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The Empty Man #1-6
The Empty Man
The Empty Man made me do it.
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM 20TH CENTURY!
It’s been one year since the first reported case of the Empty Man disease, and no drug has been able to slow its progress. The cause is unknown, and the symptoms include fits of rage, hideous hallucinations, and suicidal dementia, followed by death or a near lifeless, ""empty"" state of catatonia. As cults rise nationwide, the FBI and CDC enter a joint investigation of the Empty Man, racing against the clock to piece together clues to stop the cult and uncover a cure.
The acclaimed superstar team of writer Cullen Bunn (Magneto, Bone Parish) and artist Vanesa R. Del Rey (Redlands, Hit) present a dystopic version of the world we know, where a terrifying disease has taken on almost deific connotations.
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM 20TH CENTURY!
It’s been one year since the first reported case of the Empty Man disease, and no drug has been able to slow its progress. The cause is unknown, and the symptoms include fits of rage, hideous hallucinations, and suicidal dementia, followed by death or a near lifeless, ""empty"" state of catatonia. As cults rise nationwide, the FBI and CDC enter a joint investigation of the Empty Man, racing against the clock to piece together clues to stop the cult and uncover a cure.
The acclaimed superstar team of writer Cullen Bunn (Magneto, Bone Parish) and artist Vanesa R. Del Rey (Redlands, Hit) present a dystopic version of the world we know, where a terrifying disease has taken on almost deific connotations.
160 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 2015
63 people are currently reading
620 people want to read
About the author
Cullen Bunn
2,101 books1,058 followersCullen grew up in rural North Carolina, but now lives in the St. Louis area with his wife Cindy and his son Jackson. His noir/horror comic (and first collaboration with Brian Hurtt), The Damned, was published in 2007 by Oni Press. The follow-up, The Damned: Prodigal Sons, was released in 2008. In addition to The Sixth Gun, his current projects include Crooked Hills, a middle reader horror prose series from Evileye Books; The Tooth, an original graphic novel from Oni Press; and various work for Marvel and DC. Somewhere along the way, Cullen founded Undaunted Press and edited the critically acclaimed small press horror magazine, Whispers from the Shattered Forum.
All writers must pay their dues, and Cullen has worked various odd jobs, including Alien Autopsy Specialist, Rodeo Clown, Professional Wrestler Manager, and Sasquatch Wrangler.
And, yes, he has fought for his life against mountain lions and he did perform on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.
Visit his website at www.cullenbunn.com.
All writers must pay their dues, and Cullen has worked various odd jobs, including Alien Autopsy Specialist, Rodeo Clown, Professional Wrestler Manager, and Sasquatch Wrangler.
And, yes, he has fought for his life against mountain lions and he did perform on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.
Visit his website at www.cullenbunn.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
September 16, 2022
Hoy les traigo una novela gráfica de la que desconocía su existencia, fue a raíz de ver una película titulada The empty man que vi que estaba basada en ella. La película me resultó muy inquietante, en el inicio sobre todo. Desprendía un halo de angustia, de no saber qué está pasando.
Estos elementos en mi opinión han sabido llevarlos mejor en la película, donde todo queda algo mejor explicado aunque sigue siendo algo confuso, sí he visto una visión diferente en esta novela gráfica, más tétrica, donde no escatiman en criaturas y dibujos sangrientos.
Pero a pesar de ser una historia con mucho potencial siento que hay elementos que se quedan en el aire y el cierre deja muchas incógnitas, no sé si realmente habrá más partes o simplemente lo han planteado así.
👌A lo largo de seis capítulos y un regalo final con imágenes de cubiertas alternativas, iremos descubriendo lo que se esconde tras esta extraña enfermedad que trasforma a la gente y que se está expandiendo a pasos agigantados. Monstruos, conspiraciones, predicadores siniestros, un terror con un toque muy diferente a lo que he tenido ocasión de leer.
Me ha gustado y sorprendido, es muy original, pero como dije el final es inconcluso y me ha dejado con muchas preguntas sin resolver.
👤 "El hombre vacío me obligó a hacerlo."
📚 https://www.facebook.com/LaLocadelosL... 📚
Estos elementos en mi opinión han sabido llevarlos mejor en la película, donde todo queda algo mejor explicado aunque sigue siendo algo confuso, sí he visto una visión diferente en esta novela gráfica, más tétrica, donde no escatiman en criaturas y dibujos sangrientos.
