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High Crimes
Disgraced Olympic snowboarder Zan Jensen runs a sideline business as a high-altitude grave robber. When a body is found at the summit of Everest with a treasure of state secrets under its skin, Zan finds herself in the crosshairs of a government hit squad. As she races to the roof of the world, Zan will navigate bullets and avalanches to find salvation in the deadliest place on Earth.
Collecting the critically acclaimed Monkeybrain digital comic The Onion's A.V. Club calls "a high concept executed with precision, delivering real-world intrigue."
Collecting the critically acclaimed Monkeybrain digital comic The Onion's A.V. Club calls "a high concept executed with precision, delivering real-world intrigue."
224 pages, Hardcover
First published March 3, 2015
3 people are currently reading
300 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
September 21, 2015
Ibrahim Moustafa's art is the perfect fit for Sebela's tightly crafted story of murder and intrigue at altitude. This is exactly the type of book I wish there were more of. It's fresh, tense, and not afraid to present characters who feel like real people.
July 17, 2019
Peth to the top of the Mount Everest is covered with bodies of the ones who didn't made it. Some of them may hide secrets... That's pretty interesting outline for the good story. Unfortunatelly, thi is not case of this book. Right after few pages, when top secret black ops organization is brought to play, it's start to get more boring and painfull with every page. Constant flashbacks into past, which breaks up story telling doesn't help either. Till the end ypu aren't sure if this is crime story, spionage thriller or road to enlightment for some junkie. Especially at the end when you learn that it was basically all for nothing...Art is fine, nothing special though, but it suit story, although some pages are little chaotic and you don't know who ia who.
November 15, 2023
High Crimes did something to me you guys! I have never become so engrossed in a book's source material as I did with High Crimes. As I was reading I realized I knew little to nothing about Everest but by the time I finished the book I had this burning desire to learn more about the highest place on Earth. I fell down a rabbit hole and quite honestly I haven't yet emerged. Everest has SUCH a rich history it's nearly impossible not to become engrossed with the mountain.
Now that I'm basically an expert on Mount Everest (lol) I can say that Sebela and Moustafa did their research. In the intro and outro of this book the authors did comment on how engrossed they also became in the mountain and therefore the book is very geographically, biologically and economically correct. Obviously the thriller aspect of the story is imagined but everything that has to do with the mountain and what it takes to climb the mountain is very accurate according to my now also extensive research.
The thriller aspect of the story was entertaining but I am removing a star for the extremely unlikable characters, specifically Zan. You'd think that a character like Zan in a situation like this would end up with some serious redemption but at the end of the day she still had me rolling my eyes.
This is a wordy comic. To me that is not a con, I am a prose reader at my core so when comics have too little dialogue and I'm just blowing through the pages I can start to feel like the book was almost a waste of money (I know, it's not the most sound logic but I'm only human). So, I like a wordier comic, I like being forced to have my eyes on each page longer to read everything. I realize this may not be a positive for everyone but for me it is.
The art in this one wasn't anything special but it was perfectly serviceable. For me, so long as the art isn't bad pretty much anything goes. I'd call the art here somewhere in "standard" for a comic. When you look at pictures and footage of a clear day on Everest its some of the most majestic sights to behold and I imagine it would be extremely hard to capture that majesty in each panel working at a quick pace and not just drawing one real life painting so I'm not saying it's a bad thing, I'm just saying.
I have been telling everyone about High Crimes as it just captured my attention in a way that a comic never has before this. I'm definitely not ready to commit to Everest but I've been looking into some local mountains I can summit that aren't so risky. I've already told my family that if I decide to climb Everest and I die up there to leave my body so it can become a landmark. I'm telling you, this thing has just consumed me. the majority of books don't just completely captivate me this way so I have to give an extra cheers to Sebela and Moustafa for writing this awesome comic.
Now that I'm basically an expert on Mount Everest (lol) I can say that Sebela and Moustafa did their research. In the intro and outro of this book the authors did comment on how engrossed they also became in the mountain and therefore the book is very geographically, biologically and economically correct. Obviously the thriller aspect of the story is imagined but everything that has to do with the mountain and what it takes to climb the mountain is very accurate according to my now also extensive research.
