Duck And Cover

by Scott Snyder, Will Dennis (editor), Marcelo Maiolo (colorist)

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Science Fiction, Fiction

112 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 13, 2024

About the author

Scott Snyder is the Eisner and Harvey Award winning writer on DC Comics Batman, Swamp Thing, and his original series for Vertigo, American Vampire. He is also the author of the short story collection, Voodoo Heart, published by the Dial Press in 2006. The paperback version was published in the summer of 2007.

Reviews

[Anna Quilter · Rating 4 out of 5]

what at first looks like we've seen it before and not very original....turns out not to be true.

nice concept with some interesting concepts..I'd like to see more of.

[Estibaliz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

This graphic novel was such a mixed bag...

I really enjoyed the whole vibe, a mix of 1950s Americana, reminiscent of 'Red Dawn' and the whole post-apocalyptic blast scenario, but the plot tried to include too many different ideas, till the point where they seemed to be in conflict with one another.

Coincidentally, the original series pitch, that is included as a bonus at the end of this volume, was actually pretty different in a lot of aspects, and I'm just here wondering if maybe, although more conventional, that would have been the way to go with this story; instead of just dropping aliens and monsters here and there, making everything kind of both, confused and confusing.

Not here not there in terms of plot, then, but fun enough, even though the characters are quite unidimensional.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the artwork for this, but I didn't think the story they told was as good as the story they originally pitched, which is in the back of the book. I wonder why they included it with no explanation of why things changed.

[Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

[2.4]
A bunch of teenagers get caught in an invasion of some sort and gets rewarded for doing what they learned in school - to DUCK AND COVER.

This has Snyder written all over it, with a pacey action story meshed with backstories and relationships. Occasionally he nails all these aspects and can create great work. None of it works well here though. The action is hasty and confusing, the backstories feel forced, don't connect with the story and ultimately don't matter at all. The relationships feel equally forced and artificial. The dialogues, and the story as a whole, are theatrical. For me it is really difficult to get immersed or care much at all.

Snyder is just going through the motions here, and tries to do so many things at the same time that nothing works well. I'm sure there are people for which this works really well though. If you enjoy stuff like marvel movies, with 10 different characters chiming in with a line or two in every conversation, every character has a forced 30 seconds of relationshipbuilding scattered throughout the story and things that just happen because it seems cool that they happen. If you enjoy that, then this could be great for you. It has good action and various characters, I guess. The art is good for the most part, but also on the theatrical side of things, with extreme expressions and a bit of a cartoony look in the style.

[Nicko · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 stars*

I quite enjoyed this! It’s this nostalgic, teenage coming-of-age sci-fi that blends the genres and elements well, I think. I thought everything felt well mapped out — to the way the characters’ speak to even the “chapter break pages”. It felt like AMERICAN GRAFFITI meets STRANGER THINGS meets THE FACULTY. Rafael’s art is awesome in this — I loved how he switched styles according to what the story was telling. I don’t think anything felt shortchanged — especially if this is an ongoing. I just thought this was warm-hearted, pulpy fun.

[OmniRob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up at my library on a whim just because it was Snyder, and I had never heard of this title. I read the back summary once I got home and was worried that this was just another generic post apocalyptic story. I have to say I was surprised at what the real story became, I don’t want to spoil anything but let’s just say it’s turned out really good! Instantly cared about the group of kids turned heroes. Definitely would recommend this book!!

[Zach Rust · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent, if somewhat underwhelming series. While the main characters are solidly fleshed out, the apocalyptic world they now inhabit feels less so. Snyder does his best to weave all the classic 50s sci-fi tropes into a single cohesive narrative, they ultimately can’t help but feel derivative of better works in the subgenre.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's 1955 and a handful of American teens survive a nuclear attack by following the Duck and Cover instructions from that clip with the turtle - who knew that would actually work? But now they're going to have to come together to make it through the sci-fi horror that comes next. It's a solid start but feels pretty unfinished if this is all we're going to get.

[slauderdale]

Disappointing, more because it wasn't what I wanted than because it wasn't very good (that said, I don't think it was that great, even for what it was.) Straight up, I wanted kids surviving a nuclear attack that never happened in the 1950s. I wasn't really looking for the more fantastical elements. I also would have liked a stronger vibe for the time period.

[Mee Too · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red Dawn and spaced invaders had a baby. It was a super campy story with all the typical nonsense and the typical “inclusive” cast 1 black, 1 asian, 1 gay, 1 latin and a whole 2 women 😂

Omg its nice to see but its like they have an allotted amount that they can use 😂

3⭐️

[Simon Traschinsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sympathetic straight "red dawn" alike story without the outdated over patriotism.
Unfortunately held back by huge gasps in its world building and inner logic and therefore nothing that stays with you too long after finishing

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, that was seriously dumb..,.

[Alex Sarll]

When the bombs drop on 1950s America, a gaggle of US high school misfits hide under their desks like they've been taught - and it works! A brilliant pitch, to which nothing else here really lives up, and even doing each issue in a different drive-in style is compromised by the captions having some outlandish takes on the genres in question - is science fiction, especially in a fifties American cinema context, really about acceptance of the change the Other brings to the status quo? The concluding issue, on the other hand, seems fair in its theories about the Western - but the story feels sod-all like a Western, instead going from Archie-esque Americana into a Mad Max riff. Half-baked in a way that's only become more glaring since I started watching Fallout halfway through the run.