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Mercy Thompson: Homecoming (Mercedes Thompson Graphic Novels)

by Patricia Briggs, Francis Tsai (Illustrator), David Lawrence, Amelia Woo (Illustrator)

3.93 · rating details · 3,569 ratings · 231 reviews

Mercy Thompson is a walker, a magical being with the power to transform into a coyote. She lives on the fine line dividing the everyday world from a darker dimension, observing the supernatural community while standing apart.

When Mercy travels to the Tri-Cities of Washington for a job interview, she quickly finds herself smack-dab in the middle of a gang war between rival ...more

Hardcover, Graphic Novel, 168 pages

Published August 25th 2009 by Del Rey/Dabel Brothers

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Community Reviews

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Dec 12, 2010

BeguileThySorrow... rated it

Shelves: graphic-novel-comic, paranormal

I love graphic novels but I'm also really picky about the artwork. I wasn't too excited about how Mercy looked, which was also reeeally inconsistent throughout. She would look too masculine and then suddenly oversexualized on the next page, and her face/hair/everything look completely different from the drawings of her inside the book, not to mention nothing like how she looked on the original book covers. And I loved her on the book covers, especially on Iron-kissed.

But the story w...more

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Feb 04, 2012

Carol rated it

Shelves: mystery, paranormal

I love the Mercy Thompson book series, and would appreciate this story in novel form. I like some graphic novels, i.e., The Color of Earth series of 3 books. However, I don't like this graphic version. I probably would not like the other graphic novels in this series either.

The graphics are interesting, especially to adolescent boys. One thing I hate is the bimbo-ization of Mercy Thompson by the cover artists of the book series and the graphic artists here. In the books, I don't pictur...more

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Jan 08, 2012

Lady Entropy rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 17, 2011

ALPHAreader rated it

‘Homecoming’ is a graphic novel short story set in the Mercy Thompson universe. The story is by Patricia Briggs and David Lawrence with illustrations by Francis Tsai and Amelia Woo, and cover art by Daniel Dos Santos.

‘Homecoming’ is a prelude to the events in Mercy Thompson’s first book, ‘Moon Called’. Bran has just kicked Mercy out of his pack and she’s moved to the Tri-Cities to put her teaching degree to good use. But in the span of 24 hours Mercy is attacked by one werewolf pack ...more‘Homecoming’ is a graphic novel short story set in the Mercy Thompson universe. The story is by Patricia Briggs and David Lawrence with illustrations by Francis Tsai and Amelia Woo, and cover art by Daniel Dos Santos.

‘Homecoming’ is a prelude to the events in Mercy Thompson’s first book, ‘Moon Called’. Bran has just kicked Mercy out of his pack and she’s moved to the Tri-Cities to put her teaching degree to good use. But in the span of 24 hours Mercy is attacked by one werewolf pack and rescued by a second, beaten bloody by a vampire’s human minion and threatened by one of the local vampire queen’s flunkies.

‘Homecoming’ tells the story of how Mercy came to settle in the Tri-Cities. The graphic novel details her first meeting of Stefan, Siebold Adelbertsmiter (Zee) and his son Tad and the Columbia Basin wolf pack’s Alpha, Adam Hauptman.

I perused the reviews of ‘Homecoming’ on Amazon and was thoroughly disappointed to see that it’s been given a 2.5 star rating. Read a few of the reviews and it becomes apparent that ‘Homecoming’s’ unpopularity has nothing to do with the graphic novel itself, but rather reviewer’s stupidity.

Many of the Amazon reviewers thought that ‘Homecoming’ was the next novel in Patricia Briggs’ ‘Mercy Thompson’ series, and they bought/pre-ordered the novel thinking it was follow-on from the 4th Mercy book ‘Bone Crossed’. One indignant reviewer even accuses Dabel brothers of misleading fans by giving no indication on the cover that this is a graphic novel… that’s despite the fact that on the cover are the words “an original graphic novel”.

Another reviewer sniffs that comics “cheapen the series”. Actually, it does nothing of the sort. Adapting books into graphic novels is fast becoming a popular occurrence in the publishing world.

Diana Gabaldon is releasing a graphic novel short story set in the ‘Outlander’ universe, telling a new Jamie and Claire story set in the timeframe of her first book. Kelley Armstrong has an online comic called ‘Becoming’ which is a prologue to the events of her first ‘Women of the Otherworld’ book, ‘Bitten’. Melissa Marr has released a graphic novel set in her YA ‘Wicked Lovely’ universe, with a second graphic novel due for release next year. Laurell K Hamilton has had great success adapting her ‘Anita Blake’ series into comic book format with ‘The First Death’ (2007), ‘Guilty Pleasures’ (2008) and she is currently working on ‘The Laughing Corpse’ for release later this year.

Graphic novels do not cheapen a series – they add a new dimension to the universe the author has created. And when it comes to Urban Fantasy in particular, comics are a logical extension of the book series. They offer another layer to the vivid universe the author has created, and visualize the fantastical characters that were previously relegated to the printed word.

I think the comic adaptation of Patricia Briggs’s ‘Mercy Thompson’ series made perfect sense, especially because her cover artist, Daniel Dos Santos, has done such a wonderful job of providing a visual framework for readers. Anyone who is familiar with the Mercy books will know that Daniel Dos Santos is a cover-art genius – and he has given Mercy a very distinct look.

