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Weird Detective: The Stars Are Wrong
(Weird Detective #1-5)
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The streets of New York have been plagued by a pattern of crimes too weird and bizarre for the average detective. Lurking in the evidence are shadows of loathsome horrors from beyond space and time, seeking to usher in the unimaginable evil of the Old Ones. And the only man capable of fighting against the unspeakable terrors isn't a man at all. Detective Sebastian Green is
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Start your review of Weird Detective: The Stars Are Wrong
I probably wouldn't have given this a second glance but I noticed it was written by Fred Van Lente, and ever since reading his Archer & Armstrong, Volume 1: The Michelangelo Code, he's quickly turned into one of those names I watch for now.
Ok, so this is exactly what it says it is.
Dude is a weird dective. The other cops blame all his oddness on being Canadian (because we all know how strange those guys are) but his bizarre speech and behavior are actually the result of his being a shapeshiftin ...more
Ok, so this is exactly what it says it is.
Dude is a weird dective. The other cops blame all his oddness on being Canadian (because we all know how strange those guys are) but his bizarre speech and behavior are actually the result of his being a shapeshiftin ...more
By Cthulhu’s tentacled mug, there’s a lot of HP Lovecraft-themed comics around these days, eh? Weird Detective is yet another one but it’s one of the better books out there and is also Fred Van Lente’s best work in years.
Previously a crooked Noo Yawk detective on the make, Sebastian Greene is now the vessel of an alien, here to stop the Old Ones from wreaking havoc on Earth. Greene picks up the trail after their victims start appearing around the city sucked dry of their innards like empty juic ...more
Previously a crooked Noo Yawk detective on the make, Sebastian Greene is now the vessel of an alien, here to stop the Old Ones from wreaking havoc on Earth. Greene picks up the trail after their victims start appearing around the city sucked dry of their innards like empty juic ...more
This is one of my hidden gem findings. The impressions that I got from cover arts and other brief info were: dark urban fantasy, mystery plots, horror, and conspiracies. But surprisingly, there are some funny moments, and this comic is not as gory as I expected.
I don't want to spoil much, I hope you enjoy the story as I did. ...more
I don't want to spoil much, I hope you enjoy the story as I did. ...more
I sincerely hope that this is not the first and last of this excellent comic. The premise is intriguing: Detective Sebastian Greene is not Detective Sebastian Greene, though he . . . it . . . is housed in Detective Sebastian Greene's mortal coil, so to speak. As the blurb says "It takes a monster to catch a monster". Greene's not-being-Greene is portrayed quite well here, as he . . . it . . . whatever . . . learns how to move in human society and, in particular, through the maze of NYPD corrupti
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Horror/Crime (True Detective-style) mash-up in which monstrous crimes in New York are being investigated by one of the Great Race Of Yith, in the guise of Peter Greene, who is dressed up as a standard NYC tec. So it’s part police procedural, fairly straightforward (and somewhat meandering) on one level, with a nod to (not a deep dive into) Lovecraftian Chthulu Old Ones outerspace mythos.
I really like Green’s cat. I thought the art was good by Guiu Vilanova. But I really actively dislike the let ...more
I really like Green’s cat. I thought the art was good by Guiu Vilanova. But I really actively dislike the let ...more
Your standard police procedural is reinvented for the Lovecraft set. One of the Yith (aliens) from Lovecraft has taken over a police detective's body to stop the various horrors that have inhabited the Earth. Many of the old ones are running the underworld of New York. Ven Lente injects this fish out of water horror noir with plenty of humor to lighten things up.
Don't worry, you don't need to know anything about Lovecraft to enjoy this book. It's still a great read either way. I'd love to see th ...more
Don't worry, you don't need to know anything about Lovecraft to enjoy this book. It's still a great read either way. I'd love to see th ...more
A tale of a Great Race member trying to fit in as a human while carrying out a secret mission. Mythos fans will appreciate all the references. Interesting artwork and a fast read.
Let's hope there is a sequel.
OVERALL GRADE: B plus. ...more
Let's hope there is a sequel.
OVERALL GRADE: B plus. ...more
Had the potential to be even better than it already is, but the plot meandered a bit too much and ran out of steam by the end. They had enough story for maybe three issues and they stretched it too thin with five.
