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The Bunker #1-4
The Bunker Vol. 1: Square One Edition
Get the first volume of the critically-acclaimed series for just $10! On their way to bury a time capsule, five friends—Grady, Heidi, Natasha, Daniel, and Billy—uncover a metal bunker buried deep in the woods. Inside, they find letters addressed to each of them... from their future selves. Told they will destroy the world in the very near future, the friends find themselves, over the next few days, growing further and further apart. Though they've been warned against making the wrong choices, how do they know what the right ones are? Can the future really be changed, or will an even darker fate engulf the world?
136 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 2014
13 people are currently reading
450 people want to read
About the author
Joshua Hale Fialkov
444 books141 followersJoshua Hale Fialkov is the creator (or co-creator, depending) of graphic novels, including the Harvey Nominated Elk’s Run, the Harvey and Eisner nominated Tumor, Punks the Comic, and the Harvey Nominated Echoes.
He has written Alibi and Cyblade for Top Cow, Superman/Batman for DC Comics, Rampaging Wolverine for Marvel, and Friday the 13th for Wildstorm. He’s writing the DC relaunch of I,Vampire, as well as debuting the new Marvel character The Monkey King. This fall sees the launch of The Last of the Greats from Image Comics with artist Brent Peeples.
He also served as a writer on the Emmy Award Nominated animated film Afro Samurai: Resurrection, and as Executive Producer of the cult hit LG15: The Resistance web series.
Elk’s Run, Tumor, and Alibi are all currently in development as feature films. He has written comics for companies including Marvel, Wildstorm, IDW, Dark Horse, Image, Tor Books, Seven Seas Entertainment, Del Rey, Random House, Dabel Brothers Productions, and St. Martin’s Press. He has done video game work for THQ, Midway Entertainment, and Gore Verbinski’s Blind Wink Productions. He also wrote a Sci-Fi Channel movie starring Isabella Rossellini and Judd Nelson. Unfortunately, at no point in the film does Judd Nelson punch the sky and freeze frame. Joshua grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, went to college in Boston, where he got a BFA in writing and directing for the stage and screen, and then worked in the New England film industry, until finally deciding to move to Los Angeles to do it properly. He lives with his wife, Christina, daughter, Gable, and their cats, Smokey and the Bandit.
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/joshfialkov
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/joshuahalefia...
Photograph by Heidi Ryder Photography
He has written Alibi and Cyblade for Top Cow, Superman/Batman for DC Comics, Rampaging Wolverine for Marvel, and Friday the 13th for Wildstorm. He’s writing the DC relaunch of I,Vampire, as well as debuting the new Marvel character The Monkey King. This fall sees the launch of The Last of the Greats from Image Comics with artist Brent Peeples.
He also served as a writer on the Emmy Award Nominated animated film Afro Samurai: Resurrection, and as Executive Producer of the cult hit LG15: The Resistance web series.
Elk’s Run, Tumor, and Alibi are all currently in development as feature films. He has written comics for companies including Marvel, Wildstorm, IDW, Dark Horse, Image, Tor Books, Seven Seas Entertainment, Del Rey, Random House, Dabel Brothers Productions, and St. Martin’s Press. He has done video game work for THQ, Midway Entertainment, and Gore Verbinski’s Blind Wink Productions. He also wrote a Sci-Fi Channel movie starring Isabella Rossellini and Judd Nelson. Unfortunately, at no point in the film does Judd Nelson punch the sky and freeze frame. Joshua grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, went to college in Boston, where he got a BFA in writing and directing for the stage and screen, and then worked in the New England film industry, until finally deciding to move to Los Angeles to do it properly. He lives with his wife, Christina, daughter, Gable, and their cats, Smokey and the Bandit.
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/joshfialkov
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/joshuahalefia...
Photograph by Heidi Ryder Photography
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
October 10, 2014
Five poorly drawn friends (Three men – one’s fat, one wears glasses, one is neither fat or wears glasses. Two women – One wears glasses the other one doesn’t) want to bury a time capsule in the woods. When they start digging, they find a bomb shelter from the FUTURE (as you read that, make echo-y sounds in your head)! The lid to the shelter has four out of five of their names. Inside the bunker they find letters that they have written to themselves, warning that if they continue on their current paths, they’ll kill most of the people on Earth. This is where the mind games begin. Key information gets withheld. Letters are hidden. Moral ambiguity rears its nasty head. The story bounces back between the past, present and FUTURE (echo-y).
One of the moral set pieces is pretty interesting, but the whole mish mash will leave you with a shallow reader headache from trying to keep all of this straight. The art is sketchy. Literally. If I could do the gif thing, I’d show you and you’d be laughing out loud at my attempt at being clever. Or not.
Not recommended FUTURE (echo-y) reading for anyone.
Read this review and more at:
One of the moral set pieces is pretty interesting, but the whole mish mash will leave you with a shallow reader headache from trying to keep all of this straight. The art is sketchy. Literally. If I could do the gif thing, I’d show you and you’d be laughing out loud at my attempt at being clever. Or not.
Not recommended FUTURE (echo-y) reading for anyone.
Read this review and more at:
October 3, 2019
Five friends uncover a bunker while burying a time capsule. Inside, they find letters addressed to them written by their future selves listing intimate secrets they have never told anyone. The letters explain how they will destroy the world in the future and how to stop it. Except one person's letter explains instead how to ensure everything happens.
It's a very cool premise brought down by some sometimes terrible art. It's often hard to tell who is who or sometimes even what time period it is. The art is just too abstract for me. Think Dave McKean or Ted McKeever. The art makes it a good story, instead of what could have been a great story.
It's a very cool premise brought down by some sometimes terrible art. It's often hard to tell who is who or sometimes even what time period it is. The art is just too abstract for me. Think Dave McKean or Ted McKeever. The art makes it a good story, instead of what could have been a great story.
