And finally I get to read Kyle Baker’s latest GN. This story is definitely different from his previous ones, being based on the famous David vs Goliath story. But it’s more than that, it tells David’s life even after that famous fight.
The beginning of this story felt very slow, it took me some time to get over it and continue reading. There were a lot of words and not much action, but the pacing was very slow. Baker’s dialogs are usually faster and fun to read.
Once we get to the Goliath’s fight though, things pick up pace drastically. That fight scene was very enjoyable. From then on it felt like an epic story. We skip a few years every once in a while, and we see a lot of important people involved. King Saul and his children Michal and Jonathan, Abigail in Nabul, King Achish etc…
A lot happens to David, so much that I had to jot down some notes to keep things straight. Not that it’s too complicated, but David goes through a lot while trying to escape King Saul. He marries many times, but never seems to be “satisfied”.
That’s one of the things that appealed to me about David. At first he almost felt like a superhero, almost invincible in battle. As time goes on we also see him commit some murders, as well as adultery. He is not a saint at all.
The art is the usual beautiful style by Baker, but he gets to draw different environment and clothes for once. I always thought of his style as a very modern one, but it suits this story fine. Same goes for the tone, he still manages to keep a fun tone throughout the story, and in a way “modernize” this story with the language.
There is more “meat” to this story than previous ones, which is why it took me longer to read this book. I do like this book and I think it’s worth reading, but I prefer his more modern and fast paced stories.