Review- LORI

LORI (IDW, 2009; Softcover)

Book was originally published in 1989.

Writer: Robert Bloch

IDW is a comic book publisher, and they have done adaptations of two Bloch titles, Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper and That Hellbound Train. When I saw this one listed as a graphic novel, I assumed that it was an IDW mini-series that I somehow missed. I picked this up to flip through it and, to my horror, it was a not comic book at all but an actual book, with no pictures save for the one on the cover.

I have enjoyed the other Bloch stories that I've read, and even the one that I haven't but saw the film of (Psycho). Once I got past the fact that there would be no artwork to dissect, and that the words alone would have to carry this story, I was off to the races. I plowed through this book in very little time, as it was a real page turner. The major difference between reading real books and comic books (graphic novels to the faux comic fans out there) is that your mind paints pictures rather than the artist. I quickly assigned images to every place and character, and as usual, I assigned voices to them all. This is a practice that I have done for as long as I can remember. Everyone has a voice, and I read their parts with that voice.

Lori is a really good read. While I hashed out the bulk of the climax at least 120 pages before the end, there were a few curveballs, especially in the final chapter. I won't say what, but it's almost as if Bloch had it all sewn up, and decided to throw the w********* aspect in there just to fuck with you. It makes me want to re-read it with that in mind.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- There are several typos throughout this book, which is disappointing to say the least. I wonder if the original had these or if IDW screwed it up.

The cover has that thin, non-waxy matte coating that seems to be easily scuffable. It has two scuffs after prolonged handling. OCD fail.

This book suffers from a mousetrap binding. While the signatures are sewn, it appears that they are just glued right into the spine, with no casing whatsoever. It requires you to force the book open with both hands just to read it. I don't know if people who read real books tolerate these shenanigans, but I can see why people are switching to ebooks if this is standard operating procedure. I was aggravated reading each and every page, since it didn't lay flat at any point during the book.

Paper rating: 4 out of 5.

Binding rating: 0.5 out of 5.

Cardstock cover rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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