The thriller aspect of the story was entertaining but I am removing a star for the extremely unlikable characters, specifically Zan. You'd think that a character like Zan in a situation like this would end up with some serious redemption but at the end of the day she still had me rolling my eyes.
This is a wordy comic. To me that is not a con, I am a prose reader at my core so when comics have too little dialogue and I'm just blowing through the pages I can start to feel like the book was almost a waste of money (I know, it's not the most sound logic but I'm only human). So, I like a wordier comic, I like being forced to have my eyes on each page longer to read everything. I realize this may not be a positive for everyone but for me it is.
The art in this one wasn't anything special but it was perfectly serviceable. For me, so long as the art isn't bad pretty much anything goes. I'd call the art here somewhere in "standard" for a comic. When you look at pictures and footage of a clear day on Everest its some of the most majestic sights to behold and I imagine it would be extremely hard to capture that majesty in each panel working at a quick pace and not just drawing one real life painting so I'm not saying it's a bad thing, I'm just saying.
I have been telling everyone about High Crimes as it just captured my attention in a way that a comic never has before this. I'm definitely not ready to commit to Everest but I've been looking into some local mountains I can summit that aren't so risky. I've already told my family that if I decide to climb Everest and I die up there to leave my body so it can become a landmark. I'm telling you, this thing has just consumed me. the majority of books don't just completely captivate me this way so I have to give an extra cheers to Sebela and Moustafa for writing this awesome comic.
December 26, 2023
This was a pretty decent thriller. Also, I never ever ever want to climb Everest.
October 24, 2020
This is getting 1 stars because the art is alright.
Christopher Sebela has a knack for writing good for nothing, POS characters as protagonists. Then he tries to get you behind said protagonist while doubling down on what makes the character such a selfish fuck-up.
This is 12 issues of mind numbing inner monologue from the worse humanity has to offer. It’s wordy and bloated and stretches a story that’d be cut in half of Sebela didn’t insist on injecting all that annoying self-pity and self-loathing and general whining in every fucking page.
I hated every minute reading this book, I had to take a month off between issue 7 and 8 and I ended up just skimming through the last 3 issues.
I really regret wasting my time on this.
Christopher Sebela has a knack for writing good for nothing, POS characters as protagonists. Then he tries to get you behind said protagonist while doubling down on what makes the character such a selfish fuck-up.
This is 12 issues of mind numbing inner monologue from the worse humanity has to offer. It’s wordy and bloated and stretches a story that’d be cut in half of Sebela didn’t insist on injecting all that annoying self-pity and self-loathing and general whining in every fucking page.
I hated every minute reading this book, I had to take a month off between issue 7 and 8 and I ended up just skimming through the last 3 issues.
I really regret wasting my time on this.
March 24, 2015
The comic lost me as soon as the bad guy kills his minion for no reason and no one objects. Jesus Christ, with that simple ilogical event the whole authenticity of the world this comic was building so nicely went to hell. 1/5, waste of paper.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2019
I love the concept here but it was WAY to long winded. I just couldn't get into the characters or their personal demons (Which were many.) I enjoyed the art but didn't love it. Overall...didn't work for me. But I'll check out more Sebela work!
October 10, 2019
High Crime is a pleasant surprise which I enjoyed. The untraditional setting at Mount Everest and it's related businesses brings a very fresh environment to play some "secret agents" games. Author, even if his experience is "armchair enthusiast" can deliver a very believable experience of extreme mountain climbing and all things around it. And add an extra essay to each issue full with additional information. For all together I must say the setting is crafted perfectly. And the story is good too, maybe great. It's a classic scheme of pariahs/outcast accidentally mixing in things bigger than them. But it's good, thrilling and nicely written. The art is nice too, decent and works well for the comics. Only thing, which eventually annoyed me was inner monologues of Zan. Most of them felt unnecessary and eventually became repetitive and boring. The same for fragments of Mars diary. They were at least interesting at the beginning, but they became "too much" and just describing what we already deduced. That was sometime painfully boring and I felt it was like "I need to bring some text on pages, I can't have few pages without any text!". Yes, you can.
Besides that minor bump, it is great comics with the original setting.
Besides that minor bump, it is great comics with the original setting.
