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Mudman #1
Mudman Volume 1
Es el primer día de Owen Craig en el instituto, y no está yendo nada bien. Un profesor le ha arrollado, el matón del instituto va a por él, le han castigado y su padre ha sido tomado rehén por unos ladrones de bancos. Y además, su cuerpo parece estar convirtiéndose en barro.
Recopilación de los números 1 a 5 de la serie Mudman, personaje creado por Paul Grist, dónde el autor de Jack Staff y Kane explora una historia donde un adolescente que consigue poderes decide que luchar contra el crimen es su opción más lógica.
“Grist es un narrador excelente. No sólo conoce lo que sucede y debe suceder dentro de la viñeta, sino que también juega con lo que ocurre entre viñetas. Podemos saltar adelante y atrás en el tiempo de la historia, entre las propias viñetas de la misma historia. Y es tan bueno que nunca nos perdemos. Esto sólo puede hacerse en el cómic… y sólo pueden hacerlo bien los maestros”.
–El Torres, guionista de El bosque de los Suicidas o Nancy in Hell.
Recopilación de los números 1 a 5 de la serie Mudman, personaje creado por Paul Grist, dónde el autor de Jack Staff y Kane explora una historia donde un adolescente que consigue poderes decide que luchar contra el crimen es su opción más lógica.
“Grist es un narrador excelente. No sólo conoce lo que sucede y debe suceder dentro de la viñeta, sino que también juega con lo que ocurre entre viñetas. Podemos saltar adelante y atrás en el tiempo de la historia, entre las propias viñetas de la misma historia. Y es tan bueno que nunca nos perdemos. Esto sólo puede hacerse en el cómic… y sólo pueden hacerlo bien los maestros”.
–El Torres, guionista de El bosque de los Suicidas o Nancy in Hell.
144 pages, Paperback
First published September 18, 2012
54 people want to read
About the author
Paul Grist
196 books19 followersPaul Grist is a British comic book creator, noted for his hard-boiled police series Kane and his unorthodox superhero series Jack Staff.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 11, 2022
When Owen Craig dons a costume he finds in an abandoned mansion, he starts his career as a crime fighter called... Mudman!
I loved Jack Staff so I grabbed this for pretty cheap on Amazon. I liked the early Spider-Man feel of the thing and Grist's art, of course. The main reason I didn't rate it higher is that this is it for trades and there are only three other issues. It felt like it was just getting started.
I loved Jack Staff so I grabbed this for pretty cheap on Amazon. I liked the early Spider-Man feel of the thing and Grist's art, of course. The main reason I didn't rate it higher is that this is it for trades and there are only three other issues. It felt like it was just getting started.
June 24, 2024
I love Grist's artwork. Seeing the slim, slouching builds and simple faces of his characters, you would think his style would better suit indie comix or perhaps a newspaper strip than superheroes. However his approach to ground-level costumed adventurers is very appealing, with an eccentric cast of dozens.
Mudman: Volume 1 is a perfect example of this. I would describe the titular hero as Grist's own take on teenage superhumans like Spider-Man and Ms Marvel, with all the social and emotional baggage you'd expect. Owen Craig is a run-of-the-mill high-schooler with a cop for a dad and a friend who seems more outgoing. However, after visiting an abandoned house with a strange history, Owen is riddled with bullets and wakes up in his bed the next day with a body that breaks apart and then reconstitutes like mud. As far as super powers go, this is the most British I've ever come across.
From the first issue of this trade paperback collection, Grist progresses the plot in odd ways. He has Owen come to terms with the body horror almost immediately and then swaps to a different character's story before revealing a little more about a fateful night involving an as yet unnamed superhero and his resourceful antagonist. Then, when things seem to be back to running from A to B, he introduces another character entirely and has Mudman walk away from that encounter with little to say.
I adore the feel of Grist's world-building but it doesn't seem that plot momentum is the top of his priorities. In fact, I would go as far to say that this feels like an artist deciding to ignore storytelling convention purely so he can draw something new until the interest of that wears off too. Mudman has yet to be continued as a series but it would be good to see how Volume 2 progresses the story. There are mysteries within Volume 1 that would keep me reading, provided Grist maintains his focus on completing an arc before indulging another fun character and concept. I appreciate his creative instincts but, as a reader, I would love a little more consistency.
In any case, I recommend Mudman: Volume 1 to anyone who likes Grist's artwork and wants to see how a teen superhero from the South West Coast of England would live with viscous powers.
Mudman: Volume 1 is a perfect example of this. I would describe the titular hero as Grist's own take on teenage superhumans like Spider-Man and Ms Marvel, with all the social and emotional baggage you'd expect. Owen Craig is a run-of-the-mill high-schooler with a cop for a dad and a friend who seems more outgoing. However, after visiting an abandoned house with a strange history, Owen is riddled with bullets and wakes up in his bed the next day with a body that breaks apart and then reconstitutes like mud. As far as super powers go, this is the most British I've ever come across.