Unfortunately Dos Santos only did the cover-art for ‘Homecoming’, Francis Tsai and Amelia Woo are responsible for the beautiful illustrations within. Daniel Dos Santos’s work is magnificent, but probably too detailed for the comic book format. Regardless, Tsai and Woo do a fantastic job of visualizing Zee, Stefan and especially Adam.

‘Homecoming’ is a beautiful novel, with wonderful illustrations and an essential story to read if you are a die-hard Mercy fan like me.

I loved ‘Homecoming’, but then again I am not prejudiced against comics like some Mercy fans seem to be. I loved the story, especially Stefan and Mercy’s meeting (and a certain picture of shirtless Adam – not since Trent from ‘Daria’ have I found an illustration so sexy). If you are a Mercy fan, check out ‘Homecoming’, it is a damn good GRAPHIC NOVEL.(less)

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Mar 30, 2011

chucklesthescot rated it

Shelves: graphic-manga, fiction, urbanfantasy

Mercy has arrived in the Tri-Cities to get a teaching job but an encounter with a pack of rogue werewolves leads her to a run down garage being run by a grieving fae and his young boy. A second werewolf pack pack led by Adam has been sent in to the area to destroy the rogues but Mercy just can't help getting in the way...

This story is the prequel to the series, showing how Mercy came to work for Zee, how she befriended Stefan, met Uncle Mike, and met Adam's werewolf pack. It was great ...more

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Jan 25, 2011

Elizabeth (Miss Eliza) rated it

Shelves: 2011_challenge_horror_urban_fantasy, 2011_challenge_shifter, comics, vampires, 2011_challenge_vampire

Mercedes Thompson has arrived in the Tri-Cities for a job interview. Trained as a History teacher she is hoping to get a job at the local High School. Summer is almost over and her time to find employment is running out. Once the school year starts it's a waiting game till the next year. But before she can even go to her interview she's out running in her coyote form and she is attacked by a pack of werewolves. Not that this is news to her, seeing as she was raised in the Marrok's own pack in Mo...moreMercedes Thompson has arrived in the Tri-Cities for a job interview. Trained as a History teacher she is hoping to get a job at the local High School. Summer is almost over and her time to find employment is running out. Once the school year starts it's a waiting game till the next year. But before she can even go to her interview she's out running in her coyote form and she is attacked by a pack of werewolves. Not that this is news to her, seeing as she was raised in the Marrok's own pack in Montana. But what is unusual is that another pack of werewolves saves her. Too bad her car wasn't as lucky. Forcing it to the nearest mechanic, Mercy steps in a heap load of trouble in the form of vampires, but she had to save Tad, the little Fae boy. Tad offers her a job, if a nine year old is allowed to do the hiring when his father is drunk with grief. Zee disagrees and promptly fires Mercy. But despite all the wolves and vampires and warnings to leave town now, it's starting to grow on her, despite not getting the job at the High School. Also, if she could finesse Zee to take her back, a mechanic is better than a burger flipper any day. But soon the two packs decide it's time for a throw down and Mercy is caught in the middle.

I am always hesitant of comic adaptations of book series that I love be it Buffy or what have you. Some of that has to do with the artists and the over sexualization of the women and some of this has to do with the writing. But I felt confident to pick this up because Patricia Briggs herself did a lot of the writing, but more importantly, it was a prequel! Sure, we have learned almost all the information provided here in narrative form through back stories and asides in the Mercy Thompson series. But it's fun seeing Mercy's first interactions with Stefan, Zee and Adam as it played out, not in bites and pieces thrown in to help plot development. Also, can I just say, the art is amazing. All the characters are portrayed in a realistic and plausible manner, espcially in the second half. Mercy looks about what I pictured Mercy to look like. And about is good enough for me when it comes to fictional characters in comics. She has a uniqueness and a personality, and gorgeous tawny eyes that made me connect with her on a level I haven't before, versus some Lara Croft big boobed barbie. I am just so pleased to have a more accurate representation of the world I love in the graphic medium, and it's made me slightly psyched for their adaptations of the rest of the series... even if I'd take new material over old any day.
(less)

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Nov 06, 2010

Katharine Kimbriel rated it

Shelves: fantasy, paranormal, contemporary-fantasy, graphic-novel

This is a story from before Moon Called, the first Mercy Thompson novel, but done in graphic form. It does show how Mercy met some important people in her life, became a mechanic instead of a teacher, and ended up in the Northwest. We see that Adam's pack came in to take care of a "werewolf problem" and that Mercy's talent for making good friends and bad enemies has been with her from the first.

The Dabel Brothers, who packaged this for Del Rey, chose a hard-edged, dark styl...more