December 20, 2015
Five friends decide to bury a time capsule; instead, they found a bunker from the future that warns them all that they are responsible for the end of the world as they know.
Sounds interesting? Yes, but the problem is that the artwork in this graphic novel is hideous. Seriously, this is probably something of the worst I've seen through the years.
And to make the matter worse, the font in the first issue is almost impossible to read. Very, very small cursive style. Not my favorite font to read when I read a graphic novel.
The story isn't that good either, mostly because they characters are swine that bicker and turn on each other once the truth is revealed. Sure, it's hard to accept that you are responsible for the world turning to s***. But here they are sitting on the knowledge about what will happen which means they can stop it. Instead, they argue and alienate each other. They are so unlikable that it was a struggle for me to finish reading. Btw it ends with a cliffhanger…meh!
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!
Sounds interesting? Yes, but the problem is that the artwork in this graphic novel is hideous. Seriously, this is probably something of the worst I've seen through the years.
And to make the matter worse, the font in the first issue is almost impossible to read. Very, very small cursive style. Not my favorite font to read when I read a graphic novel.
The story isn't that good either, mostly because they characters are swine that bicker and turn on each other once the truth is revealed. Sure, it's hard to accept that you are responsible for the world turning to s***. But here they are sitting on the knowledge about what will happen which means they can stop it. Instead, they argue and alienate each other. They are so unlikable that it was a struggle for me to finish reading. Btw it ends with a cliffhanger…meh!
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!
August 27, 2015
3.5 stars.
This is getting some pretty wonky reviews.
I, for the most part, quite enjoyed it. I dug the scratchy art that a lot of people claim as being ugly, I dug the disjointed storyline and jumping between the past, present, and future.
I guess I just simply enjoyed the whole thing. It read easily enough, there was no confusion (why some people couldn't keep track of the story is beyond me), and the end of each issue made me want to immediately jump into the next one. It's a pretty intriguing concept - and I genuinely feel invested enough to want to find out what these fuck up's do to try and avoid the mistakes their future selves are warning them about.
No, this comic isn't going to change the medium of story-telling forever, but I really don't think it's deserving of a lot of the harsh reviews it's getting here on Goodreads either.
To each their own, I suppose.
July 2, 2023
3,5*
Quite an interesting start. Time travel (unexplained so far), huge moral dilemnas (mass extinction or not?) and tortured/ambiguous characters.
The plot starts real quick and is tight and well handled so far with the requisite switches in time. The problem would be they’re not visually very distinctive so you need a bit of attention not to get lost.
The characters are not developped enough to feel real empathy for them but it seems they all have potential to be multi-layered and interesting if not necessarily likable. Heidi is the most elaborated for now.
I see Joe Infurnari’s art is often criticized in reviews. I understand its scratchy aspect can be divisive but it doesn’t deserve so much loathing. Infurnari obviously can draw and tell a story. His weak point would be character designs: them being so sketchy is a hindrance to recognize them at times, particularly when switching time periods.
That being said I’m interested enough to want to get on with next volume.
Quite an interesting start. Time travel (unexplained so far), huge moral dilemnas (mass extinction or not?) and tortured/ambiguous characters.
The plot starts real quick and is tight and well handled so far with the requisite switches in time. The problem would be they’re not visually very distinctive so you need a bit of attention not to get lost.
The characters are not developped enough to feel real empathy for them but it seems they all have potential to be multi-layered and interesting if not necessarily likable. Heidi is the most elaborated for now.
I see Joe Infurnari’s art is often criticized in reviews. I understand its scratchy aspect can be divisive but it doesn’t deserve so much loathing. Infurnari obviously can draw and tell a story. His weak point would be character designs: them being so sketchy is a hindrance to recognize them at times, particularly when switching time periods.
That being said I’m interested enough to want to get on with next volume.
February 23, 2016
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.0 of 5
Not knowing anything about this graphic novel before opening the pages, this really took me by surprise and blew me away (in a good way).
What would you do if you discovered a letter to yourself, clearly written BY yourself, describing a future atrocity, in which you play an integral role? This is the basic story. There's clearly a Phil Dick sensibility to this, which I love. There's the shock, horror, and disbelief in the initial message, and then there's the desire to correct or prevent the atrocity. Add to this the miscommunication, distrust, and general human failings among a group of individuals, and you have one very powerful story.
Author Joshua Hale Fialkov has written a science fiction/mystery/horror story that is very engrossing. With five main characters, there is ample opportunity for the story to shift perspective and keep the reader turning the pages, anxious to stay connected with each story-line. Annihilation of the planet is certainly high stakes, and if you've read some of my reviews, you might now that I want the stakes to be high whenever possible. And yet, Fialkov roots the story with people. Friendships, betrayals, affairs, likes and dislikes. What it is to be human is at the core of this story, and that is part of makes this really wonderful.
The art by Joe Infurnari has a color sketch/unfinished quality about it. At times this really worked well for the story and other times it bothered me a great deal. I wasn't always able to recognize the characters on sight, and that should never happen.
Complicating the visual aspect of the book was the lettering. A hand-writing font was used that made reading not as smooth as it could be. I could see no reason not to use a more standard font for this.
I was really taken with this book and will look forward to volume two.
Looking for a good book? The Bunker is a graphic novel with a powerful story that will draw you in, though the drawings could be sharper.
Not knowing anything about this graphic novel before opening the pages, this really took me by surprise and blew me away (in a good way).
What would you do if you discovered a letter to yourself, clearly written BY yourself, describing a future atrocity, in which you play an integral role? This is the basic story. There's clearly a Phil Dick sensibility to this, which I love. There's the shock, horror, and disbelief in the initial message, and then there's the desire to correct or prevent the atrocity. Add to this the miscommunication, distrust, and general human failings among a group of individuals, and you have one very powerful story.