July 24, 2015
I was so absorbed into this book, I couldn't take my eyes of the pages at any moment. I swear, anyone who would have distracted me from reading such a prodigious storyline, plot, and dialogue-driven masterpiece might have received a throat punch to the jugular. The creators deserve a thunderous applause of exuberant sensation.
March 12, 2018
High Crimes was not terrible. In fact, it had the seeds of being a "good" story. Sadly, the silliness of some aspects of the story ruin it. First the gist- Zan Jensen, a disgraced US Olympic Snowboarder, has settled in Kathmandu as a Sherpa. When a body is found on the summit to Everest it turns into a massive conspiracy to reach the frozen corpse. Zan battles evil governmental types to get to the body and still survive. For some background we have the Himalayan mountains.
While the premise sounds good, it is the actual production that is trite and make little sense. Firstly the character of Zan. It's not clear if her drug use began before or after her fall. If before, then I find it hard to believe since doping on US Olympic squads is VERY hard to get away with. Yet it must have been since she implies her life was ruined after her fall. But since it is vague, there is the idea that her fall ruined her life and she was ostracized. Why? Unless she was on drugs, it makes little sense.
The oft caricatured CIA types are truly dumb and annoying. I knew it would be shitty when in the first few pages one of the Agents asked why the plan changed and the "head guy" shoots him. *sighs* I know to liberals few things are as horrible as the US military and the Intelligence agencies. For people who climb into bed with communists, marxists, socialists, and Islamic terrorists their "true face of evil" is the American military and the CIA. Yep. Exactly what I think of when I think of my fellow Marines and Agency boys. We are all just a bunch a psychotic killers. Yep. Unlike peaceful communists, marxists, socialists and Islamic terrorists. Yep.
So it is rather obvious why this irritatingly trite collection of "evil people" was a real turn off. The worst part? They (the "evil" Agency psychos) are borderline incompetent. So in light of this trite "plot" I give this a 2 star rating. There is some good here and had the author focused on a recovery mission in Everest led by a druggie ex-snowboarding Sherpa then this had true potential. But the use of every liberal's boogeyman shows a disappointing lack of creative ability.
While the premise sounds good, it is the actual production that is trite and make little sense. Firstly the character of Zan. It's not clear if her drug use began before or after her fall. If before, then I find it hard to believe since doping on US Olympic squads is VERY hard to get away with. Yet it must have been since she implies her life was ruined after her fall. But since it is vague, there is the idea that her fall ruined her life and she was ostracized. Why? Unless she was on drugs, it makes little sense.
The oft caricatured CIA types are truly dumb and annoying. I knew it would be shitty when in the first few pages one of the Agents asked why the plan changed and the "head guy" shoots him. *sighs* I know to liberals few things are as horrible as the US military and the Intelligence agencies. For people who climb into bed with communists, marxists, socialists, and Islamic terrorists their "true face of evil" is the American military and the CIA. Yep. Exactly what I think of when I think of my fellow Marines and Agency boys. We are all just a bunch a psychotic killers. Yep. Unlike peaceful communists, marxists, socialists and Islamic terrorists. Yep.
So it is rather obvious why this irritatingly trite collection of "evil people" was a real turn off. The worst part? They (the "evil" Agency psychos) are borderline incompetent. So in light of this trite "plot" I give this a 2 star rating. There is some good here and had the author focused on a recovery mission in Everest led by a druggie ex-snowboarding Sherpa then this had true potential. But the use of every liberal's boogeyman shows a disappointing lack of creative ability.
June 28, 2019
Mrazivý, z půlky horolezecký, thriller. A to nejenom teplotou.
Přijde mi to jako až poněkud zvláštní kombinace - horolezecké drama a akční thriller - zvlášť když to druhé nevychází ze samotného lezení na Mount Everest, ale z faktu, že hlavní hrdinka se tu utkává s partou vládních zabijáků, kteří se neštítí ničeho.
Ono těch hlavních postav je tu vlastně několik. Jednak tu máme Zan, ex-olympijskou závodnici na snowboardu, která se se svou drogovou závislostí ani nesnaží bojovat a která si vydělává tím, že pomáhá člověku, který na Mount Everestu hledá mrtvoly a pak jejich rodinám píše o peníze. Dokud jednoho dne nenajde mrtvolu, která měla raději zůstat nenalezena. Tím někým je ex-tajný agent, kterého sledujeme skrz jeho deníkové poznámky, které Zan pročítá. A sama Mount Everest je tu zmiňována tolikrát (a v ženském rodě), že je to vlastně jedna z hlavních hrdinek také. A docela bezcitná nutno říct.
Příběhu za mě hodně pomáhá budování atmosféry a hlavně dávkování informací. Každý tu má svoje lži, které nutně jednou musí vyjít na povrch a jejich postupné odkrývání a změny v tom, jak se na koho díváte jsem si užíval. Co mu naopak škodí je délka a určitě by nějaké to učesání pomohlo. Nemluvě o jednom nebo dvou až zbytečně naivních zvratech. A se Zan to taky máte těžké. Kdo dobře nezná mentalitu jí podobných lidí, tak asi některé věci moc nepochopí, ale jak je mi to bližší, tak musím Sebelu pochválit, jak dobře to zachytil. Většina lidí jako ona má nějaký ten svůj očistný Everest, ten bod, kolem kterého se všechno otočí a zase bude v pořádku. Nebo tomu aspoň věří.
Kresba tu příběh krásně doplňuje a nebojí se i drsnějších scén, což tu bylo občas potřeba, takže nemám, co bych ji vytkl.
A protože jsem starý přimhuřovač očí, tak zůstanu u čtvrté, docela sedřené, hvězdy.
Mohlo by se vám líbit, pokud:
- máte rádi horolezecká dramata a přijde vám jako zajímavý nápad okořenit jedno partou zabijáckých agentů
Spíš vás zklame, pokud:
- nemáte rádi, když se příběh zbytečně táhne jenom aby trochu dokreslil atmosféru
- máte radši v hlavních roli někoho, koho si příliš snadno neznelíbíte
Přijde mi to jako až poněkud zvláštní kombinace - horolezecké drama a akční thriller - zvlášť když to druhé nevychází ze samotného lezení na Mount Everest, ale z faktu, že hlavní hrdinka se tu utkává s partou vládních zabijáků, kteří se neštítí ničeho.
Ono těch hlavních postav je tu vlastně několik. Jednak tu máme Zan, ex-olympijskou závodnici na snowboardu, která se se svou drogovou závislostí ani nesnaží bojovat a která si vydělává tím, že pomáhá člověku, který na Mount Everestu hledá mrtvoly a pak jejich rodinám píše o peníze. Dokud jednoho dne nenajde mrtvolu, která měla raději zůstat nenalezena. Tím někým je ex-tajný agent, kterého sledujeme skrz jeho deníkové poznámky, které Zan pročítá. A sama Mount Everest je tu zmiňována tolikrát (a v ženském rodě), že je to vlastně jedna z hlavních hrdinek také. A docela bezcitná nutno říct.
Příběhu za mě hodně pomáhá budování atmosféry a hlavně dávkování informací. Každý tu má svoje lži, které nutně jednou musí vyjít na povrch a jejich postupné odkrývání a změny v tom, jak se na koho díváte jsem si užíval. Co mu naopak škodí je délka a určitě by nějaké to učesání pomohlo. Nemluvě o jednom nebo dvou až zbytečně naivních zvratech. A se Zan to taky máte těžké. Kdo dobře nezná mentalitu jí podobných lidí, tak asi některé věci moc nepochopí, ale jak je mi to bližší, tak musím Sebelu pochválit, jak dobře to zachytil. Většina lidí jako ona má nějaký ten svůj očistný Everest, ten bod, kolem kterého se všechno otočí a zase bude v pořádku. Nebo tomu aspoň věří.
Kresba tu příběh krásně doplňuje a nebojí se i drsnějších scén, což tu bylo občas potřeba, takže nemám, co bych ji vytkl.
A protože jsem starý přimhuřovač očí, tak zůstanu u čtvrté, docela sedřené, hvězdy.
Mohlo by se vám líbit, pokud:
- máte rádi horolezecká dramata a přijde vám jako zajímavý nápad okořenit jedno partou zabijáckých agentů
Spíš vás zklame, pokud:
- nemáte rádi, když se příběh zbytečně táhne jenom aby trochu dokreslil atmosféru
- máte radši v hlavních roli někoho, koho si příliš snadno neznelíbíte
April 30, 2021
AUGH!