A mix of dirty cop story with Lovecraftian horrors. I'm not a big reader of the "mythos", but I sort of recognize creatures from his stories, even if I can't remember whether they are Elder Ones or Shuggoths. I even glimpsed the "yellow sign" from Chambers "King in Yellow". As usual, a writer who is not Lovecraft can write a better Lovecraftian story than he could. Or at least more entertaining to me.
I liked it more than I expected. But I still prefer the similar Abbott.
What is it with Lovecraf ...more
I liked it more than I expected. But I still prefer the similar Abbott.
What is it with Lovecraf ...more
Cthulhu/Crime mashup in which the mean streets of NYC are pounded by one of the Great Race Of Yith. If that premise sounds like your idea of fun, you'll get plenty out of Weird Detective, as Fred Van Lente knows how to craft a witty, tight story and blends the various tropes well - though they never really add up to more than the sum of their parts. Fans of Darwyn Cooke's take on the Martian Manhunter should dig the vibe here too. Guiu Villanova provides the moody, clean-lined art, which is more
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Many Lovecraftian works I've come across lately have been less than cohesive, so I was pleasantly surprised as I read Van Lente's go at it. A good use of the mythos to propel a story of a detective who is not so much focused on solving a cases, instead being an agent engaged in the fight of otherworldly monstrous creatures that attempt to veil themselves in the semblance of normalcy and often fail. Good characters, humor and horror are balanced effectively, and the artwork is on lock with the mo
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I can honestly say I've never read anything like this before. Police procedural meets Lovecraftian horror, but, you know, funny... And a bit down on Canadians...
It doesn't take long to get into the weirdness, and our protagonist Greene (and his new partner Fayez) makes for a strange narrator. It doesn't take long for things to go completely off the rails, and there are some very bonkers moments throughout, including some pretty disturbing crime scenes and manners of death. But there are so many ...more
It doesn't take long to get into the weirdness, and our protagonist Greene (and his new partner Fayez) makes for a strange narrator. It doesn't take long for things to go completely off the rails, and there are some very bonkers moments throughout, including some pretty disturbing crime scenes and manners of death. But there are so many ...more
A police murder investigation in contemporary Brooklyn intersects with H.P. Lovecraft's mythos in Van Lente's scary, funny, and highly enjoyable WEIRD DETECTIVE. The Deep Ones, the Great Race of Yith, even shoggoths and the Starry Wisdom cult all make cameo appearances, but the real star of the show is Detective Sebastian Greene, who knows more about these things than anyone else on the force. The reason for it is one of the comic's most inventive twists. Van Lente skillfully avoids the usual cl
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The dialogue in this comic is laugh-out-loud funny and may be the best this to recommend about it. I'm no fan of monsters from space, but this comic has a lot more than that going for it.
Why is everything Canadian so weird to Americans? Ok, detective Sebastian Greene, the main character, is weird, but has some cool powers and no less that seventeen senses that enable him to solve crimes, so he's not very human in fact. He gets assigned a partner, Sana Fayez, who is secretly supposed to find how ...more
Why is everything Canadian so weird to Americans? Ok, detective Sebastian Greene, the main character, is weird, but has some cool powers and no less that seventeen senses that enable him to solve crimes, so he's not very human in fact. He gets assigned a partner, Sana Fayez, who is secretly supposed to find how ...more
The basic premise here is that an alien impersonating a police officer has to fight off a Lovecraftian invasion of earth--though that may not be what he was sent here to do. I'm disappointed that there's only one volume of this; I generally like van Lente, and Vilanova's art is fantastic. It's basically Martian Manhunter fights Cthulhu, and I'm down with that.
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Feb 14, 2020
Frank
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
english-american-comics,
21st-century
This *is* weird. And it's not unfunny, in its own way. Forgettable but enjoyable. Huge fans probably hope this will be spun out into one of those everlasting series. I hope it won't. This will do.
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3.5. Lovecraftian noir with a sense of humor, reminiscent of Neil Gaiman's, "A Study in Emerald."
"I am from Canada," is the humorous excuse the Weird Detective uses to explain his idiosyncracies. ...more
"I am from Canada," is the humorous excuse the Weird Detective uses to explain his idiosyncracies. ...more
Weird Detective is solid and though the transition from volume 4-5 is a little rough, the art and story arc more than make up for the flawed conclusion.
