Comic Book Review: Marijuanaman
Now I get what got Andrew so excited when he talked to Joe Casey and Jim Mahfood at Wondercon (text here and audio here).
When I first picked up Marijuanaman from Image Comics, I was impressed by the prestigious hardcover format but the AU$35 (US$24.99) price tag was hard to swallow. However, I took my medicine and ponied up the cash.
Getting home I opened this book and was immediately struck by Jim Mahfood’s artwork. I really enjoy his underground/graffiti style, but it wasn’t enough to get me through this story in a single sitting. I got about halfway through it before I put it down and moved on. I was a bit cheesed that I’d payed so much for a book that (at first glance) had inconsistent characterization (which was my biggest problem first time through).
When I finally sat down a second time with Marijuanaman I was determined to get through the whole thing this time.
And now, I’m glad I did.
Ziggy Marley and Joe Casey have come up with a very interesting and conflicted character. What I mistook for sloppy characterization was actually a character struggling with his power and beliefs, and a universal theme that I think many people can relate to: How do you sync what you believe with how you live?
Click through for a summary of my thoughts, plus my rating.
All in all, I think Marley, Casey, and Mahfood have done a great job here. They’ve created a unique hero in an ugly world and made him real. As a superhero book, I think it really works. It’s not just a book for stoners. If you’re expecting Bluntman and Chronic (superhero stoners causing all sorts of hilarity), that’s not what you’re going to get here. Marijuanaman is a good first chapter in what could be a superhero epic.
I’m giving Marijuanaman four baby Hellboys out of five. It’s not a bad book, but it has room to improve…if only I didn’t have to sell my kidney to afford it.
