Brody's Ghost Volume 3 Paperback – April 24, 2012

3rd book of Mark Crilley's "Brody's Ghost." Not as good as the 2nd book, but still good. It's about Brody and his ghost friend, Talia, looking for a murderer. Here are the things this book gets right...The art is good, like always. Crilley is a professional so the art you see in this book is most likely going to be as good as the first one. Still, the backgrounds are the best parts.Talia is still a delight to read and gets even more development as a character.There's this great sense of darkness "Brody's Ghost" has. There isn't much swearing (if any) and the violence is surprisingly tame for an action manga, but it's the things underneath the surface that make your skin crawl. Way back in the first book Brody was getting his butt handed to him by a little kid (funny). Then the little kid takes a cinder block and is about to smash his head in (wtf?). The book talks about this murderer who goes around strangling women (okay no big deal. Most of us hear about murders all the time). Then Crilley puts a face on these victims, all of them young, pretty, and full of life so far. At one point you even see a woman getting strangled (WTF!?). I found myself actually feeling pretty bad for these people I barely knew. Reading between the lines, I shuddered at the thought of the likelihood (assuming the murderer is a man) of these women being sexual assaulted, especially ***SPOILER*** since Talia was one of the victims ***END SPOILER*** The dark underlining is great and it gives a more real and urgent feeling to everything.I liked how "Brody's Ghost" isn't a one-trick pony that's all about action. This volume is more of a detective story. It adds some intelligence to everything overall.The expressions I feel are getting better. Crilley's good had doing the serious emotions but the the more silly one come off stiff.Things that could use work...Brody. I'm beginning to feel like a broken record, but Brody still feels underdeveloped. So far this is what I understand of him. He's usually a laid back kind of guy who's often quiet. But when provoked just the right way he has a tendency to blow his top. This actually sounds good in writing, but it could be executed better in my opinion. Brody has a temper problem, I get it, but whenever he does lose his temper it's usually only shown for several panels, and then he's back to being boring. If he's going to be angry then it should he should be angry more. At least that way he'd be more interesting.The overall predictability in the story. I usually could guess what was going to happen a book before it happened, like this and the last cliffhanger. While still enjoyable, there weren't many surprises for me. I'm the kind of person who likes to be caught off guard, but so far the story's having a hard time doing that. But this problem seems to be disappearing on its own, because I can honestly say I don't have a good idea what will happen next, other than they catch the murderer. I mean, I've got an idea, but a vague one.I only really had two complaints about the third book, but they were big ones for me. Everything else is great. I hope this comic does well because if I'm right and this series does "end" at the murderer, there will still be so much story to tell. My hope is that Dark Horse lets Crilley continue his series after the first initial 6 or 7 books are finished. Brody could develop his powers more, maybe meet another rival psychic, and finds a way to save his clearly deteriorating city he lives in. I'm just fantasizing now.Anyways, book 3 is still good and still worth a read. Does a good job at keeping you hooked, and I'll be keeping my eye out for the 4th book for sure.

Let me start off by saying that I've only recently become familiar with Mr. Crilley through his How to draw manga books. What I have seen though is quite impressive; in a way, he sort of reminds me of the great Patrick "Spaz" Spaziante of Archie Comics Sonic the Hedgehog books, and that, coming from me, is very high praise indeed. When I saw the Brody's Ghost series,I decided I should try it an see his work in action and I will tell you, Mr. Crilley does not disappoint.First, let's talk about the story: picking up where the last book left off, Brody has been following his ex-girlfriend, Nicole, after seeing an image of her dead body, which, in turn , causes him to believe she's to be the next victim of the dangerous Penny Murder. I won't reveal too much more, but I will say that the story is definitely well-told; it plays out a bit like a murder mystery, with a dose of the paranormal and, moreso in the other books, a bit of kung fu action thrown in for spice.Then there's the artwork. Like the aforementioned "Spaz", Crilley does a great job bringing out that "manga feel" in an otherwise American made book. His attention to detail is great and his characters are very expressive and fun to watch. I especially like the scenes where characters go all wide-eyed, because it adds humour to the otherwise gritty atmosphere and keeps it from being *too* dark and depressing (like far too much of most entertainment today).All in all, I'm really liking the way the series is shaping up. As of this writing, I already have the first four parts of the series and can't wait for the last two. Highly recommended.

As a follower for the past 5-10 years...Mark Crilley has been an astonishing Novelist and Illustrator. I find his stories to be quite decent for me as a reader, and for the younger generations. Being a comic book fan and inspiring to be an artist of the genre myself, when I found Crilley on youtube back in 2004 I started to become interested in picking up where I left off with my skills. Over the last few years I have improved, and started to read Crilley's books...I found that I like his approach in storytelling a great deal. Maybe some day I will realize my High School dream, which Crilley re-ignited the flame for...Thank You Mr. Mark Crilley.+Welcomed aspect to storytelling+Decent Illustration+Fun and Exciting to read+Author gives inspiration to many artist of all agesOther thoughts:Worth picking up and reading, if you are into a good book. Well worth the purchase for me and I recommend getting this for support of a fellow Artist that has made his way. The Series would be a great gift to aspiring Manga reader, or Comics in general...THUMBS UP TO AMAZON AS ALWAYS :)

Mine was super bent. That's a huge downer.

Awesome!!The story development and well planned plot is what caught my interest.I chose to give it a five star because after a long days I got a shock from the plot twist.I recommend it for anyone from the 90s. And the young generation.I really think we should make an anime or cartoon or whatever you wanna call it, out of it. It's a great story!

After reading the third in this series from Mark Crilley the story just keeps you hooked. They are short books and easy reads but I can't wait for book four. Crilley's art work is fantastic in this volume. The city scapes alone are worth the price of the book. Fantastic detail and if feels like the page is a window as you look across the city. Watch Mr. Crilley on you tube and you will see what a great personality he has and the pride he takes in his work. Well Done!

The length is starting to become a problem for me. It was okay at the start because it was story building but the length didn't work with this one as it just felt like a little snippet of a story. Almost like when you download a sample of a graphic novel. I still like the characters and the storyline and will read all six but I wish I had waited until they were all out and read them back to back.

Good stuff mate. Very strong art work. Got them in the wrong order but pleased to continue the tail with this and look forward to the next.

So, I downloaded the third to my Paperwhite, I'll be back for the complete series!

Good illustrations, good story. Nice little book to have in your bag.

Given as a gift to my son.