The Book of Lost Souls

by J. Michael Straczynski (writer), Colleen Doran

The destinies of most people are defined early on. Then there are the others - the lost. Those whose numbers aren't in yet, who could go toward the light or toward the darkness - indeed, who could be tipped one direction or another. And everything starts with the book. That's what Jonathan is about to discover. When he took a suicide plunge off the London Bridge more than a century ago, the last place he expected to land was on his feet, in the present, standing at the entrance to a tunnel into a world of mysteries beyond his wildest imagination. A world of powers and principalities and, above all, rules that he'd best learn quickly. Or he'll have to deal with the Dark Man. And what the Dark Man can't turn, he devours. Collects Book of Lost Souls #1-6.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Trade Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Joseph Michael Straczynski is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 (1993–1998) and its spinoff Crusade (1999), as well as the series Jeremiah (2002–2004) and Sense8 (2015–2018). He is the executor of the estate of Harlan Ellison.
Straczynski wrote the psychological drama film Changeling (2008) and was co-writer on the martial arts thriller Ninja Assassin (2009), was one of the key writers for (and had a cameo in) Marvel's Thor (2011), as well as the horror film Underworld: Awakening (2012), and the apocalyptic horror film World War Z (2013). From 2001 to 2007, Straczynski wrote Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, followed by runs on Thor and Fantastic Four. He is the author of the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and he has written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen for DC Comics. Straczynski is the creator and writer of several original comic book series such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Ten Grand through Joe's Comics.
A prolific writer across a variety of media and former journalist, Straczynski is the author of the autobiography Becoming Superman (2019) for HarperVoyager, the novel Together We Will Go (2021) for Simon & Schuster, and Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer (2021) for Benbella Books. In 2020 he was named Head of the Creative Council for the comics publishing company Artists, Writers and Artisans.
Straczynski is a long-time participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1984. He is credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet and to allow viewer viewpoints to influence the look and feel of his show. Two prominent areas where he had a presence were GEnie and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated.

Reviews

[Nicolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would be the first to admit that this title was not in my radar when it was first released in 2005. My preferred comic book genre would always be superheroes. Though I dabble in other fields if the material was good enough and done by creators I follow. J. Michael Straczynski (JMS) wasn’t among my favorite writers and probably never will be. Especially in the light of his comments about Alan Moore and his work on the Watchmen prequels. But Colleen Doran was just outside my awareness, although it was just recently that I’ve became familiar with her work on the A Distant Soil webcomic and Sandman. I’ve taken to following her page on Facebook and Twitter and I’ve found she’s a great person to interact, constantly updating her social media status and commenting with fans. It was on her Facebook page that I found out she was offering a graphic novel of one of her lesser known works and at a steep discount and signed too. I pulled the trigger on this book which just arrived after waiting expectantly for several weeks.

I found her art to be incredibly detailed and with an excellent sense for storytelling. It was a pity the computer coloring messed up her lines by making the pages look muddied. But still, it was her art that made JMS’s script tolerable. It was a tale of two competing forces and thru their agents, battle for the fate of humanity and their souls. It seemed a little derivative of various fantasy comics and books I’ve read.

This was the second book in a row that I’ve read that has one of their storytelling devices a book where the universe’s inner workings were written and by altering what was inscribed change the fate of one. Judgment Day had marginally better writing since it had a larger cast and was recreating a universe in its wake. But this one has the better artist giving its story a unified look and consistent pacing.

Alan Moore 1, JMS 0.

Postscript:
The book came signed and Ms. Doran was kind enough to include a postcard and a print also signed. I just wished she used a metallic marker instead of a black sharpie so that her signature and inscription could be more legible. I hope my next purchase would be a page of her original art which occasionally offers for sale on her site.

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started out quite promising, some kind of a gothic mystery fantasy thing with potentially deep themes and philosophical studies, but it quite soon fell flat and clichèd, predictable and formulaic. Shame.

Art was great throughout, though.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very pleased when I found that JMS had written a graphic novel that wasn't about superheros! I was particularly excited as the art was by Collen Dorran who was one of the first artists/writers that I became a fan of when I was reading comic books as a teenager. Collecting all her various early renditions of A distant soil. Her art work is still lovely and the pages are a rich and detailed and full of colour. Having read so many black and white comics lately this made a lovely change.