Pero a pesar de ser una historia con mucho potencial siento que hay elementos que se quedan en el aire y el cierre deja muchas incógnitas, no sé si realmente habrá más partes o simplemente lo han planteado así.
👌A lo largo de seis capítulos y un regalo final con imágenes de cubiertas alternativas, iremos descubriendo lo que se esconde tras esta extraña enfermedad que trasforma a la gente y que se está expandiendo a pasos agigantados. Monstruos, conspiraciones, predicadores siniestros, un terror con un toque muy diferente a lo que he tenido ocasión de leer.
Me ha gustado y sorprendido, es muy original, pero como dije el final es inconcluso y me ha dejado con muchas preguntas sin resolver.
👤 "El hombre vacío me obligó a hacerlo."
📚 https://www.facebook.com/LaLocadelosL... 📚
September 14, 2018
This was terrible. A lot of it had to do with the ruddy, rudimentary art. I often couldn't tell what was going on. Del Rey definitely did a poor job of portraying Bunn's story. That being said, the story itself isn't that great either. It's confusing and vague with not very well thought out concepts. The book also ends in the middle of the story. Given this has been out for 3 years, I doubt Bunn ever bothers to return and finish this. Sixth Gun, The Damned, and Harrow County are all fantastic, but this is just shit. What a disappointment!
January 2, 2015
This series reads like a lost episode of the x-files. Everything is here, the radical fundamentalist preacher, paranormal activity, psychics, possible scientific/medical explanations and the couple of suits there to investigate.
The story itself ranged from cheesy to intriguing, it kept me interested and pulled off a pretty decent ending that makes you want to come back.
The art was interesting and at times fit the feel of the book really well, but at other times it was distracting and hard to make out what I was looking at.
A solid story for x-files fans, but it could have been more original.
The story itself ranged from cheesy to intriguing, it kept me interested and pulled off a pretty decent ending that makes you want to come back.
The art was interesting and at times fit the feel of the book really well, but at other times it was distracting and hard to make out what I was looking at.
A solid story for x-files fans, but it could have been more original.
April 23, 2021
I just watched the movie The Empty Man, and in an effort to dig through the massive "WTF did I just watch?" aspect, I found the comic it's apparently from. I say apparently because the movie and the comic have the most bare connection, and even that's a stretch. So anyway, I read this.
November 19, 2022
After watching "The Autopsy" from "Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities", I followed the trails that led me to "The Empty Man". The resemblance was there, but one might also find some good art and clever writing here. At least if one was a little sick.
February 12, 2023
2.5
Well, hey. It's not the worst Bunn I've read so it at least has that going for it.
And they even made it into a movie! He must have the best networking skills.
Well, hey. It's not the worst Bunn I've read so it at least has that going for it.
And they even made it into a movie! He must have the best networking skills.
December 9, 2017
I was disappointed. The story wasn't very clear or well-developed, and the muddy artwork throughout really didn't help matters. I thought Vanesa Del Rey was an up-and-coming artist? This has none of the magic Bunn brought to The Sixth Gun or Harrow County.
June 20, 2016
The Empty Man's story centers on a plague that mysteriously causes bouts of rage, murder, and suicides across the world. The premise, itself, is interesting, but the writing combined with the gorgeous, but gritty art is what really makes this atmospheric piece memorable. The art kind of reminded me of the art featured in American Vampire except the colors in this one are more reminiscent of a film noir. It's super moody and dark, making it all the more immersive to read.
I enjoyed the writing, the story, and the strangeness of it all, but felt that the end was rushed and left me wanting. Overall, though, it was a good read. I just wish it had a little more build up at the end--more of the tension that was present through the beginning and middle of the story. It felt like it kind of petered out at the end.
I enjoyed the writing, the story, and the strangeness of it all, but felt that the end was rushed and left me wanting. Overall, though, it was a good read. I just wish it had a little more build up at the end--more of the tension that was present through the beginning and middle of the story. It felt like it kind of petered out at the end.
January 26, 2022
Really deep mad horror with weird personalities and furious image.
November 19, 2022
Written in a cinematographic way. I liked the story and the art though it was a little weird to my taste, but the ending was kind of sudden.