Author Joshua Hale Fialkov has written a science fiction/mystery/horror story that is very engrossing. With five main characters, there is ample opportunity for the story to shift perspective and keep the reader turning the pages, anxious to stay connected with each story-line. Annihilation of the planet is certainly high stakes, and if you've read some of my reviews, you might now that I want the stakes to be high whenever possible. And yet, Fialkov roots the story with people. Friendships, betrayals, affairs, likes and dislikes. What it is to be human is at the core of this story, and that is part of makes this really wonderful.
The art by Joe Infurnari has a color sketch/unfinished quality about it. At times this really worked well for the story and other times it bothered me a great deal. I wasn't always able to recognize the characters on sight, and that should never happen.
Complicating the visual aspect of the book was the lettering. A hand-writing font was used that made reading not as smooth as it could be. I could see no reason not to use a more standard font for this.
I was really taken with this book and will look forward to volume two.
Looking for a good book? The Bunker is a graphic novel with a powerful story that will draw you in, though the drawings could be sharper.
June 12, 2014
I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Wow! A terrific mind-bending story of time-travel, end-of-the-world-is-coming-and-you-can't-stop-it, and how a group of friends reacts to knowing what is coming and how they each play a role in the destruction. Some good thought-provoking concepts here, too, like the question on if you knew you had a part in the end of world, what would you change to prevent it? One character even goes so far as to try to stop the other characters from changing the future! Oh, and this volume ends on a great cliff-hanger!
The story is well-written, with good background development for each of the main characters, and excellent interaction between them driven by their personalities. The artwork is interesting, kind of a water-color over ink. In the first chapter, it was hard to tell the male characters apart, and hard to tell the female characters apart, but that cleared up with the subsequent chapters.
I'm looking forward to see how this one moves forward.
Wow! A terrific mind-bending story of time-travel, end-of-the-world-is-coming-and-you-can't-stop-it, and how a group of friends reacts to knowing what is coming and how they each play a role in the destruction. Some good thought-provoking concepts here, too, like the question on if you knew you had a part in the end of world, what would you change to prevent it? One character even goes so far as to try to stop the other characters from changing the future! Oh, and this volume ends on a great cliff-hanger!
The story is well-written, with good background development for each of the main characters, and excellent interaction between them driven by their personalities. The artwork is interesting, kind of a water-color over ink. In the first chapter, it was hard to tell the male characters apart, and hard to tell the female characters apart, but that cleared up with the subsequent chapters.
I'm looking forward to see how this one moves forward.
December 16, 2014
It's an interesting concept - five friends planning to make a time capsule instead find one - a bunker they created in the future, detailing their lives and urging them to do what they have done for the world, in spite of it causing the death of billions... The conflict between the friends as secrets are unveiled and different factors influence their levels of belief and desire grows as things start to come true. It's a fascinating start to the series, and the artwork is especially interesting - sort of a water-colored reality look; very distinctive. This is only the first four issues so it doesn't tell the whole story, but it does set it on a complicated, difficult path as hard choices and difficult decisions are made by each person. Not high on the action - this isn't a super-hero battle book, but the conflicts run deeper for that. A very good start.
September 12, 2014
The Bunker is truly an exciting fresh scifi experience. This book was recommended to me by a friend and I must admit I am glad I picked it up. The premise is simple but the clever way in which the story is executed is not. Five friends are living behind school and soon starting their careers and decide to celebrate their changing lives by burying a time capsule. The place they decide to bury the capsule happens to contain an underground bunker with letter written to them from the future from themselves detailing how they will cause the end of the world.
The writer does a fantastic job of getting the reader to care about the youths by using their letters to detail the secret pains of each character and pushing the story forward. The book is filled with many unexpected turn and each chapter gives you that "AND THEN WHAT" kind of feeling. The hardest thing to except about this book is that it is an ongoing series. So now I have to wait eagerly for the next installment. The story has great pacing and is growing to be scary as hell.
The writer does a fantastic job of getting the reader to care about the youths by using their letters to detail the secret pains of each character and pushing the story forward. The book is filled with many unexpected turn and each chapter gives you that "AND THEN WHAT" kind of feeling. The hardest thing to except about this book is that it is an ongoing series. So now I have to wait eagerly for the next installment. The story has great pacing and is growing to be scary as hell.
March 15, 2020
Visually, I am a lover of rougher and imperfect art in comic books (vs. art where characters’ faces are too “perfect”, in a way that sometimes looks too much like it’s been drawn directly on a photograph), so I love the graphic style of The Bunker, because it feels very manual, rough, and alive.
However, the writing of this first volume - the first and last that I will read - has a lot of problems:
1). not enough framework, not only in the story itself but in many pages (their structure) as well: you are thrown into a scene directly face to face with the characters and you don’t always know where exactly you are.
2). many scenes are too quick, lacking in the proper suspense or the proper clarity or even the proper time to let the characters show a realistic emotional response.
3). the high-concept (kids receiving letters from their future selves) has a couple of logical flaws: 1) how did their future selves know that their past selves would have found the bunker, when it looks like a completely random discovery? And, related to #1: 2) why would a society that has time-travel technology put all their hopes into such an unlikely-to-succeed scheme in order to save the world, instead of, for example, send back someone to kill the scientist who invents the deadly genetic material, à la Terminator?
However, the writing of this first volume - the first and last that I will read - has a lot of problems:
1). not enough framework, not only in the story itself but in many pages (their structure) as well: you are thrown into a scene directly face to face with the characters and you don’t always know where exactly you are.
2). many scenes are too quick, lacking in the proper suspense or the proper clarity or even the proper time to let the characters show a realistic emotional response.
3). the high-concept (kids receiving letters from their future selves) has a couple of logical flaws: 1) how did their future selves know that their past selves would have found the bunker, when it looks like a completely random discovery? And, related to #1: 2) why would a society that has time-travel technology put all their hopes into such an unlikely-to-succeed scheme in order to save the world, instead of, for example, send back someone to kill the scientist who invents the deadly genetic material, à la Terminator?
