Issue: 7 Psychopaths TPB
Release Date: October 13, 2010
Writer: Fabien Vehlmann
Artist: Sean Phillips
Colors: Hubert
Letterers: Troy Peteri & Deron Bennett
Translator: Dan Heching
Cover: Sean Phillips
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
I had my doubts with issue two, but issue three of 7 Psychopaths has made me a believer. This is a very clever story, read best all in one sitting. And with BOOM! Studios’ release of the 7 Psychopaths TPB, that task is far easier to accomplish.
Don’t expect many bells and whistles with this TPB. There is a section at the end that collects the covers of the individual issues, but that is about it. However, this story doesn’t need a lot of filler to make it a worthy purchase.
7 Psychopaths is the tale of a man so obsessed with ending the war that he brings together seven people so mentally unstable they shouldn’t be allowed sharp objects much less the task of assassinating one of the greatest mad men of our time, Hitler. Clever premise indeed, but this has been done before. Or so I thought. Going into this comic, I thought I knew how the story would end. But I was so wrong.
Vehlmann manages to take the classic “What If?” scenario of an assassination plot against the Führer and produce a twist ending the reader will not expect and yet find satisfying on a level that will make them question why someone hadn’t thought of going down this path before.
The ending was brilliant. I fear writing any more on the topic out of fear of stealing away the fantastic surprise from anyone wanting to read 7 Psychopaths.
If you enjoyed Inglourious Basterds or are looking for a alternate history comic set in World War II, you will do well to visit your friendly neighborhood comic book store and pick up a copy of 7 Psychopaths TPB.
Rating: 4 / 5 Stars
About the Author
M.C. Shumaker was doomed to be a geek from the start. It started in utero, when she was read the collected works of Tolkien. She built a computer before she could drive a car. She had a zombie apocalypse survival plan before they were cool. The Fourth Doctor is her Doctor. Spock, Mulder and Tesla were her first crushes. She is a Trekker, Browncoat, Niner, Lostie, Whovian, and an X-Phile.Her geek specialties are graphic literature, web comics, the world of Harry Potter, science fiction, British television, hard science, LOST and The X-Files. Due to her upbringing by a Tolkien obsessed mother and Trekker father, she has a soft spot for fantasy, literature, and the Klingon language too.
She has an unhealthy obsession with Nikola Tesla, The Lone Gunmen, robots, zombies and Japanese hard candy.
When she isn't writing the Great American Graphic Novel, knitting fandom related amigurumi, or engaging in an argument over why it should be required for new Doctor Who fans to watch the episodes prior to Eccleston, she plays the part of a mild mannered freelance writer counting down the days until this year's Dragon*Con.
She received a bachelor of arts in Creative Writing from Florida State University in 2002. She resides in Tallahassee, FL, with her mad scientist husband and a pet basil plant named Basil. When she grows up, she wants to be a professional disc golfer or a robot. Maybe both.
You can follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/_squarerootofpi or her blog at http://squarerootofpi.livejournal.com/.