January 29, 2021
This is a rough go. I like The Sixth Gun a lot, so I thought this might be good as well, but this story feels rushed and not fleshed out. It feels like it starts too late in the story without enough background then you are always unclear about what is going on. Like demons and monsters appear and people seem kind of nonplussed? Is that a regular thing in the world if The Empt Man? I couldn’t tell. This is not helped by an art style that can be confusing at best, there are certain panels that I just could not figure out what was going on. Just confusing and disappointing all around.
The movie based on this is surprisingly good and almost completely different, watch that instead.
The movie based on this is surprisingly good and almost completely different, watch that instead.
January 26, 2021
I read this because I just saw the movie (loosely, verrry loosely) based on the title. I'm glad they pretty much just took the concept of The Empty Man and wrote an entirely different story for the film, because that story was excellent. As for the graphic novel, it's good, not great. You're pretty much thrown into the tale in the midst of the story, and while you don't learn everything, it's actually a pretty simple, straightforward idea, kind of like a drawn out X-File. The artwork is a bit too dark and abstract, but it certainly is a pure horror comic.
June 19, 2021
Some of the imagery is spooky, and the idea of a thought-virus is freaky. The problem is mostly that this feels unfinished. Given that it ends on a cliffhanger, that’s probably the case.
This recycles a lot of ideas and imagery from other, better stuff, but it could have worked if it was fleshed out better. Alas, it’s not. I’m guessing the movie will be better.
This recycles a lot of ideas and imagery from other, better stuff, but it could have worked if it was fleshed out better. Alas, it’s not. I’m guessing the movie will be better.
January 5, 2019
O Homem Vazio foi um dos lançamentos de fim-de-ano que mais me entusiasmaram. A premissa de uma doença altamente contagiosa que se difunde na eclosão de uma seita é, no mínimo, interessante. Infelizmente, o comic não correspondeu às expectativas. A história é mesmo interessante, uma mistura pouco discreta entre o policial e o sobrenatural, mas isso não é o suficiente para oferecer uma experiência de leitura que possamos dizer convincente.
Para além da explicação do plot ser para lá de atabalhoada, a arte de Vanesa R. Del Rey não me cativou a 100%. Confesso que me desiludiu, mas essa percepção acabou se esbater durante a leitura. A coloração de Michael Garland, que realça os rosas e os liláses, acaba por compensar os traços faciais pouco convincentes e um trabalho global algo pobre da artista cubana. Mesmo assim, a trama é estranha e intrigante o quanto baste para que o livro acabe por revelar algum interesse.
Um ano após o primeiro caso confirmado do Homem Vazio, uma estranha epidemia de que não se conhece cura, todas as tentativas de a debelar ou mitigar foram condenadas ao fracasso. Ninguém sabe o que causou a doença, apenas que os infectados apresentam sintomas como delírios febris, acessos de raiva ou tendências suicidas que tanto os conduzem à morte como ao estado vegetativo, a que lhe valeu a nomenclatura. Para piorar as investigações, começam a surgir sinais de uma seita homicida que vê esta estranha doença como uma manifestação divina.
A narrativa acompanha a agente Jensen do FBI e um membro do CDC, Langford, que investigam o culto ao Homem Vazio e tentam perceber os contornos da misteriosa epidemia. Com um pregador louco e fundamentalista, um rol de possibilidades a envolver explicações psíquicas, científicas e médicas e alguma atividade paranormal, a trama oferece uma aura X-Files a quem a lê.
Cullen Bunn volta a não me encher as medidas com O Homem Vazio. Apesar de reconhecer qualidade no seu trabalho, nomeadamente com Harrow County ou Deadpool, é um autor que não entra, definitivamente, no lote de argumentistas de comic que mais me agradam. Também não foi este o livro dele que menos me agradou, mas infelizmente a arte de Del Rey não lhe oferece ajuda.
Pouco criativa na apresentação dos factos, visualmente confusa e com um desenvolvimento pouco consistente, O Homem Vazio é uma história de teor noir que tem na premissa a sua maior virtude. E é exatamente o tipo de narrativa e o mistério que o envolve o que mais me cativou neste álbum, bem como a fisionomia inusitada das manifestações da doença. À publicação da G Floy Studio resta dar-lhe mérito em tratar-se de uma edição auto-conclusiva.
http://noticiasdezallar.wordpress.com
Para além da explicação do plot ser para lá de atabalhoada, a arte de Vanesa R. Del Rey não me cativou a 100%. Confesso que me desiludiu, mas essa percepção acabou se esbater durante a leitura. A coloração de Michael Garland, que realça os rosas e os liláses, acaba por compensar os traços faciais pouco convincentes e um trabalho global algo pobre da artista cubana. Mesmo assim, a trama é estranha e intrigante o quanto baste para que o livro acabe por revelar algum interesse.
Um ano após o primeiro caso confirmado do Homem Vazio, uma estranha epidemia de que não se conhece cura, todas as tentativas de a debelar ou mitigar foram condenadas ao fracasso. Ninguém sabe o que causou a doença, apenas que os infectados apresentam sintomas como delírios febris, acessos de raiva ou tendências suicidas que tanto os conduzem à morte como ao estado vegetativo, a que lhe valeu a nomenclatura. Para piorar as investigações, começam a surgir sinais de uma seita homicida que vê esta estranha doença como uma manifestação divina.
A narrativa acompanha a agente Jensen do FBI e um membro do CDC, Langford, que investigam o culto ao Homem Vazio e tentam perceber os contornos da misteriosa epidemia. Com um pregador louco e fundamentalista, um rol de possibilidades a envolver explicações psíquicas, científicas e médicas e alguma atividade paranormal, a trama oferece uma aura X-Files a quem a lê.
Cullen Bunn volta a não me encher as medidas com O Homem Vazio. Apesar de reconhecer qualidade no seu trabalho, nomeadamente com Harrow County ou Deadpool, é um autor que não entra, definitivamente, no lote de argumentistas de comic que mais me agradam. Também não foi este o livro dele que menos me agradou, mas infelizmente a arte de Del Rey não lhe oferece ajuda.
Pouco criativa na apresentação dos factos, visualmente confusa e com um desenvolvimento pouco consistente, O Homem Vazio é uma história de teor noir que tem na premissa a sua maior virtude. E é exatamente o tipo de narrativa e o mistério que o envolve o que mais me cativou neste álbum, bem como a fisionomia inusitada das manifestações da doença. À publicação da G Floy Studio resta dar-lhe mérito em tratar-se de uma edição auto-conclusiva.
http://noticiasdezallar.wordpress.com
October 1, 2018
In The Empty Man, an FBI agent and a CDC investigator are partners investigating a mysterious and gruesome series of suicides that have one thing in common — they all seem to have been told to do it by the Empty Man. This is an excellent hook for a horror series and the en medias res beginning of issue 1 sucks the reader right into this six-issue graphic novel.
The series does a great job of setting up the mysterious compulsions of the suicides and the unique and horrific methods each one picks. The reader is given just enough examples without the narrative devolving into just a Faces of Death style series of examples. However, it falls down a bit on the characterization of our two detectives. We get indication that they’ve been working together for a while and we get a bit of nice, human, interaction between them. Bunn seems to be going for a hard boiled feel in his investigators; but, just misses the mark by not making them quite stereotypical enough or quiet individual enough.
The art from Vanessa Del Rey, on the other hand, is pitch perfect for the kind of crime noir feel in both palette choice and the choice of going for more angular sketches rather than detailed verisimilitude. She introduces some style, especially in the paneling, which successfully ties the issues and the unfolding story together.
The writing itself does not quite tie together. Initially, Bunn draws us further and further in with an escalating sense of chaos. Are the Watchers merely lonely people who want to be part of something or are they being purposefully pulled in by the Empty Man? Is the Empty Man a supernatural entity or is an alien invasion involved? As things get more chaotic it becomes harder and harder to look away. Art and writing work well to give the reader an increasing feeling of spiraling into madness.
Until, somewhat abruptly, they don’t. Many reviewers have complained about the lack of an ending. It’s true that issue 6 leaves the field wide open for a lot of things to possibly come next. However, one of the big problems with the series is that it introduces a lot of wild possibilities only to eventually tell us exactly what the Empty Man is and what we should think about it. This weakens the ending to a point where the open-ended conclusion leaves the reader feeling like Bunn may have just run out of space, rather than planning to leave us dying to know what comes next.
Even considering the unsatisfying ending, this is an excellent horror comic with a lot of great elements and a great example of the art complementing the story.