December 23, 2021
A great graphic novel. I have no issues with it although I expect deliberately rough art will divide readers. I love it, some will detest it.
We get an interesting cast of characters set in a bizarre situation, time-travel, apocalypse, and mystery.
Give it a shot!
We get an interesting cast of characters set in a bizarre situation, time-travel, apocalypse, and mystery.
Give it a shot!
April 7, 2016
In The Bunker, five friends decide to bury a time capsule in the woods, only to find the titular bunker when they start digging. Once inside the bunker, they discover letters from their future selves, who somehow sent a bunker full of evidence back in time to warn their younger selves about the impending apocalypse they will have a part in causing. It turns out this innocuous-looking group of young people includes a future president, a soon-to-be brilliant scientist and several other eventual movers-and-shakers. Heavy stuff for a bunch of recent college grads, no?
When I started reading The Bunker, it occurred to me to wonder whether I’d ever read a graphic novel with art I hated despite enjoying the story. I’m honestly not sure I ever have. Probably the only situation where I continued enjoying a book in spite of the art is when the artist changed for an issue of a comic I was already invested in reading. In any case, I really did not like the art in The Bunker, and the story didn’t do anything to win me over.
My biggest problem with this book is a serious lack of characterization thanks to an indistinct art style and some fairly underdeveloped writing. The art is so stylized that it becomes very hard to tell the difference between the extremely generic characters. The main visual distinction is that some of the characters wear glasses and some don’t, and one guy is bigger than the others. We get a bit of back-story here and there, but the author spends the most time on one of the girls, who remembers being raped by her uncle when she was young – i.e. the most cliché, heavy-handed way to make a story about a woman feel Serious and Real.
As for the dialogue, it’s oftentimes the case that every other word the characters say is “fuck”, and everyone speaks with essentially the same voice. One character does make a few unfunny and off-color jokes in the first issue… but then things get all serious and he stops behaving that way. After the bunker and its predictions come into play, this turns into a fairly serious-minded tale of doom-and-gloom.
Ultimately, The Bunker just felt like a weird kind of wish-fulfillment. Instead of discovering a more personal and believable secret from their future selves, the characters find out that each of them is an incredibly important world-destroyer and of course that they were able to figure out how to send a huge bunker back in time. I think it’s possible to tell an interesting story about receiving notes from your future self, but this doesn’t feel like the way to do it, especially because the details strain credibility in so many ways.
The worst part? This first volume is almost all setup and very little plot. Not much of substance happens after the characters find the bunker – they freak out and fight with each other and then eventually get around to dealing with one of their predicted catastrophes. Definitely a disappointment.
Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from Net Galley.
When I started reading The Bunker, it occurred to me to wonder whether I’d ever read a graphic novel with art I hated despite enjoying the story. I’m honestly not sure I ever have. Probably the only situation where I continued enjoying a book in spite of the art is when the artist changed for an issue of a comic I was already invested in reading. In any case, I really did not like the art in The Bunker, and the story didn’t do anything to win me over.
My biggest problem with this book is a serious lack of characterization thanks to an indistinct art style and some fairly underdeveloped writing. The art is so stylized that it becomes very hard to tell the difference between the extremely generic characters. The main visual distinction is that some of the characters wear glasses and some don’t, and one guy is bigger than the others. We get a bit of back-story here and there, but the author spends the most time on one of the girls, who remembers being raped by her uncle when she was young – i.e. the most cliché, heavy-handed way to make a story about a woman feel Serious and Real.
As for the dialogue, it’s oftentimes the case that every other word the characters say is “fuck”, and everyone speaks with essentially the same voice. One character does make a few unfunny and off-color jokes in the first issue… but then things get all serious and he stops behaving that way. After the bunker and its predictions come into play, this turns into a fairly serious-minded tale of doom-and-gloom.
Ultimately, The Bunker just felt like a weird kind of wish-fulfillment. Instead of discovering a more personal and believable secret from their future selves, the characters find out that each of them is an incredibly important world-destroyer and of course that they were able to figure out how to send a huge bunker back in time. I think it’s possible to tell an interesting story about receiving notes from your future self, but this doesn’t feel like the way to do it, especially because the details strain credibility in so many ways.
The worst part? This first volume is almost all setup and very little plot. Not much of substance happens after the characters find the bunker – they freak out and fight with each other and then eventually get around to dealing with one of their predicted catastrophes. Definitely a disappointment.
Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from Net Galley.
June 15, 2014
When five friends newly graduated from college decide they want to commemorate their college years with a time capsule, things take a turn for the strange when they discover an underground bunker in the exact place they intend to bury the capsule. Written on the bunker is their names and inside, letters addressed to each that explain how they will destroy the world in the years to come.
While The Bunker has an intriguing premise, the graphic novel fails to deliver on it. Almost immediately, it sets out as though it has something to prove; the characters curse at each other as though they're 4th graders on the playground testing out their adult vocabularies and it seems as though four out of the five aren't actually interested in burying the time capsule. It doesn't seem as though they have any interest in much that is taking place around them, leaving the reader in the odd position of sympathizing and asking themselves, "How is Grady able to convince these people to do this?" It can't be his charisma or charm, as he doesn't have any. What conversation they are able to carry is unbelievable and disjointed.
Fortunately, if you stick through it, it does get more interesting though I can't promise it gets any more believable. You might even say it becomes less so but some readers, like me, won't be able to look away in hopes some answers will start appearing. Like, how does it come to pass that this group's involvement in destroying 98% of the population will lead to advancements in time travel? From what is known, the scientist of the group seems to be working on a matter of a biotechnological nature.
Also making matters confusing is the jumps in the storytelling. In some stories, you can get away with following one storyline, then skipping back to another to show how they're related. Here, it wasn't done clearly enough to work and instead just left me puzzled at times, wondering why things were laid out the way they were. It didn't help that the artwork itself was generally very rough throughout, sometimes making it hard to grasp what was happening in panels.