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Sep 10, 2010

Crystal Starr Light rated it

Shelves: urban-fantasy, signed-by-author, graphic-novel

"Would you like fries with that, sir?"
Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson is out to Tri-Cities to get a teaching position. But when the interview fails, Mercy is lost. She doesn't want to return home to her mother, people are telling her to leave right and left, and she is smack-dab in the middle of a wolf gang power play.
The story is absolutely brilliant. I've noticed I tend to find comics "confusing" or "convoluted", but this one was straight-forward,...more"Would you like fries with that, sir?"
Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson is out to Tri-Cities to get a teaching position. But when the interview fails, Mercy is lost. She doesn't want to return home to her mother, people are telling her to leave right and left, and she is smack-dab in the middle of a wolf gang power play.
The story is absolutely brilliant. I've noticed I tend to find comics "confusing" or "convoluted", but this one was straight-forward, no hiding behind bushes, no hidden secrets, nothing. It told the interesting story of how Mercy arrived in Tri-Cities, and since I had just finished [[ASIN:0441019277 Moon Called]], I found this very enlightening and enjoyable.
Mercy is the same quick-witted, down-to-earth woman she was in the novel. I love how she is the perfect balance of so many contrasts: caring, yet independent, girly, yet capable with machines, brave, yet never too proud to admit she is afraid. Mercy is truly a character that I can associate and root for.
The other characters are great. I loved seeing Adam's first appearance, Stefan is exactly as I expected, and Zee was really interesting (I was not expecting to like him!). They all intertwined well into the story, were their own characters, yet didn't overshadow the protagonist, Mercy.
Now, speaking about the graphic novel: the art is kinda odd in places. BUT! I love how Stefan and Zee were drawn. Absolutely perfect and just as I imagined! Mercy was well-done (though I still love her portrayal on the cover of this graphic novel best), Adam was good, and Darryl was totally not what I was expecting...but in a good way. Also, unlike with [[ASIN:0785140212 Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures]], the panels aren't cluttered with unnecessary "Mercy text". Yeah, Anita Blake was taken from a novel and the second volume fixed some of that problem, but this comic definitely let the action, the art, the panels speak for themselves. Nice clean drawings, good action, nice shifting from human to coyote/wolf.
Other than some odd art, the only real complaint I have is that this is a quick read. It *maybe* took me two hours to read, and I am a slow reader.
All in all, I loved this graphic novel and highly recommend to those who want to know how Mercy arrived in Tri Cities.(less)

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Aug 02, 2010

Kate rated it

Shelves: graphic-novel, urban-fantasy

I wasn't really a fan of the art style here... I know that's totally subjective, but still - I like my comic book art just a little less stylized. I don't know if it was artistic choice or not, but proportions were off, faces looked badly drawn, textures didn't always mesh, and the flow from one panel to the next sometimes left me confused... by and large, I got the impression of an untrained artist trying to swim in the deep end, and that really didn't help me as I read the story. (I'll also...moreI wasn't really a fan of the art style here... I know that's totally subjective, but still - I like my comic book art just a little less stylized. I don't know if it was artistic choice or not, but proportions were off, faces looked badly drawn, textures didn't always mesh, and the flow from one panel to the next sometimes left me confused... by and large, I got the impression of an untrained artist trying to swim in the deep end, and that really didn't help me as I read the story. (I'll also say that most of the characters just did NOT look how I pictured them... which isn't the artist's fault, it's just my own brain having formed images for these folks over the last several years)

When I'm not enjoying the art of a comic, it becomes very hard for me to enjoy the comic itself. After all, you can give me words on the page all day and I'll be perfectly happy to read your book - but when you add art, it has to carry meaning, intent. You lose words, and the art has to make up for what's been taken away. The art here didn't do that. There are, for instance, points when time passes (hours and hours - enough that it gets dark outside), but neither the writing nor the art recognize this fact... making the sudden appearance of vampires very jarring, when the last thing you knew it was daylight outside.

As for the writing... at moments it worked just fine, but it definitely had a flare for the overly dramatic - this wasn't helped by the art that went with those lines, which ALSO went overly dramatic, often in a way that just didn't segue from the previous panel well. Add to that the rapid introduction of many characters (a good 10 years prior to when we meet them in the books - so those who are human look and act very differently) and a variety of plot strings... if I hadn't read the books that went with this, I think I'd have been well and truly lost.

The story itself wasn't bad, but wasn't exactly good either. I really did enjoy getting to meet and see back-story for a few characters from the Mercy books. Still, I think I would have enjoyed this more either with a different artist or as a short story. (less)

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Jul 10, 2010

faeriemyst rated it

Shelves: graphic-novels-and-comics, urban-fantasy

Hmm...how to start? The first graphic novel featuring Mercy Thompson is a mixed bag; the story as a whole is perfectly fine, it may not be great but it's serviceable. The illustrations are very good and attractive, however Mercy herself is not. Well, okay, the girl(s) is actually drawn well, but she's not Mercy. My first thought was, "When did Mercy go from being Native American/white to Hispanic?" Even though there are different artists and styles of Mercy used in this book, like many...more

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Apr 11, 2010

The Flooze (Michelle M.) rated it

Shelves: urban-fantasy-paranormal, graphic_novel, vanquished_2010

Mercy’s arrival in the Tri-Cities is just as eventful as you’d hope.

**3.5**

This GN covers Mercy’s initial meetings with Adam and Stefan, as well as how she came to work for Zee. It’s fun to see the set-up for these relationships. However, I wasn’t a major fan of the artwork.

Zee is spot-on, as is Darryl. Stefan looks a mite more frightening than I’ve ever pictured him, with his hollow cheeks and zombie-ish pallor--looking as he does, no one could ever mistake...more

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Mar 08, 2010

Leeanna rated it

Mercy Thompson: Homecoming, by Patricia Briggs

I'm not normally a fan of graphic novels, but I had to check this one out because I love the Mercy Thompson series.

"Homecoming" is a type of origin-story, in that it explains how Mercy came to live in the Tri-Cities, and how she began working for Zee as a mechanic. There's also a tangle with some rogue werewolves, her first meeting with Stefan, and a trip to Uncle Mike's.

