Joe Golem and the
Drowning City
By Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
3 Covers out of 5
This second collaboration between Mignola and Golden is not
as successful as their first. Whereas Baltimore looked to the Gothic
tradition, Joe Golem originates in
the pulp magazines. It is a combination
of the hard-nosed detective and weird tales, with a bit of Sherlock Holmes and
steampunk thrown in for good measure.
The story follows Molly, who is trying to track down her kidnapped
guardian and mentor, Felix, with the help of Joe Golem. They travel throughout the Drowning City, the
lower half of New York which is sinking into the ocean. And, of course, there is a much larger and
sinister plot behind the kidnapping.
The problems with the story start early on. The first four chapters are each narrated by
a different character, making hard to know who the protagonist is supposed to
be. The authors try very hard with the
setting of the Drowning City, but the logic behind it just doesn’t work. Yes, the people have chosen to remain there,
but the government isn’t going to do anything try and fix things? And the various genres that are used don’t
mesh well. It felt more like Mignola and
Golden were shifting between them for whichever one was needed for that scene.
But whichever genre they are using, the authors use
effective. This is especially true of
the weird tales, which is really in their wheelhouse. The characters fall into clichés: Molly is a
spunky young girl who won’t take no for an answer; Joe is a detective with a
mysterious past. But these have become clichés because they work. And the authors have included some twists to
them interesting. Plus, Mignola provides
a lot of illustrations, and that is never a bad thing.
Joe Golem is an
attempt by Mignola and Golden to try something different and I applaud them for
stretching their creative muscles, but it is not an entirely successful
experiment.
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