The premise is really intriguing, but the characters...look, when the main thrust of your story is people climbing up Everest, mostly in isolation, there's not a lot of opportunity for dialogue.
HOWEVER. That doesn't mean you need to fill your panels with endless, repetitive monologues about morality and redemption and escape and blah blah blah blah blah. WE GET IT.
The other problem is that these monologues are just so GENERAL. Like, we SEE Zan's past and we see Mar's past and learn why they're trying to escape. We get this general idea of what happened, but the details? Like, what happened to Mars that made him want to quit? I know his microfilm is the MacGuffin that gets the plot rolling and doesn't really matter, but when the rest of the plot is climb, shoot, monologue, repeat, then....what else ya got?
There's also something to be said for the lack of character development. Obviously, characters who go through such an ordeal as this are changed coming out the other side. And there's something to be said for Zan's stubbornness, and that the lack of change in her is a more realistic depiction of how people are.
BUT. It's just the same repetitive monologue over and over and over again. She and her traveling companion, I swear, have the same conversation THREE DIFFERENT TIMES about how she's not telling the truth, how she needs to respect Everest, so on. AND NOTHING HAPPENS. She keeps swearing and disrespecting Everest and lying to herself and others and it's just....more realistic or not, it doesn't make for compelling reading.
That, and the characters are cartoonishly evil. Like, they're just cannon fodder. And when they do make threats, you don't believe it, because there's this vague notion that they can't do anything yet because they need Zan or Haskell or whatever in order to reach Mars. So, that sense of immediate danger is just GONE. No risk, not yet. Just more climbing and monologuing.
UGH.
The premise is really intriguing, but the characters...look, when the main thrust of your story is people climbing up Everest, mostly in isolation, there's not a lot of opportunity for dialogue.
HOWEVER. That doesn't mean you need to fill your panels with endless, repetitive monologues about morality and redemption and escape and blah blah blah blah blah. WE GET IT.
The other problem is that these monologues are just so GENERAL. Like, we SEE Zan's past and we see Mar's past and learn why they're trying to escape. We get this general idea of what happened, but the details? Like, what happened to Mars that made him want to quit? I know his microfilm is the MacGuffin that gets the plot rolling and doesn't really matter, but when the rest of the plot is climb, shoot, monologue, repeat, then....what else ya got?
There's also something to be said for the lack of character development. Obviously, characters who go through such an ordeal as this are changed coming out the other side. And there's something to be said for Zan's stubbornness, and that the lack of change in her is a more realistic depiction of how people are.
BUT. It's just the same repetitive monologue over and over and over again. She and her traveling companion, I swear, have the same conversation THREE DIFFERENT TIMES about how she's not telling the truth, how she needs to respect Everest, so on. AND NOTHING HAPPENS. She keeps swearing and disrespecting Everest and lying to herself and others and it's just....more realistic or not, it doesn't make for compelling reading.
That, and the characters are cartoonishly evil. Like, they're just cannon fodder. And when they do make threats, you don't believe it, because there's this vague notion that they can't do anything yet because they need Zan or Haskell or whatever in order to reach Mars. So, that sense of immediate danger is just GONE. No risk, not yet. Just more climbing and monologuing.
UGH.
May 5, 2020
This graphic novel has a hell of a premise and certainly one I’d never read before: two people who find dead climbers on Everest, chop off their hands to identify the person, then offer the person’s family a chance to get their loved one’s body back–for a fee of course. This is a crime thriller so, naturally, something goes wrong. The wrong just happens to be that a body they identify is from a secret agency and that agency is coming for the body and the retrievers. The cat and mouse game takes place mostly up Everest while you get flashbacks of the dead agent, slowly revealing more about the agency, and Zan Jensen, one of the “grave robbers”, who happens to be a disgraced Olympic snowboarder with a lot of baggage and demons that she’s kind of working through but definitely full-on struggling with.
I love graphic novels and find that even when I’m struggling to read ebooks/print I can always read a graphic novel. Plus, you get human and environmental dangers if you’re looking to get out of your head and your living quarters for a while.