Overall I enjoyed "Homecomi...more

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Jan 03, 2010

Kerry rated it

Shelves: 7, library, graphic-novel, 2010

Wow, I just read my first graphic novel. And I liked it.

So have I been converted to a new book format? Unfortunately, I think the answer to that will be no. I've tried reading some of my husband's graphic novels before today and I've come to the conclusion that my brain just doesn't work in the right way to pick up the entire story in the combination of the images, words and layout. I hadn't realised how important page layout could be in a graphic novel until I tried reading one of D...moreWow, I just read my first graphic novel. And I liked it.

So have I been converted to a new book format? Unfortunately, I think the answer to that will be no. I've tried reading some of my husband's graphic novels before today and I've come to the conclusion that my brain just doesn't work in the right way to pick up the entire story in the combination of the images, words and layout. I hadn't realised how important page layout could be in a graphic novel until I tried reading one of Dave's and couldn't follow it at all.

It also doesn't help that I am very much NOT a visual person. I don't easily recognise visual patterns and struggle to remember people's names and faces (however do teachers do it?). I did one of those tests once, where you work out how you best take in information. I was so far onto the read/write scale even the guy giving me the test was surprised. I don't see pictures in my head when I read and I have to keep asking hubby "who's that character?" when we watch a movie, even if I saw them only a scene or two ago. I even frequently have to ask who an actor is and am usually quite surprised to discover it is someone famous whom I should recognise.

So no, I'm not a visual person, and I suspected a visual medium wouldn't work for me. So far, it hasn't.

But I found this book to be nicely straight forward for a grapic novel no-hoper like me. The story mostly moves progressively, and on the whole the flashbacks could be quickly recognised - even if I was a little confused the first time. But all the same, I think the fact I already knew the basics of the tale from backstory in the Mercy Thompson novels helped me a lot. I could say, "oooh, that's Zee" or "hey, there's Uncle Mike" because I already knew the characters. If it had just been a bunch of drawings and a sparsely-worded story I didn't know (strongly read/write, remember, I need words much more than I need pictures) then I think I would have struggled. Maybe that's why I struggled when trying to read hubby's graphic novels. I was going in cold and didn't have a clue.

So, after all those caveats, I'll say that I liked the book. I liked seeing Mercy come to the Tri-Cities. (Say, is that three cities that have merged or just once city called Tri-Cities? This New Zealander has no idea.) I like the way the person she came there to try to be was totally different from the one she actually turned into. It was nice to see her meet already-established characters like Zee and Stefan (and Tad too) and their first meeting makes her relationship with Adam in the very first book, where she goes out of her way to annoy him when she can, make lovely sense.

The drawings seemed good to me (don't forget, I'm the total and absolute opposite of an expert) and I could usually remember which character was which, something that isn't always the case with me. The book was beautifully made with slick, glossy pages and lovely production values. I suspect it hasn't been borrowed too many times as it hasn't started to lose that shine yet.

Would I read more graphic novels about Mercy. Yes, I would. But I admit that I would be reading them for more story about Mercy (or about Anna and Charles if they make it to comic format) than because it was a graphic novel in general.

As I said at the beginning, my brain just doesn't seem to "get" graphic novels and I've got way more than enough prose novels to keep me happy for a very long time yet. Like, say, the new Mercy book coming out in March. But if you are a Patricia Briggs fan anway, give it a try. If you are a Patricia Briggs fan and a graphic novel fan, definitely give it a try.

I'd be interested to hear what regular graphic novel readers thought of it. Does the fact it was simple and linear enough for me to follow mean it was too easy for you? I came to it totally as a prose book reader with visual issues so I suspect I don't count as the target audience in any way.(less)

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Dec 10, 2009

K. Bird rated it

Wow. Just....wow. I've been a die-hard Briggs fan from the first Mercy Thompson book and I was a little hesitant to risk the dissonance that sometimes occurs when a beloved book character is transformed into a graphic representation.

However, this version of Mercy, Stefan and (yowza) Adam Hauptman totally added to the book experience.

Granted, the gratuitous nakedness of Mercy as well as the sometimes awkward depiction of her face was a little jarring sometimes, but I felt ...more

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Nov 25, 2009

Michelle rated it

Recommends it for: mercy fans

Shelves: 2009, fantasy, vamps-wolves, urban-fantasy

Patricia Briggs has really been feeling the love for her Mercy Thompson series lately. With Bone Crossed released in hardcover earlier this year combined with her first Mercy Thompson graphic novel - Mercy fans have plenty of reasons to become giddy. For myself, I'm not really a comic book person, but I am a dedicated fangirl of Mercy and couldn't wait to catch a glimpse of her adventures in full-color.

Homecoming is basically an origin story for Mercy Thompson: how she meets both Ada...morePatricia Briggs has really been feeling the love for her Mercy Thompson series lately. With Bone Crossed released in hardcover earlier this year combined with her first Mercy Thompson graphic novel - Mercy fans have plenty of reasons to become giddy. For myself, I'm not really a comic book person, but I am a dedicated fangirl of Mercy and couldn't wait to catch a glimpse of her adventures in full-color.