The book was listed as Book of Lost Souls vol. 1 but I have been unable to locate any other volumes. I don't know if the comics continued after the ones collected here. It was nice to read something that felt like individual comics rather than a graphic novel. There was a storyline and plot being introduced but through self contained stories. Once again the wome were a little weaker than I would have liked, there was an abused wife, a homeless woman who'd lost her boyfriend and a prostitute. They were the lost souls that needed "saving". There were forces of light and dark and people whose destiny had not yet been decided and a strange man with powers that let him affect people's lives. When written out it sounds quite trite but it was actually much more enjoyable to read and I wish that they'd done more of the series and gone further with it.

[Freya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting graphic novel with some nice art and concepts! It gets 4 stars, not 5, because as a lot of others have mentioned it is strongly reminiscent of Gaiman's Sandman, so it doesn't really feel like new territory. That said, it was an enjoyable read and would probably suit people who want to read more in that vein. I wouldn't have paid full price for this as I am happy to do with Gaiman's work, but for a brand new copy under £2 from a closing down shop, I think it was worth it!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was some indefinable thing missing that would have made it fantastic, but it was fun. I really liked the first story (dealing with choices and domestic abuse) but wasn't sure the second story had to dive so quickly into the complicated back story of the characters. I'd pick up the second collection to see where it's going.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

JMS tries a Sandman/Hellblazer type Judeo-Christian mythology. It's obviously derivative, but it has some novel ideas. Hard to say if it would have grown to be a real entrant in the genre because only six issues were written for some reason.

[Mark L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was inspired, what happens to Lost Souls who never quite found themselves?

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

By the end of the first issue, I was writing this off as Straczynski's attempt at Sandman. And that feeling does continue a bit in the later issues, but the stories are strong enough to merit further reading. The concept of lost souls trying to guide other lost souls to positive or negative ends to further the causes of 'the two' is an interesting one, and the single issues included are pretty strong. 'The Insufficiency of Rain' was particularly powerful, going ways I didn't expect it to. And the issue exploring the origins of the arrangement is interesting as well.
All in all, this book sets up a strong framework to allow for stories that can go unexpected ways; it was much better than I was expecting, and I'll be curious to see where it goes.

[Manny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like I've read this story before... and Neil Gaiman did it better. I did not enjoy the illustration of our protagonist as an androgynous fop, though I understand that this "softness" is part of his contradiction. Ultimately it felt like a mash-up of The Crow, Gaiman's Sandman, and Lord Byron.

All that being said: JMS has some very clever ideas, and I was with him until the "big reveal" in the last issue, which I thought was kind of a ham-fisted copout. Worth reading for die-hard JMS fans, but probably not many others.

[Alethea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather fun. I like Colleen Doran’s art—always have—and of course J. Michael Straczynski is an author to die for, even if his ambitions do occasionally exceed his (admittedly broad) grasp. In this case, the wealth of subtle detail left the plot at the center feeling rather skeletal, but it was a promising beginning, and I’d happily read more.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

In that nebulous area between 3 and 3.5 stars. I love Colleen Doran's art, but didn't feel like the story held together as tightly as I would have liked. Still worth checking out and I'm glad I reead it.

[Lady Entropy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should have loved this. Colleen Doran art, mystic themes, immortal characters...

And yet, even though I read the book twice, I CANNOT for the love of me, remember a single thing of interest about it. I read it easily enough, but then forgot it just as easily.

A pity, really.

[Brandon Hughes]

Fantastic beginning to a series I wish would have continued

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those who like Neil Gaiman. Interesting characters.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great art, cliched characters.

[Lisa Geddes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional

[Kevin Milner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an alright read. Very heavy on Straczynski's trademark christ-figure motive.
Remember Byron?

[Lia P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, cryptic and great art style. If I find more of the comic I would like to figure out what exactly is going on

[Winnipeg Mosquito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the art. Simple story. Love Mystery! What a cool character!