Maxwell Strangewell

by Matt Fillbach, Shawn Fillbach

The Fillbach Brothers proudly present their most ambitious work to date! After putting their sci-fi skills to the ultimate test in six volumes of the best-selling series Star Clone Wars Adventures, Matt and Shawn up the ante with a novella-length tale of aliens, amnesia and the galaxy itself in peril. Photographer Anna Gilmour discovers a ten-foot-tall being immediately after his fall to Earth. He can't speak, but communicates through telepathic empathy, and Anna introduces him to her father as "Max." Their home is soon beset by a sea of beatific Tibetan monks, alien assassins in disguise, and heavy weapons fire! Max might not know who he is, but a lot of others sure as heck seem to. A galactic free-for-all is about to go down and Earth is ground zero. Before the final act, Anna and Max encounter a prophecy, the man in the moon, an entire race of alien accountants, and the Revolver - an innocuous-looking jogger responsible for keeping the world spinning. This massive tome is a page-turner you won't be able to put down, and prove that these brothers are a pair to watch!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published June 27, 2007

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Science fiction graphic novel. When a 10-foot tall alien falls to earth, communicating through Anna, a photographer via telepathic empathy, his arrival sparks an intergalactic race for power and control, for this being is a Strangewell. Throw in some Tibetan monks, disguised aliens, an FBI agent, kidnappers and the man on the moon and you have a great story.

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel mainly takes place on Earth, where an alien known as The Strangewell arrives looking for his beloved. He links with Anna, a human who helps him during an intergalactic war which resulted after his capture by other aliens. It's a fun read with great art and an uplifting moral.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got it from a used book store because I’m a fan of the Clone Wars, but this book was not as good.

The story involves an alien who looks like Edward Scissorhands coming to Earth and becoming involved in the townspeople’s lives.

If it sounds interesting, it’s not. None of the characters behave in interesting or believable ways and the art is kind of boring with repetitive page layouts, stiff character designs, and backgrounds.

[Wesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a 380 page graphic novel from Dark Horse Comics and was written and drawn by the Fillbach Brothers, Matthew and Shawn. I have read and enjoyed their Roadkill book, also from Dark Horse.

When Anna Gilmour investigates the crash site of an object that falls to Earth, the last thing that she expects to see is a giant, mute, humanoid walking from crater. She names the alien Maxwell and uniquely bonds with it. However, Max is a semi-mythical, powerful being that a lot of alien races want to exploit. The ensuing conflict threaten to consume the Earth and all living beings upon it.

I enjoyed this story but it had a bit of a multiple personality. It started out as a humorous Men in Black/X-files crossover with the Earth populated by many different races all spying on each other waiting for the return of the Strangewell. Then it mutated into an apocalyptic end of the world story as the power of the Strangewell was misappropriated by one delusional member of the alien race to which all accountants belong. Before finally becoming a morality tale on the abuse of power and knowledge. The size of the graphic novel gave the creators time to do this but it did feel like three books at times. Worth a look if you enjoyed Roadkill.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, ok no, the whole thing is really confusing; but you get the hang of it after awhile. So in the beginning its kind of hard to keep track of what is going on, we are introduced to like five or six different alien races, not all of which have names (for example, we are "humans") nor do we know what these species want, are they the good guys, the bad guys? The story boarder line has too many different races, its like when the book has to many characters and not all of them really matter to the plot, but just make it more confusing. The transition of the story is also a little jumpy but it does eventually get the point across. In the ending, it would have been nice to see more of the transition the planet took after everyone (as in the population of the entire planet and whatever was caught in its gravitation field) left "purgatory." But past all that, I closed the book thinking it was a good read, and was a cute little book.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

The combo of art and story makes a real winner here. This is black-and-white and the inking is really standout, especially considering how much more dependent a black-and-white book is on inks to define pretty much everything. The story gets a little muddy towards the end- even undisciplined, as strange things happen without any attempt to fit them into any kind of cohesive dimensional logic. But all's well that ends well, and Strangewell does just that.

[Handd51 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw the authors - artists - yesterday at Houston's Teen Book Con. Tow Montana cowboy brothers who look like twins and finish each other's thoughts. They were such fun I had to start the book in the nonexistent minutes I have this weekend. It is a great read I'm almost halfway through.

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. Kind of lousy, but still a little original.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

entertaining, but not particularly deep

[Carrie Hannigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was entertaining, and a little mind bending at times. Some of the characters seemed to look alike, so it was difficult to differentiate between them visually.

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was laughing almost the whole way through. It is thought provoking and will make you bust out laughing all at the same time. It using swear words in ways I never thought possible!

[Adam Goldberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its very good and its a nice long interesting read. Its well written and solid. If it seems like your cup- go for it.

[Devin · Rating 3 out of 5]

a cute, odd graphic novel

[Nicholas Gourlay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book. Read little like the Hitchhikers Guide.

[Matt Piechocinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final though perfectly encapsulates the entirety if the book.