year.

[Edna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because their father who is a powerful crime boss in Anchorage is showing signs of dementia, two sisters decide to take advantage of the situation. The problem is they have a goody-two shoes brother who wants to care for their father and gets in the way of each sister's personal greed and lust for power. A classic drama story presented well in graphic form.

[Derek Royal · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing story, and Hobbs pulls no punches in presenting a hardened crime family. Tuazon's sketchy, hectic art adds the necessary roughness to the narrative. At times, though, the illustrations are ill-defined to the point of ambiguity.

[Sardonyx · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this a lot! very subtle artwork but within this small 182 page graphic novel, they managed to create a bunch of really solid characters that make you want to learn more about them. I would love to see more stories of them before this one.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disorganized scattered mess. While there were a few really good moments, it was difficult to tell the characters apart and overall was not a good adaptation of it's Shakespearean source.