(TW torture/ addiction, overdose/ suicide, including thoughts, details)
--from Book Riot's Unusual Suspects newsletter: https://link.bookriot.com/view/56a820...
I love graphic novels and find that even when I’m struggling to read ebooks/print I can always read a graphic novel. Plus, you get human and environmental dangers if you’re looking to get out of your head and your living quarters for a while.
(TW torture/ addiction, overdose/ suicide, including thoughts, details)
--from Book Riot's Unusual Suspects newsletter: https://link.bookriot.com/view/56a820...
January 8, 2022
This is a rather interesting thriller up in the mountains and deep in the mind of a rather murderous black ops agent.
Somewhere along the way the narrative becomes a bit repetitive but still interesting enough to keep one reading up till the end.
And the ending is a bit disappointing, really. The 4-stars are because of that.
After all the conflict, struggle and effort by the characters, the ending is somewhat "open ended" and some really-important-details are left floating in the air.
The narrative is interesting enough, with a *heavy* dose of introspection, but you'll notice that some secondary characters are a bit "shallow".
Anyway, read this if you like adventure-action-spy stories. You'll probably enjoy it.
Somewhere along the way the narrative becomes a bit repetitive but still interesting enough to keep one reading up till the end.
And the ending is a bit disappointing, really. The 4-stars are because of that.
After all the conflict, struggle and effort by the characters, the ending is somewhat "open ended" and some really-important-details are left floating in the air.
The narrative is interesting enough, with a *heavy* dose of introspection, but you'll notice that some secondary characters are a bit "shallow".
Anyway, read this if you like adventure-action-spy stories. You'll probably enjoy it.
May 17, 2020
The concept for this was outstanding. A murder while climbing Everest? Just take my money! The story ended up being something much more complicated with brainwashed secret agents and international espionage. While it certainly had moments that were as exciting as I was anticipating the plot became very confusing. I was expecting dark but this was really depressing. The art and colouring were fine but nothing spectacular. I feel like the opportunity for some really beautiful scenic artwork was overlooked. This series had great potential but fell a bit short for me.
July 22, 2019
No time for longer reviews so -
1) amazing art
2) one of the best Sebela's work
3) long, lot of narration (I like that)
4) first issues were great but I found the other ones more interesting, especially Zan-agent-Zan-agent parts
1) amazing art
2) one of the best Sebela's work
3) long, lot of narration (I like that)
4) first issues were great but I found the other ones more interesting, especially Zan-agent-Zan-agent parts
November 25, 2018
Went on way too long. Felt almost like the author was doing an intense personal therapy.
February 19, 2019
Mountains are compelling settings — they not only set up challenges to climb up, but they are often used for thriller-based narratives as seen through movies such as The Eiger Sanction and Cliffhanger. Certainly, the Earth’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, is the backdrop of many stories in both fact and fiction, including the latest Image title from Christopher Sebela and Ibrahim Moustafa, in which the mountain is a place where death can come in sudden and unexpected ways.
Please click here for my full review.
Please click here for my full review.
November 5, 2015
What a phenomenal read... absolutely random pick-up, but once I saw the introduction by Rucka, I had to read it. Reminds me of some of the best from Brubaker and Philips.
A story about obsession and the unattainable thirst for something monumental. The idea of... something, far off. The art was fantastic, really made use of the medium and could not be told as thoroughly in print.
A story about obsession and the unattainable thirst for something monumental. The idea of... something, far off. The art was fantastic, really made use of the medium and could not be told as thoroughly in print.
April 6, 2019
Finally done with this. I had high hopes (pun intended) but it just didn’t worked for me.
The main character, disgraced olympic snowboarder Zan is just annoying and I really tried to understand her motives and actions but with no luck.
The premise is really interesting but I felt like everything interesting happend in first two issues or so and rest of the book is just a drag.
The main character, disgraced olympic snowboarder Zan is just annoying and I really tried to understand her motives and actions but with no luck.
The premise is really interesting but I felt like everything interesting happend in first two issues or so and rest of the book is just a drag.
August 18, 2015
High Crimes is noir at its heart, but it is also a fascinating window into people who climb Everest and the tremendous toll it takes upon them both physically, mentally and emotionally. The art and production is an amazing fit for this story. A top notch piece of work.
August 26, 2016
A really original premise, a very strong lead character and the art gets better by the issue. As an added bonus, the book is only $20 (but you can get it for around $13 online), with great paper and superb binding.
August 2, 2015
Getting through this book was harder than climbing Mt. Everest.
May 24, 2019
So this sounded interesting and the graphic were nice. But like some of the other comments it took longer to finish this, then to climb Everest. On top of I lost interest all together.
Zan is a disgraced snowboarder who likes to stay drugged up. To make a living Zan and father figure (insert his name here cause I forgot...) are grave robbers. Who take hands off of the deceased so that families have proof and if a family is willing pay a high sum for Zan and her partner to bring the bodies down. All is fine and dandy until the body of a one Mr. ......... (yes I forgot his name too, might be my lack of oxygen...) is identified. Thus catching the eye of some sort of CIA-ish operative group (that apparently doesn't care that one of their own gets shot for asking a question about a mission...). The group will stop at nothing to locate the body. Then a game of cat and mouse begins. Its all really rather dull and long. All of the character have so many deep problems that they never want to deal with. All are obsessed with dying and trying to "save" the other.
This was definitely not a fun read.
Zan is a disgraced snowboarder who likes to stay drugged up. To make a living Zan and father figure (insert his name here cause I forgot...) are grave robbers. Who take hands off of the deceased so that families have proof and if a family is willing pay a high sum for Zan and her partner to bring the bodies down. All is fine and dandy until the body of a one Mr. ......... (yes I forgot his name too, might be my lack of oxygen...) is identified. Thus catching the eye of some sort of CIA-ish operative group (that apparently doesn't care that one of their own gets shot for asking a question about a mission...). The group will stop at nothing to locate the body. Then a game of cat and mouse begins. Its all really rather dull and long. All of the character have so many deep problems that they never want to deal with. All are obsessed with dying and trying to "save" the other.
This was definitely not a fun read.
June 1, 2024
High Crimes, Christopher Sebela, Ibrahim Moustafa
A multi-layered story that converges on Mount Everest. Intense. ****
#1 - “More climbers, more amateurs, more bodies left unclaimed on all those peaks.”
#2 - “I’m alive. All I have to do is STAY that way.”
#3 - “Where is Sullivan Mars?” “I don’t know.”
#4 - “Maybe it’s the thinning air or the adrenaline terror of the last few days, constantly running. Maybe I just forgot what dreams felt like.”
#5 - “Whole new leaf. I used to tell myself that when I fixed myself, I’d climb to the roof of the world.”
#6 - “First rule: Always check what direction you’re digging.”
#7 - “There’s you when you’re born. There’s you when you die. And in between, you accumulate things.”
#8 - “The first time I handled a dead body, I shook like a leaf. Climbing, you get used to seeing them.”
#9 - “I don’t think I’m going insane. Not anymore.”
#10 - “He hasn��t breathed in a minute. His jaw is tense, locked shut, like trying to open a rusted wood stove.”
#11- “All you have left is the journey.”
#12 - “No more second thoughts. No more wishing.”
Bonus Feature - ‘Strange Truths’ - “He’d become immortal.”
A multi-layered story that converges on Mount Everest. Intense. ****
#1 - “More climbers, more amateurs, more bodies left unclaimed on all those peaks.”
#2 - “I’m alive. All I have to do is STAY that way.”
#3 - “Where is Sullivan Mars?” “I don’t know.”
#4 - “Maybe it’s the thinning air or the adrenaline terror of the last few days, constantly running. Maybe I just forgot what dreams felt like.”
#5 - “Whole new leaf. I used to tell myself that when I fixed myself, I’d climb to the roof of the world.”
#6 - “First rule: Always check what direction you’re digging.”
#7 - “There’s you when you’re born. There’s you when you die. And in between, you accumulate things.”
#8 - “The first time I handled a dead body, I shook like a leaf. Climbing, you get used to seeing them.”
#9 - “I don’t think I’m going insane. Not anymore.”
#10 - “He hasn��t breathed in a minute. His jaw is tense, locked shut, like trying to open a rusted wood stove.”
#11- “All you have left is the journey.”
#12 - “No more second thoughts. No more wishing.”
Bonus Feature - ‘Strange Truths’ - “He’d become immortal.”
June 5, 2018
Zan Jensen, a disgraced former Olympic snowboarder, has moved to Kathmandu to escape her past life and now works with another American as a "recovery specialist" of sorts. The two regularly ascend Mount Everest to find lost bodies and cut off their hands to help identify them. Then, upon positive identification, they offer recovery services to the next of kin. However, when one of their bodies turns up as flagged by the CIA, all hell breaks loose.
When this 12-issue story came out a handful of years ago, I read the first 9, day and date, and loved them. However, issues came out further and further between and I got frustrated and gave up. I’m not sure why, but I picked back up those 9 late last month and started to read them again. About halfway through, I knew I was hooked again and went and bought the last three.
They did not let me down at all. It’s such an amazing story. I highly recommend it.
When this 12-issue story came out a handful of years ago, I read the first 9, day and date, and loved them. However, issues came out further and further between and I got frustrated and gave up. I’m not sure why, but I picked back up those 9 late last month and started to read them again. About halfway through, I knew I was hooked again and went and bought the last three.
They did not let me down at all. It’s such an amazing story. I highly recommend it.
August 29, 2020
The promo blurb for this proved far more compelling than the book itself. An Olympic snowboarder who trashed her last run and then lost her medals for doping ends up a drug-addicted washout in Nepal, where she robs the bodies of climbers who died on Mount Everest. One of the bodies turns out to be a super-spy who died up there years before and now a hit squad of other super spies come looking for the secret plans the guy had on him when he died on the mountain. It should be interesting and cool, but it just comes off as really dumb and pointless. There's some hand-wavy stuff about why to climb the mountain, and our protagonist's journey to self-awareness, but none of it really feels authentic and ultimately you end up caring about nobody in this entire thing, which makes the book way easier to put down that it should have been. This was a cool premise. Too bad its oxygen tanks ran dry during the first chapter.
January 30, 2019
DNF at 50%.
Oh, this could have been something. Two climbers near the top of Everest are stealing the hands off corpses, to softly blackmail the relatives for the return of the rest of the body. Well, it leaves the place cleaner. But when one of the corpses has a secret, and other people seem to want the lives of those that found him, it's up to the woman of the pair to summit and work out the truth – and save herself, if possible. That sounds brilliant, but it's just a yack-fest, with two wordy monologues intercutting while she drags her sherpa up the mountain, and you quickly lose track of who's who and who wants what. The landscape art is fine, but characters just run into each other, and you soon lose the will to care. The second half might pick up, but reviews suggested otherwise. A shame.
Oh, this could have been something. Two climbers near the top of Everest are stealing the hands off corpses, to softly blackmail the relatives for the return of the rest of the body. Well, it leaves the place cleaner. But when one of the corpses has a secret, and other people seem to want the lives of those that found him, it's up to the woman of the pair to summit and work out the truth – and save herself, if possible. That sounds brilliant, but it's just a yack-fest, with two wordy monologues intercutting while she drags her sherpa up the mountain, and you quickly lose track of who's who and who wants what. The landscape art is fine, but characters just run into each other, and you soon lose the will to care. The second half might pick up, but reviews suggested otherwise. A shame.
September 10, 2017
My first foray into graphic novels, picked up at random from the library. Took a little to get used reading the different format, but there was absolutely beautiful artwork (the mountain scene on pg 73 for instance--kept flipping back to admire that one) and an interesting storyline involving shadowy agents who are out to retrieve a dead agent from the summit of Everest at the cost of anyone and everyone they come across along the way. The repeated emphasis on the brokenness of the main character, Zan, got a little old though. A worthwhile read if you are into graphic novels and have a thing for spy-ish sort of storyline. I will definitely be looking into more crime-fiction graphic novels for future reading.
September 10, 2020
This is a story based on a great idea that somehow never fully blossoms into something it promises. The ideas behind it are sound as is the great pairing of writer-artist. Where the problem lies is with the antagonists being just a few goons that are neither distinguishable from one another nor really all that menacing. Also the main focus of the story becomes really diluted in time - the story (I think) is supposed to be about redemption and it is not that well fleshed out in the end. It's a shame, as the setting, the art, the mood and the main character are gold medal worthy. Unfortunately it finishes just behind the podium.
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