While I am curious to see how this graphic novel resolves itself in the next volume, it is debatable as to whether or not I'll give it the time.
While The Bunker has an intriguing premise, the graphic novel fails to deliver on it. Almost immediately, it sets out as though it has something to prove; the characters curse at each other as though they're 4th graders on the playground testing out their adult vocabularies and it seems as though four out of the five aren't actually interested in burying the time capsule. It doesn't seem as though they have any interest in much that is taking place around them, leaving the reader in the odd position of sympathizing and asking themselves, "How is Grady able to convince these people to do this?" It can't be his charisma or charm, as he doesn't have any. What conversation they are able to carry is unbelievable and disjointed.
Fortunately, if you stick through it, it does get more interesting though I can't promise it gets any more believable. You might even say it becomes less so but some readers, like me, won't be able to look away in hopes some answers will start appearing. Like, how does it come to pass that this group's involvement in destroying 98% of the population will lead to advancements in time travel? From what is known, the scientist of the group seems to be working on a matter of a biotechnological nature.
Also making matters confusing is the jumps in the storytelling. In some stories, you can get away with following one storyline, then skipping back to another to show how they're related. Here, it wasn't done clearly enough to work and instead just left me puzzled at times, wondering why things were laid out the way they were. It didn't help that the artwork itself was generally very rough throughout, sometimes making it hard to grasp what was happening in panels.
While I am curious to see how this graphic novel resolves itself in the next volume, it is debatable as to whether or not I'll give it the time.
February 19, 2015
This has been a year of growth for me with regards to reading. I’ve been exploring new genres, graphic novels being one of them. I’ve found some winners and I’ve found some losers. The Bunker was not a winner.
I love the premise of this series. I was instantly interested when I read time travel/time capsule. This series could have been outstanding, but here’s the problem, I just read 140(ish) pages and I still have no fucking clue how they discovered time travel.
Other events that irritated me include;
- Blind acceptance that letters from their future selves are legit
- Using the words “Gay” and “Retarded” as insults after which another character corrects them that this is inappropriate. Why are writers still doing this? You aren’t making a statement about how this isn’t acceptable. Find a better way to bicker that doesn’t involve insulting sexual orientation or mental competency.
- The font (especially the cursive) used in Chapter 1 was basically illegible. Zooming in on my computer only made it worse.
- There are multiple deviations from the main plot when the main plot hasn’t even been established well. Time Travel – get it, but HOW? Stay tuned for a future issue?… No thank you.
- Finally, the art work. Normally in a poorly scripted graphic novel this is the saving grace, the reason I can give more than 1/5. But not here! This is probably one of the most poorly sketched comics I’ve ever read. Everyone is hideous, no idea if that was intentional. Their faces are distorted and muddled. Everything looks pixelated and the colour palette chosen is completely lack luster and almost looks muddy.
I had great hopes for this story line based on the synopsis but because of the complete lack of how or why in this series, I will not be continuing on.
More reviews at Literary Escapist Book Blog
I love the premise of this series. I was instantly interested when I read time travel/time capsule. This series could have been outstanding, but here’s the problem, I just read 140(ish) pages and I still have no fucking clue how they discovered time travel.
Other events that irritated me include;
- Blind acceptance that letters from their future selves are legit
- Using the words “Gay” and “Retarded” as insults after which another character corrects them that this is inappropriate. Why are writers still doing this? You aren’t making a statement about how this isn’t acceptable. Find a better way to bicker that doesn’t involve insulting sexual orientation or mental competency.
- The font (especially the cursive) used in Chapter 1 was basically illegible. Zooming in on my computer only made it worse.
- There are multiple deviations from the main plot when the main plot hasn’t even been established well. Time Travel – get it, but HOW? Stay tuned for a future issue?… No thank you.
- Finally, the art work. Normally in a poorly scripted graphic novel this is the saving grace, the reason I can give more than 1/5. But not here! This is probably one of the most poorly sketched comics I’ve ever read. Everyone is hideous, no idea if that was intentional. Their faces are distorted and muddled. Everything looks pixelated and the colour palette chosen is completely lack luster and almost looks muddy.
I had great hopes for this story line based on the synopsis but because of the complete lack of how or why in this series, I will not be continuing on.
More reviews at Literary Escapist Book Blog
July 1, 2014
Five friends decide to bury a time capsule, but instead discover a bunker with instructions from their future selves warning them of what is to come and how to hopefully prevent it.
The concept is interesting and the relationships between the five friends offer a lot of opportunity for conflict, but the dialogue is poorly written, starting with the immaturity of the characters at age twenty-two. Fortunately, with the discovery of the bunker, they grow up pretty quickly once they decide whether or not to believe the letter. But then things get a bit muddy, with the art being of little help in deciphering it all. Not that I dislike the art. I liked the sketchiness and the use of mauves and blues to set the bleak tone. There are tragic backstories to deal with and all sorts of betrayal, and the time travelling....
The concept is interesting and the relationships between the five friends offer a lot of opportunity for conflict, but the dialogue is poorly written, starting with the immaturity of the characters at age twenty-two. Fortunately, with the discovery of the bunker, they grow up pretty quickly once they decide whether or not to believe the letter. But then things get a bit muddy, with the art being of little help in deciphering it all. Not that I dislike the art. I liked the sketchiness and the use of mauves and blues to set the bleak tone. There are tragic backstories to deal with and all sorts of betrayal, and the time travelling....
May 19, 2015
This is an interesting read (premise, plot)... but it just felt a bit off for me in some parts. Plus (I don't know why) Grady just gives me the heebie jeebies. Probably would pick up subsequent issues just to see where the story goes (i.e. library? borrow from a friend?). But meh on purchasing. :/
January 15, 2019
The Bunker vol. 1 is a story centered on the idea of people's capacity for evil in the pursuit of doing what's right. On the surface the story follow 5 college friends on their final day together before going off in the world, which they have decided should be spent burying a time capsule. When they attempt this they discover a mysterious bunker with four of their names inscribed on the entry hatch. This discovery leads to a number of twists and turns involving fate, time travel, and responsibility; at the center of all of this is the previously mentioned concept of performing evil in the pursuit of (apparent) good.
