The Wrenchies

Reviewed by: Brooke Faulkner - McArthur Public Library, Biddeford, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 13, 2015

Review

A gang of kids struggle to survive and save a world destroyed by demons and zombie-like creatures in this riveting graphic novel that runs the gamut between touches of heart-wrenching sweetness to nightmarish horror. Constructing a narrative that moves freely back and forth in time, Dalrymple's intricate, exsquisite drawings, colored in a darkly lush pallet, are remarkably effective in creating the unsettling tone. Arcing away from the titular gang to focus on the back stories of two characters - Sherwood, whose encounter as a kid with a demon in a cave originally summoned the monsters forth; and Hollis, a misfit raised by a religiously conservative mother - there are various ways to read this multi-layered work, made only more so by the meta aspect involved in the story which features a comic within its pages also called The Wrenchies. Whether readers engage with it as apocalyptic adventure story or as metaphor, however, this is an epic tale shouldn't be missed by serious graphic novel fans. The gobs of messy violence won't be for everyone, but they are without doubt effective in illustrating how darkness can overwhelm people's lives. Readers who favor apocalyptic horror, like Cormac McCarthy's The Road or Andrew Smith's The Marbury Lens will be mesmerized.

Overall Book Score: very good