The series does a great job of setting up the mysterious compulsions of the suicides and the unique and horrific methods each one picks. The reader is given just enough examples without the narrative devolving into just a Faces of Death style series of examples. However, it falls down a bit on the characterization of our two detectives. We get indication that they’ve been working together for a while and we get a bit of nice, human, interaction between them. Bunn seems to be going for a hard boiled feel in his investigators; but, just misses the mark by not making them quite stereotypical enough or quiet individual enough.
The art from Vanessa Del Rey, on the other hand, is pitch perfect for the kind of crime noir feel in both palette choice and the choice of going for more angular sketches rather than detailed verisimilitude. She introduces some style, especially in the paneling, which successfully ties the issues and the unfolding story together.
The writing itself does not quite tie together. Initially, Bunn draws us further and further in with an escalating sense of chaos. Are the Watchers merely lonely people who want to be part of something or are they being purposefully pulled in by the Empty Man? Is the Empty Man a supernatural entity or is an alien invasion involved? As things get more chaotic it becomes harder and harder to look away. Art and writing work well to give the reader an increasing feeling of spiraling into madness.
Until, somewhat abruptly, they don’t. Many reviewers have complained about the lack of an ending. It’s true that issue 6 leaves the field wide open for a lot of things to possibly come next. However, one of the big problems with the series is that it introduces a lot of wild possibilities only to eventually tell us exactly what the Empty Man is and what we should think about it. This weakens the ending to a point where the open-ended conclusion leaves the reader feeling like Bunn may have just run out of space, rather than planning to leave us dying to know what comes next.
Even considering the unsatisfying ending, this is an excellent horror comic with a lot of great elements and a great example of the art complementing the story.
October 23, 2022
From reading other reviews, it looks like most readers were as confused as I was. There's a "disease" going around, that causes people to see strange things and commit terribly violent acts. No one is sure how the disease spreads, or what causes it. We find out it's somehow linked to a catatonic man and his sister, but even then things are vague. Then monsters start to show up. And we find out there's another world. I realize this review seems disjointed, and it's because the story felt the same way.
Things were still creepy and if you just read in the moment and not try to analyze what's happening, it's okay. But I like to have more of an understanding of why things are happening, so this wasn't really my type of read. However, I will read the sequels in a hopeful attempt that it clears things up a little, as this sort of ends in the middle of the story.
Things were still creepy and if you just read in the moment and not try to analyze what's happening, it's okay. But I like to have more of an understanding of why things are happening, so this wasn't really my type of read. However, I will read the sequels in a hopeful attempt that it clears things up a little, as this sort of ends in the middle of the story.
April 5, 2021
Mental power gone insane. It is some sort of living thing that will sense danger and it takes measures to defend itself.
December 31, 2023
final abierto………..me cago en mi vida con lo que me estaba gustando dios
April 9, 2021
Reliably creepy and cool artwork, but I wish the main story felt less like a knockoff procedural. Excited to see what the movie does with the material
June 13, 2021
An interesting premise and amazing artwork draw you in to the world of the Empty Man. People are killing, people are dying, people are changing. Is it the work of a disease? A cult? An invasion of some type? This creepy story and equally dark visuals will keep you up at night, either reading or staring into the gloom, trying to avoid the nightmares which await you.
May 19, 2021
Novela gráfica inspiración de la película de culto homónima del 2020 aunque, salvo algunas referencias claras, el largometraje no tiene nada que ver con esta historia. Me ha emocionado y horrorizado, a partes iguales, transmite el desconcierto y la angustia con muchísima potencia en un dibujo que juega al esbozo.
Aún así, culpa mía sin duda o del momento que atravieso, no consigo sacarle todo el jugo filosófico al concepto del "Hombre Vacío" una suerte de anti deidad que necesita, precisamente, de un recipiente para extender su influencia por nuestra realidad mediante ondas de pensamiento que, concretamente en el cómic, se consideran un virus que afecta en gran medida a aquella parte de la población con cierta capacidad extrasensorial.
Historia con escenario y situaciones de novela negra en las que el horror irrumpe no sólo en forma de amenaza sobrenatural sino también en el trato psicológico de los afectos, las enfermedades (concebidas incluso como una maldición) y las herencias familiares.
Porque todo eso también nos llena y nos vacía. Nos hace ver el mundo de una forma intransferible, tan personal que sólo existe la verdad propia, el mundo personal: la incapacidad positiva de comprendernos como seres y entre nosotros.
Estupendo trabajo de edición de Editorial Hidra.
Aún así, culpa mía sin duda o del momento que atravieso, no consigo sacarle todo el jugo filosófico al concepto del "Hombre Vacío" una suerte de anti deidad que necesita, precisamente, de un recipiente para extender su influencia por nuestra realidad mediante ondas de pensamiento que, concretamente en el cómic, se consideran un virus que afecta en gran medida a aquella parte de la población con cierta capacidad extrasensorial.
Historia con escenario y situaciones de novela negra en las que el horror irrumpe no sólo en forma de amenaza sobrenatural sino también en el trato psicológico de los afectos, las enfermedades (concebidas incluso como una maldición) y las herencias familiares.
Porque todo eso también nos llena y nos vacía. Nos hace ver el mundo de una forma intransferible, tan personal que sólo existe la verdad propia, el mundo personal: la incapacidad positiva de comprendernos como seres y entre nosotros.
Estupendo trabajo de edición de Editorial Hidra.
January 13, 2022
Blah. I fully expected to love this but didn’t. The movie was interesting, if not great, with a lot of untapped potential. After reading that the director admitted his adaptation was purposefully unfaithful to the comic, I fully expected to come away loving the book and even assumed it’d be superior to the film. The story wasn’t that original or interesting and I also didn’t care for the art. Too sketchy. Maybe it would have been the right amount of sketchy were it not for the murky colors, though.
One thing that put me off watching the movie was the synopsis: a traumatized ex-cop investigates something supernatural. That’s been done to death. But the movie was so much more than that (loved the opening and expected more of that here.) The comic isn’t much more than that. Not really. Just another X-Files-type of story. There are a lot of interesting ideas but there’s too many of them and not enough character work. At least for six issues.
Another thing that put me off watching the movie is that I assumed it would be some cheap horror crap like Slender Man. (It wasn’t.) It featured a cool urban legend scenario, even if it was just a jumping off point, but there’s no trace of that here.
I do recommend the movie, and I found this readable; it’s one of those instances where the film and its source are distant cousins. I think time may be kinder to the film.
One thing that put me off watching the movie was the synopsis: a traumatized ex-cop investigates something supernatural. That’s been done to death. But the movie was so much more than that (loved the opening and expected more of that here.) The comic isn’t much more than that. Not really. Just another X-Files-type of story. There are a lot of interesting ideas but there’s too many of them and not enough character work. At least for six issues.
Another thing that put me off watching the movie is that I assumed it would be some cheap horror crap like Slender Man. (It wasn’t.) It featured a cool urban legend scenario, even if it was just a jumping off point, but there’s no trace of that here.
I do recommend the movie, and I found this readable; it’s one of those instances where the film and its source are distant cousins. I think time may be kinder to the film.
May 6, 2021
I read this after seeing the fantastic movie, and I have to say, the filmmakers really did make a silk purse out of a sows ear. The graphic novel has a plot that is not terribly original, the characters are threadbare, the resolution is non-existent, and the art is murky and dark (an overdone style that sacrifices clarity and precision for a mood of nihilistic chaos). Skip this book (and I assume, its sequels, and watch the superior-in-every-way film that's only remotely based on this source material.
August 19, 2021
The movie was vastly better. Both have some of the same creepy ideas and confusing ending, but while the film's resolution was intriguing, the comic felt like a massive cop-out. And the art was rather weak as well, often being hard to parse out.
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October 21, 2024Gostei do grafismo. O estilo atrai-me muito.
A história em si toca em pontos interessantes, principalmente a parte em q mostra como as pessoas e a sociedade reagem, mas além disso a história é claramente escrita nos EUA: muita gente a armar-se em heroí. A história em si é fraca.
A história em si toca em pontos interessantes, principalmente a parte em q mostra como as pessoas e a sociedade reagem, mas além disso a história é claramente escrita nos EUA: muita gente a armar-se em heroí. A história em si é fraca.
December 29, 2018
Another weird horror story from Bunn... the story reminded me more of The Leftovers, in a way. Del Rey's art is growing on me. Looking forward to the next volume.
May 19, 2022
Watch the film.
