Crogan's Vengeance Review

Hey guys, this is sort of a special review for me today. Crogan's Vengeance is a fun historical adventure graphic novel by Chris Schweizer, son of Mark Schweizer, who is known for his St. Germaine series of mystery novels.
I'll admit, I have some bias on this book because of an online pen-pal-type friendship I've had with Chris for the last few years. I first got turned onto his work when I stumbled across his old band's Purevolume account. That band was called Calico Jack and, the pirate aficionado I am, I had to check it. Chris and I have traded messages online on and off ever since.
Well, I'd been waiting awhile for Crogan's Vengance to be released by Oni Press, and when I found out it had, I immediately rushed out to good ol' Silver Bullet Comics here in Norman. I figured if anybody would have it, they would. Lucky me, they had got one copy in the day before and I bought it on the spot.
And I am sure glad I did. Crogan's Vengeance is a hell of a lot of fun to read. The best I compare it to is an Errol Flynn movie rolled into a comic strip. Schweizer's pacing is excellent, and the story keeps moving briskly. Even the scenes low on action play out quickly because the characters pop out so well and are distinct. "Catfoot" Crogan is the type of gentleman rogue that everyone can love while the villainous D'or is just as easy to hate. Schweizer has a classic sense of story, evoking the spirit of classic Hollywood historical epics without descending into parody. Characters are fun and engaging and dialogue is witty and brisk. The plot is also quite clever, leaving the reader wondering what scheme Catfoot is going to come up with next. Schweizer's command of history, especially pirate history, is also quite admirable. He sticks to the facts and brings in enough real history to make any pirate geek like me smile.
Schweizer also illustrated Crogan's Vengeance and he did it quite well. First off, the pages are all black and white, which adds to the classic feel of the novel. Even in black and white, the book has wonderful atmosphere and he captures movement really well. A sequence involving a ship nearly capsizing during a storm is especially impressive. His characters are exaggerated to cartoon proportions, which helps them stick out more from one another, while his backgrounds style relatively simple but still realistic.
Overall, this book is simple wonderful. Its swashbuckling charm should be enough to win over any fan of comics or of pirates (or those who, like me, are fans of both). Luckily, this is but the first in a series following the different members of the Crogan family throughout history. Crogan's March, which tells the tale of French Legionairre Peter Crogan, circa 1912, is set to come out in 2009.
Oh, and one more thing, even in hardcover, Crogan's Vengeance will only put you out $14.95. It's well worth the money.

- Nate