Each character has 'chapters' dedicated to who they are and what makes them tick; these chapters paint these 5 friends as mostly well meaning but deeply flawed individuals, each with personal scars and hangups that seemingly contribute to the mysteriously morbid situation they all eventually find themselves in. These characters are not caricatures in any form, but instead all too relatable in how humanly flawed they intrinsically are. Each one of the 5 must face a number of past (and future) mistakes and shortcomings, many of which they may not be able to deal with properly or healthily.
The biggest do-or-die aspect of this volume for the reader has to be the story itself. While the inciting incident seems rife with possibility (and in some ways, it is), it ultimately suffers from the unfortunate pairing of a very dense plot with a very disjointed plot pace. The story frequently jumps from person to person (and year to year) with no visual cues or narrative devices to help the reader easily keep track as they progress. The story is far from incomprehensible, and with a slower, more methodical approach the reader should to be able to start piecing together the various plot points into something resembling an overarching story. As has been mentioned this is a very intricate narrative, and you should not expect to read through this volume quickly without your reading comprehension suffering greatly.
The art throughout the graphic novel adheres strictly to a style akin to sketchbook sketches, and when color is utilized it is used lightly and sparingly. While some may dislike the rough nature of the line work I personally found it fitting to the nature of the story, with the roughly defined designs mirroring the conflicted and damaged natures of the characters.
Overall, the Bunker Vol. 1 offers an intriguing (albeit daunting) introduction to this world and it's characters. While the narrative structure hinders the readers ability to follow the story as closely as they might like, the characters being developed and the ideas that the creative use them to explore are both captivating and worthy or consideration. If you're looking for a quicker read or a narrative with a low bar of entry then The Bunker may not be the series for you, but if you can make it past some of the book's noticeable flaws you will find a high concept Sci-Fi drama that holds a mirror to human fallibility, moral ambiguity, and self determination.
Each character has 'chapters' dedicated to who they are and what makes them tick; these chapters paint these 5 friends as mostly well meaning but deeply flawed individuals, each with personal scars and hangups that seemingly contribute to the mysteriously morbid situation they all eventually find themselves in. These characters are not caricatures in any form, but instead all too relatable in how humanly flawed they intrinsically are. Each one of the 5 must face a number of past (and future) mistakes and shortcomings, many of which they may not be able to deal with properly or healthily.
The biggest do-or-die aspect of this volume for the reader has to be the story itself. While the inciting incident seems rife with possibility (and in some ways, it is), it ultimately suffers from the unfortunate pairing of a very dense plot with a very disjointed plot pace. The story frequently jumps from person to person (and year to year) with no visual cues or narrative devices to help the reader easily keep track as they progress. The story is far from incomprehensible, and with a slower, more methodical approach the reader should to be able to start piecing together the various plot points into something resembling an overarching story. As has been mentioned this is a very intricate narrative, and you should not expect to read through this volume quickly without your reading comprehension suffering greatly.
The art throughout the graphic novel adheres strictly to a style akin to sketchbook sketches, and when color is utilized it is used lightly and sparingly. While some may dislike the rough nature of the line work I personally found it fitting to the nature of the story, with the roughly defined designs mirroring the conflicted and damaged natures of the characters.
Overall, the Bunker Vol. 1 offers an intriguing (albeit daunting) introduction to this world and it's characters. While the narrative structure hinders the readers ability to follow the story as closely as they might like, the characters being developed and the ideas that the creative use them to explore are both captivating and worthy or consideration. If you're looking for a quicker read or a narrative with a low bar of entry then The Bunker may not be the series for you, but if you can make it past some of the book's noticeable flaws you will find a high concept Sci-Fi drama that holds a mirror to human fallibility, moral ambiguity, and self determination.
Read
August 24, 2017Review to come.
September 30, 2024
I had a feeling that this was going to underwhelm me. I really wanted to like it — I love time travel stories. This one in particular, kind of has a hard story to tell. I’ve never seen LOST, but, it might be similar — about a group of people who find notes from their future selves describing what to do and what not to do and how to “save the future”. It’s a drama when it comes down to it because it’s about the decisions we make and what causes us to make those decisions, and how those decisions affect those around us. But the reason why this story is hard to tell is because it has to juggle the discovery, the present, and the future. And the repercussions that the present has on the future, or the present making sure the future happens just as planned. Where this book falters is a few things: the discovery happens very very quickly — it might’ve been better getting to know our characters just a little bit before everything goes down. Because then we just get to know their future selves almost before their present selves and it gets hard to digest all that. I also feel like, in this volume at least, the story overall wasn’t that exciting. We see them discover the letters, we see them falling out a bit, we see a bit of their future selves, and we see a couple of events that their future selves claim actually come to fruition. Which is pretty typical fare for time travel stuff. I did love the art style despite some action stuff and certain panels being confusing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2014
My quest to find a new graphic novel series to love continues! This time I decided to give The Bunker: Volume 1 a shot at catching my interest. See, the premise is what struck me. 5 friends who find letters from their future selves in a mysterious bunker. Letters that promise them they can change the fate of the world. They'd chosen wrong the first time, and the entire population of Earth had suffered. I wondered, would they do the "right" thing? I love stories where there's a thin line between right and wrong. I was so hoping for one of those.
I almost gave this up after reading the first page, simply because the dialogue bubbles in the first issue are horribly rendered for digital reading. I genuinely hope they fix this if they're going to sell digital copies but, as I had an ARC, I soldiered on. What was laid out before me was a story that slowly pieced itself together. The story line is a little choppy, which I guess is to be expected if you're looking at a series of events from 5 different points of view. Still, it doesn't make for the easiest read in the world. I constantly had to reorient myself to understand whose head I was in.