Homecoming is basically an origin story for Mercy Thompson: how she meets both Adam and Stefan and how she lands the mechanic position at Zee's shop. Although it is a stand-alone story, unless you've already had the privileged of reading Mercy's other adventures, Homecoming may not feel as robust as the others. It's fun, it's fast but I did miss the trademark Mercy narration. Several little details of Mercy's life are revealed that only long-standing Mercy fans will appreciate the significance of - little things like how Mercy gets her cat.

As for the artwork itself: Beautiful and suitably shadowy yet very powerful. Though it was a little jarring to see how often Mercy herself changed. I know there were multiple artists working on this book, but since she is the title character, I would have expected a little more continuity with her character at least. But that said, her action scenes were fabulous. Consequently, I had buckets of fun matching up my mental picture of Mercy's gang with the artists' rendering. Adam and Zee were just as I pictured, but I was a little disappointed with Stefan as a '80s grunge rocker. Not really the way I pictured the mystery machine driving vampire.

On a side note, Patricia Briggs and the artists of Homecoming did choose not to shy away (at all) from the shape-shifting side of Mercy's life - which to be honest, I'm happy with because Mercy herself is never really concerned about whether she is clothed or not. But gentle readers be warned: there are several panels of Mercy naked which might be off-putting. The artwork is stylized and the important parts are usually covered, but it is all still quite clear, which may keep the book out of the hands of Mercy's younger fans.

Homecoming was a fabulous fast-paced action story and an efficient reminder of why I love the Mercy Thompson series so much. I do wish it had been longer, but I understand the format is more suited to quick action and less dialogue. Thank heavens we have Silver Borne coming in March 2010.(less)

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Oct 27, 2009

MikeS rated it

Shelves: speculative-fiction, graphic-novel, quickreads

Many of you know of my Mercy Thompson obsession. Many have shared excitement and others have expressed concern. The reason I share this is because Patricia Briggs’ recent addition to the Mercy world comes in the form of a graphic novel. Now, given my penchant for über nerdery, I can tell you that this is a dangerous combination. Dangerous – not because it might disappoint (Mercy? Graphic Novel? Hello, my name is Mike) – but because there is now a literal visualization apart from the outsta...moreMany of you know of my Mercy Thompson obsession. Many have shared excitement and others have expressed concern. The reason I share this is because Patricia Briggs’ recent addition to the Mercy world comes in the form of a graphic novel. Now, given my penchant for über nerdery, I can tell you that this is a dangerous combination. Dangerous – not because it might disappoint (Mercy? Graphic Novel? Hello, my name is Mike) – but because there is now a literal visualization apart from the outstanding cover art of the books. All of the coolness that was previously limited to the minds of fangirls and fanboys has been unleashed. Beware.

My assessment: It’s great.

It is a very fast read (I think it took me twenty minutes… the, um, first time) and fits chronologically as a prequel to the Mercedes Thompson novels by introducing her to the Tri-Cities area, meeting Stefan and Adam, and working as a VW mechanic for Zee. Assuming that most readers will be from the Briggs fan club, this one doesn’t dwell too long on world details, but quickly moves along with the conflict that gets Mercy established in the setting that fans are already familiar with. The bulk of the story is focused on how all of the characters meet and is brought together with a little mystery and tussle with some renegade werewolves.

In my opinion it all comes out fine for being Briggs’ venture into graphic novels and for actually contributing some details to the series. Many negative reviewers are bent because they didn’t realize it was a graphic novel, which some don’t care for. If you are looking for a lot of detail and back story (i.e. a novel) then you will probably be disappointed. As a standalone graphic novel it might be a bit slight, but still enjoyable for the artwork and alternative angle on the urban fantasy. But, I really enjoyed the artwork and would recommend it to anyone interested in the series if only because it is such a quick read and looks sweet.
(less)

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Sep 18, 2009

Janice (Janicu) rated it

http://janicu.livejournal.com/83716.html...

This is the graphic novel which collects the first four comics in this series. I pre-ordered this one since I've been looking forward to it for a while.

Premise: This is a graphic novel prequel to the events in the Mercy Thompson books. It covers Mercy first arriving at the Tri-Cities, getting a job as a mechanic and meeting Zee, Stephan and others. In true Mercy form, she manages to find herself involved with trouble (starting by ...morehttp://janicu.livejournal.com/83716.html...

This is the graphic novel which collects the first four comics in this series. I pre-ordered this one since I've been looking forward to it for a while.

Premise: This is a graphic novel prequel to the events in the Mercy Thompson books. It covers Mercy first arriving at the Tri-Cities, getting a job as a mechanic and meeting Zee, Stephan and others. In true Mercy form, she manages to find herself involved with trouble (starting by being attacked by a pack of rogue wolves), but stubbornly works through it in her own way.

My Thoughts: Wow, I'm seeing a lot of negative reviews on Amazon from people who thought this was a novel, not a graphic novel. Yikes! Perhaps they pre-ordered *very* early before the cover which says "an original graphic novel set in the best selling Mercy Thompson universe" was put up, and didn't check Patricia Briggs' website to see that the next Mercy Thompson novel is Silver Borne and is coming out Spring 2010. :\ It's a bit sad to see it getting a lot of negative reviews because of this.