From the first issue of this trade paperback collection, Grist progresses the plot in odd ways. He has Owen come to terms with the body horror almost immediately and then swaps to a different character's story before revealing a little more about a fateful night involving an as yet unnamed superhero and his resourceful antagonist. Then, when things seem to be back to running from A to B, he introduces another character entirely and has Mudman walk away from that encounter with little to say.
I adore the feel of Grist's world-building but it doesn't seem that plot momentum is the top of his priorities. In fact, I would go as far to say that this feels like an artist deciding to ignore storytelling convention purely so he can draw something new until the interest of that wears off too. Mudman has yet to be continued as a series but it would be good to see how Volume 2 progresses the story. There are mysteries within Volume 1 that would keep me reading, provided Grist maintains his focus on completing an arc before indulging another fun character and concept. I appreciate his creative instincts but, as a reader, I would love a little more consistency.
In any case, I recommend Mudman: Volume 1 to anyone who likes Grist's artwork and wants to see how a teen superhero from the South West Coast of England would live with viscous powers.
July 23, 2014
Trespassing in an abandoned house, teenager Paul Craig stumbles on a pair of criminals who open fire. He blacks out, and the next day, he has the superpowers of... mud. Think of him as Spider-Man's Sandman villain, only stickier. Paul's got a lot to juggle. There's a mysterious girl who tells him he's dead (and not particularly as a threat), a costumed stranger who wants to be his mentor and may also be insane, and an old woman with an ax who may also be a crazy superhero. And on top of it, the usual teenager problems of school, family, and how you're going to explain reattaching your dismembered arm. The book is set in Burnbridge on sea, a rural town on the coast near London, and Grist does a good job giving the place its own distinct flair. Part of that's reflected in the type of super-powered beings that show up, each of which seems to be a blend of strange, powerful, kind of pitiful, and average person. And part of it is the overall charm of the book; it really feels as if the entire thing is a riff off Amazing Spider-Man, but the kind that really knows what made the original Spidey work--superheroics, a small dash of angst, but mostly, the fun of a kid growing up with strange new powers.
March 19, 2017
boy turns into mud.
January 14, 2025
This is not a complete story. There were only six issues in this series, five of which are collected here, and they end with a promise of more to come, which never did. Many of Paul Grist's stories are told in a disjointed way, one overlapping another until a mosaic is formed from the whole. This is great when you have a full series to read, but incredibly frustrating when there isn't.
As such we have Owen Craig who can turn to mud. The reason for this isn't given, but then it isn't that important. There are many strange things happening in the seaside town where he goes to school and many mysteries to uncover - which we never will.
The problem was I really liked this series, as I did with Grist's previous series Kane and Jack Staff, and wished it can go on. Grist has a distinct style and flavor to his stories which always makes them enjoyable reads. I would recommend this for those who don't mind an incomplete story.
As such we have Owen Craig who can turn to mud. The reason for this isn't given, but then it isn't that important. There are many strange things happening in the seaside town where he goes to school and many mysteries to uncover - which we never will.
The problem was I really liked this series, as I did with Grist's previous series Kane and Jack Staff, and wished it can go on. Grist has a distinct style and flavor to his stories which always makes them enjoyable reads. I would recommend this for those who don't mind an incomplete story.
June 5, 2017
Kinda cute. Very cartoony, which isn't a bad thing; but when my 4 year old can follow along it's good story-boarding/artwork and uncomplicated plot.
February 14, 2024
Solid Spider-Man riff, wish we got more.
September 4, 2015
It was ok. It wasn't really any different than anything out there. Just a dumb teenager who gets super powers and has problems with school and likes a girl and bla bla bla. Some bad guys resembling a lot the bad guys from Home Alone minus the jokes. One the serious smart one and the other the dumb one, although both wouldn't make any sense and do what they did just for the sake of the story to continue and unravel. That was one of my problems with it. Linear story. And it tried to be too much instead of being what it is. There was no mystery at all, even though the whole story is driven by "mystery", but I didn't care. You could see where the plot was going from miles away.
You don't care of what happens at the end or care for any of the characters. Main problem was because well, it was changing pace and theme so fast, scenes and flashbacks, what happened in the past or what's going to happen in the future in a few pages without really explaining stuff just for the reason to tell something quickly so you know what's going to happen in 2 pages.. all the while trying to keep it mysterious, but it didn't work.
The artwork was nice. I really liked it. Other than that the story wasn't that great for me.