Which brings me to another issue I had, and that was the illustrations. I didn't dislike them entirely, but I was overly impressed either. The characters are inked onto the page in a way that makes them look gritty and unfinished. Almost as if they are in constant fluctuation. If this was the effect the illustrator was going for, they succeeded. The problem is that it makes the characters rather hard to distinguish between. My saving grace was that one man and one woman have glasses, and one of the other male characters is on the larger side. Again, I had to stop and reorient myself to who I was following in the panels each time they swapped.
There are, of course, underlying stories to each of these characters. Since this volume only compiles the first 4 issues, the reader only skims the surface of a few of them. I think this was my favorite part of The Bunker: Volume 1. I enjoyed getting to know each of these characters on a more visceral level, and I have a definite feeling that their backgrounds are going to be very important in the issues to come. This story is as much a coming-of-age story as it is a science fiction romp. Thus I can admit, I'm still intrigued.
So I'll happily give three stars to this first volume, and promise to be back for more. I'm hoping all the problems are resolved in the volumes to come, and that I can add this series to my "must haves" list.
I almost gave this up after reading the first page, simply because the dialogue bubbles in the first issue are horribly rendered for digital reading. I genuinely hope they fix this if they're going to sell digital copies but, as I had an ARC, I soldiered on. What was laid out before me was a story that slowly pieced itself together. The story line is a little choppy, which I guess is to be expected if you're looking at a series of events from 5 different points of view. Still, it doesn't make for the easiest read in the world. I constantly had to reorient myself to understand whose head I was in.
Which brings me to another issue I had, and that was the illustrations. I didn't dislike them entirely, but I was overly impressed either. The characters are inked onto the page in a way that makes them look gritty and unfinished. Almost as if they are in constant fluctuation. If this was the effect the illustrator was going for, they succeeded. The problem is that it makes the characters rather hard to distinguish between. My saving grace was that one man and one woman have glasses, and one of the other male characters is on the larger side. Again, I had to stop and reorient myself to who I was following in the panels each time they swapped.
There are, of course, underlying stories to each of these characters. Since this volume only compiles the first 4 issues, the reader only skims the surface of a few of them. I think this was my favorite part of The Bunker: Volume 1. I enjoyed getting to know each of these characters on a more visceral level, and I have a definite feeling that their backgrounds are going to be very important in the issues to come. This story is as much a coming-of-age story as it is a science fiction romp. Thus I can admit, I'm still intrigued.
So I'll happily give three stars to this first volume, and promise to be back for more. I'm hoping all the problems are resolved in the volumes to come, and that I can add this series to my "must haves" list.
October 16, 2014
The Bunker Volume 1 by Joshua Hale Fialkov centers on a group of five friends who go to the forest to bury a time capsule. As they're digging around they stumble instead on a bunker and discover four letters addressed to four of them. (Interestingly, one guy doesn't get his own letter, a telling detail that will play itself out later in the arc of the story.) At first they think it's all an elaborate joke. They soon realize that it is all very real. The handwriting and the information mentioned in each letter remove all doubts. Tellingly, they don't share the letters with each other.
The messages in the letters are grim. In one form or another they learn that the world is going to end; an epidemic will eventually wipe out most of humanity. A few of them learn that they play a role in bringing about this disaster. The revelation disrupts the dynamics in the group and everyone starts to drift apart. The storytelling shifts at this stage, and we start to learn about each character individually.
Visually, The Bunker captures the tension between past, present, and future with panels that mix a heavy cocktail of pathos, regret, and unresolved personal sh*t that comes to the surface. This story is very character-driven and we're treated to backstories alongside both an increasingly anxious and paranoid present and flash forwards to a terrifying future. Good stuff. I thought the characters were very distinctly portrayed both through the dialogue, the letters, and the pacing of the panels.
A lot of people have expressed their distaste toward the artwork. Joe Infurnari's style here is abstract, blurry, as if we're looking at unfinished sketches, but I think this deliberate 'messiness' contributes nicely to the dark mood and evokes the shifting temporality inherent in the story. I think the criticism is unduly harsh. Illustrations don't have to be pretty.
The Bunker starts with a discovery and ends with a pretty big cliffhanger . As far as comics-style storytelling goes, this is compelling. I definitely want to read Volume 2.
The messages in the letters are grim. In one form or another they learn that the world is going to end; an epidemic will eventually wipe out most of humanity. A few of them learn that they play a role in bringing about this disaster. The revelation disrupts the dynamics in the group and everyone starts to drift apart. The storytelling shifts at this stage, and we start to learn about each character individually.
Visually, The Bunker captures the tension between past, present, and future with panels that mix a heavy cocktail of pathos, regret, and unresolved personal sh*t that comes to the surface. This story is very character-driven and we're treated to backstories alongside both an increasingly anxious and paranoid present and flash forwards to a terrifying future. Good stuff. I thought the characters were very distinctly portrayed both through the dialogue, the letters, and the pacing of the panels.
A lot of people have expressed their distaste toward the artwork. Joe Infurnari's style here is abstract, blurry, as if we're looking at unfinished sketches, but I think this deliberate 'messiness' contributes nicely to the dark mood and evokes the shifting temporality inherent in the story. I think the criticism is unduly harsh. Illustrations don't have to be pretty.
The Bunker starts with a discovery and ends with a pretty big cliffhanger . As far as comics-style storytelling goes, this is compelling. I definitely want to read Volume 2.
July 31, 2014
I love comics that mess with my head (Mind MGMT, I'm looking at you), and 'The Bunker: Volume 1 by Joshua Hale Fialkov falls into that category. It's got a little SF, a little horror, and a little drama.