Anyway, as a graphic novel, I liked that everything is in rich color (not always the case)! I'll probably be flipping the book open to stare at the artwork every so often this week. I'm enjoying having images of the characters to look at. It looks like the illustrators were changed halfway from Francis Tsai to Amelia Woo, so there were some subtle differences in how people were drawn, but I wasn't completely thrown. I did feel that there was an uneven-ness in the way Mercy was drawn. First: she looked asian sometimes, white others, and native american rarely. Then in the first two comics Mercy looks similar to how she looks on the covers by Dan Dos Santos, but in the second two she has lighter hair and skin. I'm not sure why. It's too bad Mercy looked so different when she's the main character. Either way, I still liked the artwork, so that's a minor complaint. I most liked how Adam was drawn by both illustrators. Zee looked the most like I imagined, but maybe more wiry and less stocky than I expected. Stephan looked the *least* like I expected (90's grunge vamp? didn't expect that one).

Story-wise, there is a lot of subtle back story hints which fans of the Mercy Thompson novels will like. How Mercy got her lamb necklace and her cat for example, but I do think this graphic novel is better when you have already read the Mercy Thompson books so you can pick up on these things. Bran doesn't really show up in this book but there is a drawing of him in the extras at the end of the book (the other extra is an interview with Patricia Briggs about working on this GN).

Overall: A nice graphic novel prequel to the books. A must for die-hard Mercy Thompson fans, but if you don't like graphic novels you may want to skip it. I personally like it a lot and am happy I bought it (*hugs it* but then I'm a big fan of this series). The only minor complaint I have is that the artwork had some inconsistencies and uneven-ness particularly in the way Mercy was drawn.(less)

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Sep 04, 2009

Deborah Brannon rated it

Shelves: graphic-novels

Mercy Thompson is one of my favorite heroines in urban fantasy today (second only to Seanan McGuire's October Daye, really). While Patricia Briggs' books don't blow me away, they consistently absorb me completely and give me hours of entertainment. When I heard there was going to be a Mercy origin story done graphically, I was pretty stoked.

In trademark Briggs style, the story starts off slow and finishes off as completely absorbing. Unfortunately, it suffers from a few other drawba...moreMercy Thompson is one of my favorite heroines in urban fantasy today (second only to Seanan McGuire's October Daye, really). While Patricia Briggs' books don't blow me away, they consistently absorb me completely and give me hours of entertainment. When I heard there was going to be a Mercy origin story done graphically, I was pretty stoked.

In trademark Briggs style, the story starts off slow and finishes off as completely absorbing. Unfortunately, it suffers from a few other drawbacks besides the slow start; fortunately, these problems are mostly due to the medium rather than the story.

The panels didn't always flow well, confusing the procession of the action or leaving too much time between contiguous panels to make the imaginative leap intuitive. Nor did the sequence of events flow entirely well for being in a visual medium - one flashback went on too long and wasn't clearly enough delineated to prevent reader confusion.

The art also irritated me: in some cases, it was so close to perfect and, in others, it was largely unrefined. I would have preferred more consistency, especially in the portrayal of Mercy herself. I do like how the majority of the book succeeded in not overly sexualizing Mercy, though, which is a feat considering how often the story necessitates her being naked. (The art was spot-on with Zee, however. Kudos to the artists on that one! Sadly, I feel that neither Adam nor Stefan were adequately captured.)

Regarding the story, as interesting as it ultimately was, it left me with a couple of questions: it's been a while since I read MOON CALLED but, considering Tad's away at college as of IRON KISSED, she's been a local to the Tri-Cities for at least 9 years according to HOMECOMING. 9 years of basically being Adam's declared mate, leaving the pack vulnerable? Also, I thought Tad hired her three times before Zee let her stay on, but I suppose that could be the exaggeration of a fond anecdote.

Before I go on at much more length, allow me to say that HOMECOMING is a nice afternoon diversion, even if it does include a couple of wince-inducing typos. However, I definitely would not pay the cover price of $22.95 for it. Amazon's asking for $14.61 and that is much more appropriate to its quality.

P.S. The cover of the graphic novel features the best artwork, hands down-- but, then, it's Dan Dos Santos work, and he's got quite enough experience in capturing Mercy's spirit to pull it off. (less)

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Sep 04, 2009

Tina rated it

Shelves: graphic-novels, own-it

I'm a Mercy fan so I couldn't wait to see this in art form. Enjoyed the story. It's a prequel to the Mercy Thompson series.

Heres's what I thought of the Graphics:

Mercy : She's inconsistent. Her looks change drastically. In the beginning she is hugely buff and naked compared to the rest of the book. She always has this grease spot on her face, but instead it just looks like a out of place circle. On the plus side, her hair looks good.

Mercy changing into a coy...more

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Oct 12, 2009

Kate rated it

Shelves: 2009, age-adult, graphic-novels, werewolf-books, vampire-books, fantasy

I wasn't a huge fan of the artwork, but I like Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series enough to read this original graphic novel. Homecoming is more like a prequel to the series. Mercy comes to Tri-Cities to interview for a position as a high school history teacher. During her first night there, she is attacked by a pack of werewolves, but saved by a rival pack, although her car is pretty beat up. She visits a mechanic to get her car fixed and of course you know the rest. Zee looked pretty ...more

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Sep 05, 2009

Donna rated it

Shelves: graphic-novel, urban-fantasy, 2009-read

I need to say upfront that I'm not a comic book connoisseur, so this review is strictly based on my thoughts as a Mercy Thompson fan.

