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The Cleaners: Absent Bodies
by
Mark Wheaton (Goodreads Author),
Joshua Hale Fialkov (Goodreads Author), Rahsan Ekedal
In the dark tradition of Los Angeles noir, The Cleaners is the story of a ragtag team of for-hire trauma-scene cleaners led by ex-surgeon Robert Bellarmine. Contracted with sanitizing some of the nastiest crime and accident scenes in the tri-county LA basin, the team battles against what could only be described as the grim, unknowable face of the supernatural. But by focus...more
129 pages
Published
January 13th 2010
by Dark Horse
(first published 2009)
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Picked this up from the pile out of curiosity, started reading it, finished it in a sitting, so there's some good qualities to it. It's essentially a CSI style mystery, only with crime scene cleaners rather than a forensics team, and there's an unusual amount of sciency goodness thrown in along the way -- even though the central point of the main story is seemingly paranormal, while the short story that closes the book takes the premise of the Jordy Verill part of Creepshow and makes it seem alm...more
A team of expert crime scene cleaners -- curiously identical in appearance -- have a knowledge about blood and its behavior that is rather beyond the normal medical trade. They seem very happy with their gruesome job too, until all hell breaks loose, resulting in a very thirsty kid. Among other things.
Rough going on first read -- especially with so many characters looking so similar (I'm guessing there's a reason for this) -- but very rewarding the second time around. Artist Rahsan Ekedal clearl...more
Rough going on first read -- especially with so many characters looking so similar (I'm guessing there's a reason for this) -- but very rewarding the second time around. Artist Rahsan Ekedal clearl...more
Wow, that was actually...disturbing. I found it hard to make sense of what was really going on in the deeper plot through most of this book - mostly it was just a bit chilling to see the awful things being done by the 'villain' juxtaposed next to the harsh reality of our 'heroes'.
I thought I was going to enjoy this more - get a hit of the usual smug superiority that most of the CSI-type shows give me when they show just how much smarter the police techs/science geeks are than the criminals. None...more
I thought I was going to enjoy this more - get a hit of the usual smug superiority that most of the CSI-type shows give me when they show just how much smarter the police techs/science geeks are than the criminals. None...more
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The rating might be a bit high, but I really enjoyed, and was slightly disturbed by this tale of crime scene cleaners. Former Dr. Robert Bellarmine seems to have some secrets in his past, as do his cleaner crew, and one of those secrets seems to be Bellarmine's search for something else besides the best and safest way to clean grisly crime scenes. A little horror is tossed into the story, and overall I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed the story. I would probably read more.
If there was more I'd definitely continue to read it, so that should say something. I really don't think I'd recommend it to anyone I know personally, as just a 120 page story though. The entire time I was reading it I wanted to know what would happen, so that's a definite plus. I knew nothing about it before, just gave it a shot based on the publisher and cover and overall I was pleased.
I must say that I really enjoyed the full-color artwork here! The story started out great and then got a bit weird... not sure if I even understand what happened! Guess I will have to wait for the next volume...
Definitely NOT just about cleaning u crime scenes.... mildly recommended...
Definitely NOT just about cleaning u crime scenes.... mildly recommended...
Can I say 2 and a half? I mostly liked this,... I would probably pick up and read a vol. 2 (at the library) if it happens, and since alot went unexplained I suspect there will be a second one,... it started with a cool premise and then it went kind predictable , ... the art was mostly o.k., ...
Interesting, dark story, but sort of hampered by the art--the blood and guts scenes were good, but the characters were a little hard to distinguish. Also, some plotlines were certainly left hanging, and as far as I know, there's no mention of a volume 2 to resolve them.
Interesting enough to read the next, but the way some of the male characters were drawn so similar made for some confusion. Maybe that's what was supposed to be happening, but it was annoying. Other than that, it's a nice enough tale with a bit of horror.
I am interested in seeing where the series goes in terms of the overall theme. The story has potential; and I'd like to think this particular book is a "filler" for exciting plot lines to come.
Maybe every male character was supposed to look exactly alike... Maybe if I read it another three or four more times I'd get why things happened and who did them.
But I'm not.
But I'm not.
Feb 06, 2012
Jonathan H.
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Jonathan H. by:
Found at library
Shelves:
comics
Found this one at the library. Creepy, something between sci-fi and fantasy, sort of like a CSI: Vampires. Pretty interesting story, but quite gruesome.
Pretty good, like the lingering around former crime scenes, but the additional jump into the supernatural.
Think the likes of Dexter or CSI meets X-files.
Think the likes of Dexter or CSI meets X-files.
There was a neat germ of an idea in this trade, but ultimately it didn't work for me at all. The art was hard to follow, and the story was pretty choppy.
Does a good job of facts uncovered through plot rather than explication. Good, bloody noir.
Forensics vs Vampires.
I couldn't tell most of the human cast apart and so I lost interest.
I couldn't tell most of the human cast apart and so I lost interest.
When is the next book coming out? Is there going to be a sequel???
2 likes · like · see review
Very interested at first.. making you wanna see what's next, though I'd prefer a different ending.
Mar 10, 2013
Junk
marked it as to-read
Feb 15, 2013
Donna Wright
marked it as to-read
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Mark Wheaton is a screenwriter ("Friday the 13th," "The Messengers," A&E's "Firestorm: Last Stand at Yellowstone"), graphic novelist ("The Cleaners"), and author of several bestselling horror novels and novellas including "Bones: The Complete Apocalypse Saga," "Flood Plains," "Sunday Billy Sunday: A Memoir," "Adversary," "Ascension," "Disembodied Spider Meat," and "The Impressionist." He has a...more
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