Five friends go into the woods to bury a time capsule. This is the only part of the story that was a bit contrived to me, but it gets the story going, so I'm willing to let it be. While they are digging a hole to bury it, they find a bunker. When they enter it, they each find a letter written to themselves from their future selves. The letters are way too personal to be the prank that they initially think this is. They describe how the world will be destroyed in the near future and what they need to do, or not do, in order to stop it. All is not as it seems as there is some plotting and scheming. The story weaves between past, future and present. If you know the future, can it be changed? Is it a set course or is it malleable?
The art by Joe Infurnari is good. It's a bit rougher than I usually like, but it serves the story well. It makes the story a bit murky, but I think that's intentional. The story is good, but the time capsule thing bugged me. Also the fact that among 5 friends more than one has a huge role to play in the future. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Five friends go into the woods to bury a time capsule. This is the only part of the story that was a bit contrived to me, but it gets the story going, so I'm willing to let it be. While they are digging a hole to bury it, they find a bunker. When they enter it, they each find a letter written to themselves from their future selves. The letters are way too personal to be the prank that they initially think this is. They describe how the world will be destroyed in the near future and what they need to do, or not do, in order to stop it. All is not as it seems as there is some plotting and scheming. The story weaves between past, future and present. If you know the future, can it be changed? Is it a set course or is it malleable?
The art by Joe Infurnari is good. It's a bit rougher than I usually like, but it serves the story well. It makes the story a bit murky, but I think that's intentional. The story is good, but the time capsule thing bugged me. Also the fact that among 5 friends more than one has a huge role to play in the future. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
June 29, 2014
I think there's some promise in this idea--five friends discover a secret bunker filled with detritus from an apocalyptic future, including letters they each wrote to themselves from some point in the future, to warn their younger selves not to repeat (or, in some cases, to be SURE to repeat) certain mistakes, etc., that eventually lead to the end of the world. Very hard to get past the coincidence that these five people hold so much potential sway over the future of the world, but at least some of the stuff that happens in this first story arc is interesting, including the newspaper that warns one of the friends that he has to be available to assist survivors of a terrorist bombing that hasn't happened yet (no real discussion of why he couldn't warn somebody about what was going to happen). The artwork is a bit sketchy, and sometimes hard to make out (even though it appears to be done in watercolor(?)). This first volume ends on a pretty big twist that needs some very careful explanation so that the basic premise of the story doesn't sink in the early going, but I found myself interested enough to want to keep reading. I'll give another volume a try, if and when it becomes available.
June 29, 2014
The story was interesting: friends find a bunker with letters from their future selves and have to decide if they believe what they read, and if they should follow the instructions from themselves in order to save the future world. There was so much promise, but not enough depth. Characters had a tendency to run together, which was also due to drawings appearing more like sketches than detailed illustrations. There are so many questions, and none really answered. While there was some character development, it all seemed weird and not important. Overall, I didn't hate it, but it didn't stand out. Doubt I'll read the next one.
June 18, 2015
A group of friends stumble upon a bunker in the woods that contains letters addressed to each of. The letters contain information about their futures both good and bad. Now each person has to decide if they believe what they have read and how they are going to let the information affect them.
Infunari's art is perfect for the tone of this book and matches Fialkov's story plot. This book makes you wonder who is in control of their lives and makes the reader constantly question what they would do in their shoes.
Infunari's art is perfect for the tone of this book and matches Fialkov's story plot. This book makes you wonder who is in control of their lives and makes the reader constantly question what they would do in their shoes.
February 7, 2016
Neat stuff. I really like the art style, so sketchy, and the premise is really wacky and neat.
Not 100% convinced, everyone sort of seems to accept it all very quickly and, despite that, not be hugely weirded out by the whole thing? Very convenient I guess, but whatever I'm still interested.
Not 100% convinced, everyone sort of seems to accept it all very quickly and, despite that, not be hugely weirded out by the whole thing? Very convenient I guess, but whatever I'm still interested.
January 10, 2015
The high concept has potential, but the execution is a mess. Check out Pamela's excellent review for details:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
March 9, 2019
A lot of people tell tales of time travel, but this comic tells it in a completely new way that is brilliant. The story is incredibly fragmented, switching between the future and present, intertwining them until they become one and the same. It makes it so much cooler to read, because you're constantly trying to figure out what's going on for yourself, never getting all the information to complete the picture.
Basically these 5 young adults are about to make a time capsule, but find a bunker in which their future selves have left letters for them. These 5 people are going to end the world, each in their own way, and their future selves tell them how, and tell them that it needs to happen. All the characters have to face moral dilemmas, whether to save lives or listen to the wishes of their future selves.
The art is gorgeous, and fits the dystopian story perfectly, it has a perfect flow and makes it easy to read.
Conclusion, The Bunker is awesome, read it.
Basically these 5 young adults are about to make a time capsule, but find a bunker in which their future selves have left letters for them. These 5 people are going to end the world, each in their own way, and their future selves tell them how, and tell them that it needs to happen. All the characters have to face moral dilemmas, whether to save lives or listen to the wishes of their future selves.
The art is gorgeous, and fits the dystopian story perfectly, it has a perfect flow and makes it easy to read.
Conclusion, The Bunker is awesome, read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2021
Collects the first four issues of this A lot of these reviews keep harping on what they call bad artwork. That is completely ridiculous. The art here is amazing, it just seems that some people can't handle a more expressionist style of art and need to be spoon fed. Each character is distinct and well defined. I plan to read the rest of this series
The basics of it are five friends, while planning to bury a time capsule, discover a bunker buried under the ground. In it, they discover letters from themselves dated some twenty years in the future. They state that the five of them are responsible for the near extinction of human life. All are given directions on how to change or exploit the situation. While this is the framing the real story is between the five friends and how this news shatters their joy and trust in each other.
The basics of it are five friends, while planning to bury a time capsule, discover a bunker buried under the ground. In it, they discover letters from themselves dated some twenty years in the future. They state that the five of them are responsible for the near extinction of human life. All are given directions on how to change or exploit the situation. While this is the framing the real story is between the five friends and how this news shatters their joy and trust in each other.
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