Mercy Thompson: Homecoming is a compilation of the four comic book issues that give you four short stories on the beginnings of Mercy Thompson's life in Tri-Cities, a prequel to the Mercy Thompson series in comic book form. If you have already read the Mercy Thompson series, than you're in for a treat because throughout the graphic novel you get to see ...moreI need to say upfront that I'm not a comic book connoisseur, so this review is strictly based on my thoughts as a Mercy Thompson fan.

Mercy Thompson: Homecoming is a compilation of the four comic book issues that give you four short stories on the beginnings of Mercy Thompson's life in Tri-Cities, a prequel to the Mercy Thompson series in comic book form. If you have already read the Mercy Thompson series, than you're in for a treat because throughout the graphic novel you get to see how Mercy met many of main characters. I enjoyed these first meetings between the characters.

I really liked the artwork. I loved getting a visual to a lot of the characters in the Mercy Thompson series, and comparing them to what I thought they looked liked in my imagination. You'll get to see Mercy (of course!), Zee, Tad as a boy, Stephan, Adam and several other characters. For the most part, I feel the artists were able to capture the characters as I pictured them, and even added a little to the visuals I already had.

I think Francis Tsai made Mercy look a lot sexier in the comics than what I was picturing, he was the illustrator for the first two comic books and all of the comic book covers. Amelia Woo illustrated the last two comic books, I prefer her rendition of Mercy much better. But I liked Tsai's portrayal of Adam better than Amelia's.

There is a bit a nudity in this, that I thought was done tastefully. It's in the scenes where the Mercy and the werewolves are shifting their forms. Since shapeshifting is a big part of who the characters are, the comics would've been remiss without them.

The dialogue is snappy and witty. I think it fell in line with characters as they are portrayed in the books in concise form, and had held the spirit of the books.

At the end of the graphic novel there is a short interview with Patricia Briggs by David Lawrence, that is very insightful on how they collaborated together and with other team members to pull together the comics for Homecoming. Patricia Briggs also plans on adapting the other books in the Mercy Thompson series to comics in the future.

I think this graphic novel is added plus to any Mercy Thompson collection and fans of Mercy Thompson will get a lot of enjoyment out of this graphic novel, especially those who are a fan of the graphic arts. It's money well spent!(less)

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Oct 10, 2009

Lisa rated it

This is a true it was Okay rating. Good for PBriggs for adding more to Mercy's story line, and for exploring some new territory in her writing.

However, I'm apparently not a huge fan of graphic novels. I just really miss the detail you can get in a novel. Having said that, it was great to get some back story on how Mercy came to be in the Tri-Cities. I kind of felt like you needed to have read the other books to know what what going on quite a bit of the time with this one......b...more

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Mar 04, 2011

Giovanni Gelati rated it

In your mind try to tie together a bar, a car garage, fae, werewolf, vampire, an unemployed teacher/shape shifter, and an auto mechanic. Okay, now you have Homecoming. Mercy Thompson has a nice time with all of it and so did I.FYI: later today we have Mark Greaney, author of The Gray Man series on our blogtalk radio show –The G-ZONE. If you can’t listen to it live, just catch it on our archives, you can do that with any of the shows we do. Here is the synopsis of the graphic novel:
“In thi...moreIn your mind try to tie together a bar, a car garage, fae, werewolf, vampire, an unemployed teacher/shape shifter, and an auto mechanic. Okay, now you have Homecoming. Mercy Thompson has a nice time with all of it and so did I.FYI: later today we have Mark Greaney, author of The Gray Man series on our blogtalk radio show –The G-ZONE. If you can’t listen to it live, just catch it on our archives, you can do that with any of the shows we do. Here is the synopsis of the graphic novel:
“In this major publishing event, sci-fi favorite "Mercy" Thompson springs into full-color graphic novel form. Set before the events of the novel series, this original adventure tracks shapeshifting human/coyote Mercedes through the ultimate bad day in Oregon: Not only does she have stand between warring packs of werewolves and tangle with vampires, this recent college graduate is forced to confront a whole roomful of job interviewers from hell! Well drawn and rippling with action, Mercy Thompson: Homecoming translates into good times for crossover readers.”
Humor, strong characters, an engrossing plotline and excellent artwork translates into one heck of a fine read. I am now tempted to pick up one of her full length novels to give that a read. As much, or according to some not enough, of the reading I have done on novels/graphic novels in this area I found the characters and the story to be unique and compelling. I have added something new to my to do list: find more Mercy Thompson. Have you read a novel with this character? What are your thoughts?
What are you reading today? Have you checked out our new blogtalk radio show The G-ZONE? Check us out and become our friend on Shelfari, The Novel Spot &Twitter. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Amazon Banner on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; We will see you tomorrow. Have a great day. http://www.gelatisscoop.blogspot.com

(less)

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Jan 18, 2011

Laura Summers rated it

Shelves: bookchickcity-2011-uf-challenge, bookchickcity-com-reviews, read-in-2011, urban-fantasy

Reviewed for www.bookchickcity.com (5 out of 10 on the blog)

I've never read a graphic novel before, I picked up this book because I'm a huge fan of the Mercy Thompson series and couldn't resist. If you haven't read this series yet I would highly recommend that you do so. It's one of my favourite urban fantasy series, about mechanic Mercy, a walker who has the ability to shift into a coyote.

The book is a prequel and tells the story of when Mercy arrives in the Tri-Cities. ...moreReviewed for www.bookchickcity.com (5 out of 10 on the blog)

I've never read a graphic novel before, I picked up this book because I'm a huge fan of the Mercy Thompson series and couldn't resist. If you haven't read this series yet I would highly recommend that you do so. It's one of my favourite urban fantasy series, about mechanic Mercy, a walker who has the ability to shift into a coyote.