This is a step in the right direction and it is definitely laying the groundwork for something bigger in the future.
Good for Lovecraft fans.
This is a step in the right direction and it is definitely laying the groundwork for something bigger in the future.
Good for Lovecraft fans.
Goodreads Synopsis:
The streets of New York have been plagued by a pattern of crimes too weird and bizarre for the average detective. Lurking in the evidence are shadows of loathsome horrors from beyond space and time, seeking to usher in the unimaginable evil of the Old Ones. And the only man capable of fighting against the unspeakable terrors isn't a man at all. Detective Sebastian Green is one of them--it takes a monster to catch a monster.
New York Time's best-selling author, Fred Van Lente, ...more
The streets of New York have been plagued by a pattern of crimes too weird and bizarre for the average detective. Lurking in the evidence are shadows of loathsome horrors from beyond space and time, seeking to usher in the unimaginable evil of the Old Ones. And the only man capable of fighting against the unspeakable terrors isn't a man at all. Detective Sebastian Green is one of them--it takes a monster to catch a monster.
New York Time's best-selling author, Fred Van Lente, ...more
Even Better Than I Had Hoped
I recognized Fred Van Lente as the author of Valiant Entertainment's "Archer & Armstrong, Volume 1: The Michelangelo Code". Having found that book to be clever and well paced and plotted I was keen to see what Van Lente had done with a Weird Tales project. Bottom line - this struck me as a resounding, entertaining success.
From the blurbs and whatnot this book looks like it's going to be just another mashup of Lovecraft/noir/detective fiction. Well, technically I guess ...more
I recognized Fred Van Lente as the author of Valiant Entertainment's "Archer & Armstrong, Volume 1: The Michelangelo Code". Having found that book to be clever and well paced and plotted I was keen to see what Van Lente had done with a Weird Tales project. Bottom line - this struck me as a resounding, entertaining success.
From the blurbs and whatnot this book looks like it's going to be just another mashup of Lovecraft/noir/detective fiction. Well, technically I guess ...more
It was little bit confusing from the start, but then it all started to make sense, something you may even expect from the comics inspired by Cthulhu mytos. There are some interesting ideas, funny jokes an potential for longer series. Sometimes you got feeling the author tried to put too many things in such short book, and you dont know who is who, and what is going on. But over and all, it was fun to read and I hope it will be more to come.
This was a random pick from my beloved public library. It was... Weird. It's a detective story fused with Dr. Strangeness and H.P Lovecraft (Yuggoth). It felt like the story could have kept going and was definitely left open for more though I doubt there ever will be. A good one off read into the strange.
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Well, its certainly an apt title. This was weird to say the least. While the description of the book definitely made me think its was going a more supernatural route, the decisions here were good but...odd. This is a book that will be a hit for some and a big miss for others. For me, I see the potential but I needed more from the main character's mysteries solved to keep me invested.
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NYPD detective Sebastian Green is weird indeed. Most of his colleagues chalk up his weirdness to their belief that he is Canadian. What is revealed during his investigation of some truly horrific and grisly murders makes for a good read, especially for readers who enjoy H.P. Lovecraft.
Mixing genres is like mixing flavours.
This is obviously a genre mashup.
I was hoping for chocolate meets peanut butter, but I got toothpaste meets orange juice. Both are good in their right place, but they don’t work together.
2 stars because I still want to like it.
This is obviously a genre mashup.
I was hoping for chocolate meets peanut butter, but I got toothpaste meets orange juice. Both are good in their right place, but they don’t work together.
2 stars because I still want to like it.
A truly pleasant surprise: this book is weird in the best ways possible. I'd love to see more comics like this one out there.
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Wow, this book was fun! Is this it, though? I hope there's more.
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Very entertaining and well written. I recommend!
I demand more.
Great art work and an interesting plot.
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Readers also enjoyed
Fred Van Lente is the New York Times-bestselling author of comics as varied as Archer & Armstrong (Harvey Award nominee, Best Series), Taskmaster, MODOK's 11, Amazing Spider-Man, Conan the Avenger, Weird Detective, and Cowboys & Aliens (upon which the 2011 movie was based), as well as the novels Ten Dead Comedians and The Con Artist.
Van Lente also specializes in entertaining readers with offbeat ...more
Van Lente also specializes in entertaining readers with offbeat ...more
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