Innocent: 2006-2007 Collection

by Shawn Granger

Innocent is about an angel and a psychopath who become best friends. They fight evil born in hell and the earth-grown kind. Innocent is a smart, action-packed story that sprinkles in a few laughs. Two complete opposites who find that they've got more in common than they could guess. Innocent struggles to keep David in check, fearing that one day he'll go too far off the path for good. David knows that he could become Innocent's target if he let's himself free to pursue his desires. David doesn't know how close Innocent has been to becoming what he hates most. Innocent collects the "Innocent" web-comic from 2006-2007 plus more than 57 pages of new story that hasn't been previously available on-line. See what Broken Frontier calls "...a wild, unforeseen and honestly unforgettable gem of a book..." and Foreword Magazine says "...well-illustrated, splendidly written, packed with action, and fun to read."

196 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2007

About the author

Credits
-Family Bones Volume 1
-Family Bones Volume 2
-Innocent Volume 1
-Gene Gardens
-Mr. Phelps Space Detective
-Rob Bot Halloween Special 2009
-Child Star Murders
-Television credits include CNN Headline News, ESPN, FOX, WNGM-36 TV, and many, many commercials

Reviews

[David Edmonds · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received Innocent, Vol 1 as an LT Early Reviewer edition from the March 08 batch. Overall, Innocent is an interesting premise: an angel (Innocent) is sent to Earth to dispatch demons and those whose souls are beyond redemption. He is befriended by a sociopath, David, who aids him in ridding the world of evil. There are 5 chapters in this volume, and for the most part are all unrelated, other than the fact that each chapter deals with Innocent and David hunting down a demon/evildoer and doing away with them.

I would like to see a little more background on Innocent and David's relationship to each other. This was originally published as a web comic, and I feel almost as if I've been dropped into the middle of the story. However, Granger does a good job not letting you feel too left behind in the story. The final chapter (which is Part 1 of a continuation to the next volume) I believe will be telling a little more of Innocent's background, but I'd need to wait until Vol 2 is released to know for sure.

Each chapter is illustrated by a different artist, and while as a whole the art is fluid and readable, there are some instances where I feel had this been published in color as opposed to B&W, it would have been a bit easier to distinguish what was going on on the page. This may also have something to do with the size of the physical book. Published in the very popular manga/digest sized format, sometime I think the type was a little too small and might have benefited better from a physically larger sized printing (more along the lines of a comic TPB).

This is really an interesting take on the avenging angel story, and the only thing that I would like to see in future editions is a more cohesive story line and a little more background offered on the characters and their relationship.

[Shawn Granger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Innocent, but of course I would. I wrote it.

Innocent is the tale of an angel of retribution and his best friend, a budding serial killer. David gets his bloody gratification by hacking to death the evil targets of Innocent. David must never stray from God's will and murders anyone else or it's Innocent's job to execute him.

Innocent has his own struggles, being made human to carry out his job as the sword of God. He must keep a detachment from mortals or his love for man may cause him to enjoy the vengeance. He also could find himself at odds with God's will at any moment which could spiral him down into hell. Literally.

Filled with humor, extreme violence, and a bit of religious history; I hope you have as much fun reading Innocent as I did writing it. Thanks for reading.