You don't care of what happens at the end or care for any of the characters. Main problem was because well, it was changing pace and theme so fast, scenes and flashbacks, what happened in the past or what's going to happen in the future in a few pages without really explaining stuff just for the reason to tell something quickly so you know what's going to happen in 2 pages.. all the while trying to keep it mysterious, but it didn't work.
The artwork was nice. I really liked it. Other than that the story wasn't that great for me.
December 30, 2013
I love me some Paul Grist. He's a great storyteller. This pacing and art has this effortless quality to it. He knows just what to use and what NOT to use.
MUDMAN is an old school super-hero story very much in the vein of a Peter Parker/Spider-man. Kid who lives in an English seaside town gets into an accident and is given super-powers... launching him into a world he doesn't really understand.
It's pretty typical stuff but there's some charm in moving the classically "New York" style super-hero into a small English town. It's not reinventing the wheel, but there's still fun to be had here.
I guess the only other mark against it is that this is very much a SERIALIZED adventure story, so reading the first volume of MUDMAN feels like a single pilot episode of a TV show. We're left on a bit of a cliffhanger, so I didn't feel that sense of resolution upon reading. We're very much in the midst of the set-up and exploration of the character. Which means you've got to invest in the next volume if you really want to see where this goes.
MUDMAN is an old school super-hero story very much in the vein of a Peter Parker/Spider-man. Kid who lives in an English seaside town gets into an accident and is given super-powers... launching him into a world he doesn't really understand.
It's pretty typical stuff but there's some charm in moving the classically "New York" style super-hero into a small English town. It's not reinventing the wheel, but there's still fun to be had here.
I guess the only other mark against it is that this is very much a SERIALIZED adventure story, so reading the first volume of MUDMAN feels like a single pilot episode of a TV show. We're left on a bit of a cliffhanger, so I didn't feel that sense of resolution upon reading. We're very much in the midst of the set-up and exploration of the character. Which means you've got to invest in the next volume if you really want to see where this goes.
November 26, 2014
Owen Craig is a bit of a teenage tearabout, breaking into abandoned buildings and spraying graffiti here and there. A delinquent, but a fairly minor one, but after a weird thing happens one night out on the mud, he is transformed into... a superhero who can do things with mud! With bank robbers on the loose, a mysterious woman who appears and reappears, a mysterious and sinister man who seems to know the answers to questions Owen doesn't know how to ask and a flying metal owl thing with claws all turn up to make Owen's life intersting. Where did these powers come from? What really happened to Owen out in the mud? These and more questions are not answered in this volume! But a whole thing with the bank robbers and Owen's dad the police chief and a guy who can control water and some detention keep things lively for the reader, all presented with Paul Grist's customary skill and humour.
November 22, 2012
Every boy dreams of being a super hero, but if given any choice of super powers "being made of mud" is probably not at the top of any of their lists. Of course, no one exactly gave Owen Craig a choice in the matter when on what was supposed to be a fun night of vandalizing an old house he becomes Mudman.
Did Owen actually die that night? Where do his powers come from? Who is the mysterious woman who appears to him as if in a dream? And who is the equally mysterious pirate-type who suddenly comes into town offering to help Owen master his powers? Will Owen ever get a date?
These and many more questions are presented in this graphic novel, which, though unremarkable in many respects, is a quick and enjoyable read and a different spin on the "geeky boy turn hero" story.
Did Owen actually die that night? Where do his powers come from? Who is the mysterious woman who appears to him as if in a dream? And who is the equally mysterious pirate-type who suddenly comes into town offering to help Owen master his powers? Will Owen ever get a date?
These and many more questions are presented in this graphic novel, which, though unremarkable in many respects, is a quick and enjoyable read and a different spin on the "geeky boy turn hero" story.
November 10, 2012
The book claims to introduce you to your favorite superhero and I think the book is right. This is what DC should have tried to make with their relaunch a fun lighthearted book with lots of mystery in it to leave you wanting more. Paul Grist has been able to write a very fun and more so realistic superhero book with Mudman that I hope lasts a very long time.
October 28, 2012
Loved it. It doesn't quite have the broad tapestry of Grist's Jack Staff, but the narrative is more straight-forward and strongly focused on a great new character.
November 18, 2012
When Grist is on, he is great. This collection is a lot of fun. I just wish he were faster, since I'd love to see more Mud Man as soon as possible (as well as Jack Staff and Kane).
December 31, 2012
Story and art are both entertaining and light, in short, an English superhero book. This comic book does it perfectly for a post-festive season reading.
January 8, 2013
Charming.
February 21, 2013
I love the disjointed that Paul Grist chooses to tell this very simple superhero's origin story. His art still blows me away everytime.
October 20, 2013
Original... Aunque no para volverse loco
September 19, 2014
Fun, simple, a good read!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews