A Hero's Death

by Ricardo Sanchez

From industry legend Mark Texeira (Ghost Rider, Punisher, Moon Knight) and writer Ricardo Sanchez (Resident Evil, Legends of the Dark Knight, Teen Titans GO!) comes a story about our collective need for hope, optimism, and heroes. The Hero died 20 years ago but her death still haunts one young reporter. Now, on the anniversary of her death, the reporter digs in to find the truth about what really happened. This special edition from IDW collects the fully painted graphic novel by Texeira and Sanchez, "Kill your Heroes," an illustrated short story based on the character, art gallery, and the original short story the graphic novel was based on.

Genres: Graphic Novels

106 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 22, 2015

About the author

Ricardo Sanchez is a writer, poet, Emmy winning creator, and executive producer. Elvis Sightings, the first book in his Elvis Sightings Mystery series, was released in September, 2014. Bigfoot Blues, the sequel, came out in May, 2015. His comic book credits include Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Resident Evil, RIFT: Telara Chronicles, and many others. His short story, Death and Life of the Hero, was a successfully kickstarted graphic novel. When he's not writing , Ricardo maintains a vintage toy blog, drives 70's muscle cars, and shops year round for Halloween decorations for his home in California.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most beautifully illustrated graphic novels i've ever read. Ironically the short stories in the back w/out art prevent this from being a perfect story.

[Jonathan Lee B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Hero’s Death is double dessert.

[Niche · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sappy and cliché, but enjoyable

Half comic and half a collection of related novellas, it tells the story of a fallen superhero. It wasn't exactly original and would probably be considered sappy or saccharine, but I still enjoyed it. The novellas which are a prequel, sequel, and a previous version with a male hero were rather dull.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bittersweet

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit: I preferred the short story to the actual graphic novel. It just seemed more solid, filled with details, and it had a weight to it.

The comic itself was all right and the artwork had a Golden Age vintage aesthetic to it that I liked, but you could tell that the adaptation process from the original short story to the comic wasn't a smooth one. There was at least one place where the Hero's gender pronouns weren't changed from the short story.

Then there is the bonus short story. I really liked how it was an illustrated story in contrast to the main comics work, but sometimes it felt like it didn't know whether it was a superhero narrative, something speckled with aspects of history, or an epic high fantasy story straight out of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. The addition of "mages" and "clerics" at the beginning took me out of immersion, even though I know what the author was trying to get at. I mean, Conan the Barbarian and other Sword and Sorcery stories of the Pulp area were supposed to be part of our prehistory after all: or so the conceit goes.

But it was also good fun and it reminds me of a superhero series I thought about making. It does make wonder though ... just what happened to that sword ...

[Moti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set twenty years after the city's savior's had disappeared , "A Hero's Death" depicts an interview with the last person who had seen her in action.

Short as it is, it explores themes such as gratitude, trauma, belief and regret.

"A Hero's Death" is a recommended for anyone looking for a story which offers a unique angle on heroism and heroes.