Review: “Tumor”

Writer: Joshua Hale Fialkov

Art: Noel Tuazon

[rating: 5/5]

I got the distinct pleasure of reading Archaia Comics’ graphic novel Tumor a few months ago, but I just haven’t been able to properly phrase the review for it.  In fact, I still don’t think I can, but a book this great deserves a lot of word of mouth.

I love the noir genre.  My first novel for last year’s National Novel Writing Month competition.  Noir films and novels have been a mainstay of our culture for years, and they keep roping us in.  No matter how the world changes, noir is always there.

Tumor is no exception.  It’s an off-beat noir tale of a dying private investigator on his last case, trying to save the girl (for once) before the tumor in his brain ends his life.  As the story progresses, reality and hallucination blurs as our main character’s entire life begins to unravel, and secrets are laid out in the open for the first time in decades.  It’s a heart-wrenching tale that I honestly can’t find the words to describe aside from saying IT’S JUST THAT DAMN GOOD.

Tumor is a rare, once in so often comic that doesn’t feel like a comic, but like a literal novel that just happens to be illustrated, the kind of book that needs to be a movie just so you can see it jump to life.  Whatever stigma is typically associated by the general public with superheroes and four color panels vanishes in a well written, gripping story.  I can’t say much about it because, as I’ve mentioned before, I have extreme difficulty talking about good things.  Tumor is definitely a very, very good thing.