"Jericho Season 3: Civil War"

Jericho Season 3: Civil War by Don Shotz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm not a huge fan of graphic novels, but when I saw this one at Chapters I snatched it up right away.

First off, Jericho was an amazing television show and I am still mourning it's demise. I love post-apocalyptic plots and this show brought the best of them to the table. A small town with a closely knit community that survives through a massive nuclear fallout? The best recipe for good television.

Unfortunately, the Nielsen ratings on the show lessened as season one continued. My theory is that most people who watched the show enjoyed it online, as the fan base was very strong on the message boards and website. As season one came to a close, there were rumors of the show being cancelled. Without a satisfying series end filmed, fans were enraged at the ideas of losing an amazing show without a reasonable explanation of the plot.

Long story short (believe it or not, there are more details to why the show came back), the show was renewed for another half season and the writers were given a bit more time to attempt a way to bring the show together.

Unfortunately, even then there were bits and pieces left unanswered and the when news of a graphic novel came out, I'm sure many Jericho fans were excited to read it. It was released in separate comics and could also be purchased as one novel, which is the way I bought it.

I've never reviewed a graphic novel before so I'm unsure of how to critique it. The art was fantastic. Many of the characters rendered looked exactly like their counterparts on the show. However, as my boyfriend so cleverly pointed out, the characters that hadn't been created by the show were not drawn as well and lacked detail. (The graphic style is a type of realism.)

As for the plot--it was enjoyable. We found out more about the man behind the nuclear attacks and the government of Jennings & Rall that came to power after the attacks.

This is one of the most enjoyable graphic novels I have read (next only to Maus, Vol. 1: My Father Bleeds History), but perhaps I enjoed it so much because I was a huge fan of the show. At any rate, if you watched the two seasons of Jericho, I would recommend this as a MUST READ.

I have HEARD (through tiny whispers) that a second graphic novel will be coming out as well. I hope this is true, as this novel (season three) has left plot lines waiting to be developed.

If you HAVEN'T watched Jericho (yet), I urge you to! The seasons are very affordable on Amazon or eBay and it's a very enjoyable show. Go watch and have fun!

4/5 stars for a satisfactory continuation of the show!

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