Review: Blue Book#4

Blue Book #4 is the latest instalment of James Tyrion’s new and unique non-fiction series that uses original sources to present some of history’s most interesting Alien encounters.The first three issues introduced the story of Barney and Betty Hill, who claimed to have had an Alien encounter in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in September 1961.

Things began on a simple drive home from a vacation when Betty suddenly spotted a UFO, and the couple’s lives changed forever. Deeply shocked and confused, the Hills eventually returned home with a significant gap in their memory of the evening. Issue#4 re-joins the couple, suffering from the effects of trauma and are desperate to find out what had happened the in the two-hour period that seems to have been erased from their minds. Betty decides to share her nightmares with a Psychiatrist who uses hypnosis to uncover the full and shocking events of her encounter.

In the Blue Book series, we’re again shown how well James Tynion writes real everyday folks. His ability to create authentic and tender characters (without being cheesy or cliqued) is combined with the natural suspense of a paranormal event, remaining respectful of the fact that this incident involved real people. Tynions approach to putting Blue Book together is undoubtedly a big reason for the quality of storytelling. Inspired by the True Crime genre, he set out to harness the fascination most of us have with strange and unusual real-life stories, even naming it as a ‘True Weird’ story which he describes as a ‘True Crimes Stranger cousin’.

The look of Blue Book is dominated by the fantastic colors that create a sensual feast of various shades of blue, grey, white, and black, with the occasional speck of red or yellow. This is reminiscent of Marvel’s Black, White and Blood series and works similarly to give the book its own identity. The hauntingly beautiful artwork appears like a detective noir movie and assists the storytelling through the expert use of shadow. This lifts the emotional resonance of the characters while driving a sense of mystery and tension through the story’s unfolding.

Blue Book#4 continues to deliver the healthy dose of Paranormal mystery the series has brought to the comic books. It is a solid showcase for an ace group of creators at the top of their game. If this is begging of a new True Weird sub-genre, then sign me up!

Writing: 4.5
Art: 4.5
Colors: 4.5

Overall Score: 4.5

Writer: James Tynion IV
Art: Michael Avon Oeming
Colorist: Michael Avon Oeming
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics