'Big Man Plans: Expanded Edition' – Eric Powell & Tim Wiesch (Albatross Funny Books)


'Big Man Plans' is another comic book that I used to have, back in the day, until events saw me have to trade it in (along with most of my comic book collection, dark days...) Once things were on more of an even keel, I kept an eye open for a copy but wasn't able to find one at an affordable price (not making that mistake again) until now... It had been years since I last read 'Big Man Plans' so I was almost going back into it cold; I knew there was a lot of revenge to be had but I'd completely forgotten just why. Well, last night I found out all over again and, damn...

Big Man is a little person who has been brutalized and abused his entire existence. A person born to be life’s punching bag…or so it appears. He just might also be one of the deadliest killers ever trained by (REDACTED). He might also be slightly insane. And when someone he loves is wronged, well, even the most marginalized in society can exact revenge if they don't care how they do it. This expanded edition comes with over 30 pages of added story and bonus material content!

Before we get started properly... It's probably worth me saying again that it's been years since I last read 'Big Man Plans' so the whole 'Expanded Edition' thing was lost on me. Lets just say that I couldn't spot any obvious 'joins', where added story met established story, and that's the main thing isn't it? As far as bonus material goes, I'm a real sucker for Powell's artwork so was more than happy to take a few moments, after the story ended, to take more of it in.

But, that story...

If you've read some Eric Powell, you already know that he's not afraid to tell (and illustrate) the story that needs to be told. Well... 'Big Man Plans' is a tale not only of revenge (of the darkest kind) but also what happens when you push someone so far that it's almost a relief for them when they finally snap. Yeah, ok, so even more revenge to go on top of the original serving. The end result? Powell and Wiesch take this story exactly where it needs to go but it involves some stop-offs at some very dark places along the way. And Powell doesn't hold back in the artwork either. The result is a simple tale of revenge that suddenly becomes a whole lot more as we're right there in the middle of the events that shape Big Man as well as the moments where he takes his revenge in the way that his life has shaped him to. It's a hard read, especially given the state he leaves certain people in, but it's a compelling read at the same time. We see his humanity in flashes but there's a 'point of no return' coming and you end up feeling like the least Big Man deserves is that you take that trip with him. Big Man does some vile things but when you think that's all he's ever known... I couldn't help but feel for him and I defy you not to feel the same.

'Big Man Plans' is a brutal read and that is exactly as it should be. I couldn't take my eyes off the page as Powell and Wiesch weave a tale that you may think you have read before but not like this, not dialled up to 12 (and at some points, beyond). I'm really glad that I found it again, not going to let this book go ;o)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

‘Alien Harvest’ – Robert Sheckley (Titan Books)

Image
  Page Count: 326 Pages It feels like a while since I last had an ‘Aliens’ post here (‘Aliens: Genocide’, back in May , just in case you were wondering…) but I have been pecking away at ‘Alien Harvest’, a page here and then a few pages here. And that should be a little bit of a red flag right there. The four preceding ‘Aliens’ novels (or, one and a half omnibuses) were all very readable and, ultimately, a lot of fun despite a few misgivings here and there. ‘Alien Harvest’ though…? Honestly, it has taken me weeks to get through and if it wasn’t for my generally enjoying the franchise (and being an awkward middle-aged chap who sometimes, just won’t let a book beat him…), I’d have DNF’d this book and moved on without a second thought. I didn’t though (because I’m awkward and needed the win) and here I am, trying to make a little sense of how I feel about ‘Alien Harvest’. Lets see how I do… Royal jelly, the most illicit of Alien by-products, is keeping Dr, Stan Myakovsky alive. A once ...
Read more

‘Green and Grey’ & ‘Waiting Death’ (From ‘Soldiers of the Imperium: An Astra Miltarum Omnibus’ – Black Library’)

Image
  The weather is cooling down a bit, at least for now, but my tired (slightly overheated) old brain is taking a little while to catch up so, as you’ve probably gathered, I’m all about the short reads this week. Bits and pieces to keep me ticking over and entertained. And ‘Alien Harvest’, as well, but I already moaned about that yesterday , no more moaning about it today ;o) Anyway… I’m doing pretty well with my, kind of, resolution to read more books that I already own (it’s still a ‘work in progress’ but I’m happy with it) so it was no surprise that I decided to go for a couple of Imperial Guard short stories from the ‘Soldiers of the Imperium’ collection – a book that has gone unread for… lets just say ‘too long’. I picked one tale from an author that I’ve never read and the other tale? Well, does it count as a re-read if I listened to the audio-book years ago and could barely remember the plot when I came back to it the other day? Technically, yes, I guess ;o) Enough of that, le...
Read more

‘Wolverine : Old Man Logan’ – Millar, McNiven (Marvel)

Image
  Page Count: 256 Pages Long ago, there lived a Graeme who was having a pretty rough time and bought loads of comic books to cheer himself up. Some tough lessons, about the transient nature of money, followed but the comic books stuck around for a little longer so, things (kind of) balanced out ;o) One of those comic books was the collected ‘Old Man Logan’ and it was an awesome read (yes, I was that Graeme, in case you hadn’t worked it out). Thanks to the aforementioned transient nature of money, and the need for more, I had to get rid of my old copy but a couple of weeks ago, I saw another copy for sale and figured that it was time to pay ‘Old Man Logan’ another visit. When eBay is full of overpriced second hand copies, it’s nice to see Marvel do the decent thing and publish a new edition. Or, more likely, see an opportunity to make more money. Either way, I have a new book so I’m happy :o) A future world savaged and sundered by super villains, the United States ain’t what it used...
Read more