September 13, 2021
(Zero spoiler review)
The few stories of Bunn's I've read so far and I'm yet to read his two big titles) I've found he is either on point, or well shy of the mark. Bone parish was awesome, yet Dark Arc and Witch Hammer were underwhelming, poorly developed and made about as much impact as a pillow fight with your grandma. So, to somewhat buck that trend, we have The Empty Man. A book that goes and plonks itself right in the middle, dispelling my current Bunn myth. I went into this believing there was a decent amount of hype around this story. I cannot say exactly where this belief came from, although seeing as how it got a movie adaptation which I have neither seen nor have any knowledge regarding its reception, I thought that there must be at least a little bit of buzz around this book. A nice little indie gem punching above its weight. Well, Hollywood will practically troll anything remotely adaptable these days, either turning something good into something average, or something average into something even more average, but via a different medium, but I digress.
The Empty Man opens promisingly enough, tentatively drawing me in and keeping those pages turning. I read a few reviews on this site and saw a lot of people were giving Del Rey's art a bit of a panning. Whilst I would certainly stop short of calling it exemplary, I thought her heavy brush stroke style worked well to portray a grim and gritty world, especially when it came to establishing shots and landscapes. Her human characters lacked consistency and accurate proportions, but I guess that's not her style. Still, it bothered me. That said, some of the more 'horrific' panels were some of the most interesting and unsettling I've seen in a while. No, they're not scary, but they were pretty well done. The art may be an acquired taste, but it certainly isn't the biggest detractor here.
That honour goes to Bunn and his muddied concepts. I still don't know exactly what The Empty Man is. There is a continuous air of mystery surrounding the antagonist throughout the story, although its poorly executed, creating confusion rather than a genuine sense of wonderment or unease. There is a slight nod to something Lovecraftian, which was interesting, but ultimately, I was scratching my head, wondering is it just me? Am I not getting something here I'm fairly sure it wasn't me, or if it was, a lot of other readers suffered the same problem.
There was a good story here to be fleshed out, although with some rather cardboard protagonists, muddied and lacklustre concepts and plot, and a some hit and miss art, this one certainly wasn't as annoyingly bad as his aforementioned works, but neither can it be seen as anything more than average. Still, I'm going to read the second. Let's see some of these criticisms are addressed in the sequel. 3/5
OmniBen.
The few stories of Bunn's I've read so far and I'm yet to read his two big titles) I've found he is either on point, or well shy of the mark. Bone parish was awesome, yet Dark Arc and Witch Hammer were underwhelming, poorly developed and made about as much impact as a pillow fight with your grandma. So, to somewhat buck that trend, we have The Empty Man. A book that goes and plonks itself right in the middle, dispelling my current Bunn myth. I went into this believing there was a decent amount of hype around this story. I cannot say exactly where this belief came from, although seeing as how it got a movie adaptation which I have neither seen nor have any knowledge regarding its reception, I thought that there must be at least a little bit of buzz around this book. A nice little indie gem punching above its weight. Well, Hollywood will practically troll anything remotely adaptable these days, either turning something good into something average, or something average into something even more average, but via a different medium, but I digress.
The Empty Man opens promisingly enough, tentatively drawing me in and keeping those pages turning. I read a few reviews on this site and saw a lot of people were giving Del Rey's art a bit of a panning. Whilst I would certainly stop short of calling it exemplary, I thought her heavy brush stroke style worked well to portray a grim and gritty world, especially when it came to establishing shots and landscapes. Her human characters lacked consistency and accurate proportions, but I guess that's not her style. Still, it bothered me. That said, some of the more 'horrific' panels were some of the most interesting and unsettling I've seen in a while. No, they're not scary, but they were pretty well done. The art may be an acquired taste, but it certainly isn't the biggest detractor here.
That honour goes to Bunn and his muddied concepts. I still don't know exactly what The Empty Man is. There is a continuous air of mystery surrounding the antagonist throughout the story, although its poorly executed, creating confusion rather than a genuine sense of wonderment or unease. There is a slight nod to something Lovecraftian, which was interesting, but ultimately, I was scratching my head, wondering is it just me? Am I not getting something here I'm fairly sure it wasn't me, or if it was, a lot of other readers suffered the same problem.
There was a good story here to be fleshed out, although with some rather cardboard protagonists, muddied and lacklustre concepts and plot, and a some hit and miss art, this one certainly wasn't as annoyingly bad as his aforementioned works, but neither can it be seen as anything more than average. Still, I'm going to read the second. Let's see some of these criticisms are addressed in the sequel. 3/5
OmniBen.
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