Review by Roy Boyd

Ballistic, written by Adam Egypt Mortimer and illustrated by Darick Robertson, was Grant Morrison’s “favourite comic of the year”. For readers whose outré tastes may not align with Morrison’s, this might be cause for concern, but a number of other big names, such as Publishers Weekly and USA Today, also provide glowing recommendations for the back cover.

Sticking with the cover, they say you should never judge a book by one, and that’s certainly true of Ballistic. The front cover is understated and minimalist, something that certainly can’t be said of the contents. Whatever the opposite of minimalism is, this book has it in spades, with a story that’s neon coloured, action packed and batshit mental.

Our hero, Butch, sometimes aided by a beautiful woman, uncovers a conspiracy threatening everything and everyone. Only he – and his talking, drug-addicted organic gun – can save the day. There is an awful lot of crazy stuff, so much so one begins to ignore the individual elements and just wallow in the overall weirdness of it all. However, look beyond all the strangeness and you’ll soon realise Ballistic hews closely to the blueprint of many a noir movie or book by Raymond Chandler or someone of that ilk.

Robertson’s art looks like something Bryan Talbot could have drawn for a 1980’s 2000 AD, and the artwork has that underground comics things going on, where it looks as if it’s been drawn with biro rather than traditional brushes and pens. We’re not saying it has – it seems highly unlikely – it just sort of looks like it has.

Bonus material includes sketches, covers, bios and detailed notes. They certainly add depth to events in the book, and show the amount of thought that went into all aspects. One of the mini-essays in the supplemental material uses the term “transrealism” to describe the story. You know you’re in trouble when there aren’t enough words in English for an academic or intellectual who feels they have to invent another, especially one so vague as to be effectively useless.

In spite of all the craziness – and there is an awful lot of craziness – at heart this is actually very traditional. Loud, lurid and deliberately provocative, this pulpy and largely enjoyable tale fully deserves its mature rating.