The book is a prequel and tells the story of when Mercy arrives in the Tri-Cities. How she ended up working for Fey mechanic Zee, moves into her trailer and meets Adam, the alpha of the local werewolf pack. Although this is a prequel, I do believe that to a certain degree it assumes that readers have read the other books in advance.

As a graphic novel there is very little text and the pictures of course do all the talking, but this does mean it is super quick read. It took me no more than an hour or so.

I enjoyed getting an insight into Mercy's life before the series began. Her first meeting with Adam made me smile and as a big fan of Zee it was great to learn about how she ended up working for him.

However, the problem with illustrations, or when books are transferred to the screen is that you are looking at something that exists in your imagination through somebody else's eyes.

The book was put together by more than one illustrator and it does show. Don't get me wrong, the drawings are beautiful, but how Mercy looks changes from one scene to the next, and this annoyed me a little.

There were some drawings where Mercy looked pretty much as I imagined her, tough, lean, long dark hair and tattoos. Then in other drawings she has huge muscles or ridiculous breasts and a voluptuous bottom. Personally, I would have preferred consistency. Also, Mercy with big boobs?!

What I did discover while reading this book, is that I'm a words girl. I missed the descriptions, knowing what Mercy was thinking and the snappy dialogue. Because of this the book almost seemed shallow to me and the story quite simplistic. I kept thinking how I would have much preferred it as a novella.

VERDICT:

An interesting and quick read for Mercy Thompson fans. I'm not sure I would pick up a graphic novel again, even for a quick Mercy fix. This book will undoubtedly appeal to fans of the series, but it seemed to lack something. I'm afraid, I'd prefer a novel any day, but if you're a fan of Mercy and of graphic novels, then this might be right up your street.(less)

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Apr 29, 2010

Penny Linsenmayer rated it

This was the first "graphic" novel I've read. It is an original story straight to the comic format, a prequel to the action in Briggs' Mercy Thompson series. The artwork was really beautiful, particularly in bringing the setting to life, and I thought the illustration of the shape-shifting was very effective. Some of the characters were not quite as I imagined them in my head, and this was somehow disconcerting in a different way than when you see a beloved book brought to life on t...more

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Sep 01, 2009

Carolynn rated it

I managed to snag a copy of this to review- yay! Can't wait to see how Mercy translates to a graphic novel.

Upon reverently cracking open the new hard-cover graphic novel that offers the story of Mercy Thompson’s beginnings in the Tri-Cities, the initial reaction was one of gleeful awe. Written as collaboration between Mercy’s creator, Patricia Briggs, and David Lawrence, it turned out to be a great offering for fans.

...As a bonus, there is a candid interview with the au...more

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Sep 29, 2011

Burçak Kılıç rated it

Shelves: graphic-novels

Keşke seriye başlamadan ilk bunu okusaydım çizgi roman olmasına rağmen çok güzeldi :D Burda kitaplardan önce Mercy'nin kişilerle tanışma, iş bulması falan var merak edenler için özetleyeyim ;))

Mercy kurtadamlar arasında büyümüş bir çakaldır. Bilindiği kadarıyla türünün sonuncusu ve kurtların lideri Marrock onu sahiplenir büyütür. Maceramız ise Mercy'nin kendine hayat kurmaya çalışmasıyla başlıyor. Tarih öğretmenliği başvurusu için şehre gelen Mercy çakal formunda dolaşırken kurtadamlar...more

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Sep 19, 2011

Melinda Schmidbauer rated it

Mercy Thompson gets a back story in this graphic novel prequel. Patricia has done a good job on the story, but I wasn't fond of the format of the graphic novel. I love Mercy Thompson as a prose book. I love other stories as graphic novels (Y: The Last Man! Fables! Nightmare World!). Having already read all of the Mercy Thompson prose novels, I had preconceived ideas of how these characters and settings should look. The graphic novel nature created a dissonance in my mind. The same holds t...more

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Mar 21, 2010

Dianna rated it

Shelves: series-reading

As with other graphic novels I've read, I only enjoyed it once I got past the illustrations. I'm starting to see how they can take place of descriptions and you can still get a rich story, but I just can't get beyond the overly sexualized figures.

I picked this up because I enjoy the series and because I like the cover illustration of Mercy -- she looks how I picture her. However, the cover illustration is clearly done by a different artist. The inner graphics are all that overly-sex...more

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Sep 25, 2009

Ronda Foust rated it

Shelves: graphic_fiction, supernatural, urban_fantasy

I really enjoyed getting a chance to see someone else's ideas of what the Mercy Thompson characters look like. I really liked the depictions of Stefan and Siebold. That said, while I thought the images of of Mercy were neat they just didn't jive with my own mental image of her. In the stories, the only tattoo I remember hearing about is the coyote paw print. In both the cover art illustrations for the other books and within the graphic novel, Mercy's tattoos vary. A lot. Now, maybe I'm jus...more

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About Patricia Briggs

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Patricia Briggs was born in Butte, Montana to a children’s librarian who passed on to her kids a love of reading and books. Patricia grew up reading fairy tales and books about horses, and later developed an interest in folklore and history. When she decided to write a book of her own, a fantasy book...more

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