Goodreads: Four Color Bleed

Author: Ryan McSwain

Published: 31st August 2017 (Pithos Publishing)

Source: Copy from Author

Rating: 4/5 (Really liked it)

Official Summary: “Four Color Bleed is a novel about comic books, nostalgia, and the nature of reality. Featuring illustrations by Rian Gonzales, Weshoyot Alvitre, Ben Zmith, Morgan Perry (aka Geauxta), Ben Cohen, Kevin Kelly, Adam Prosser, and Chris “Chance!” Brown.

Ralph Rogers was the darling of the comic book industry, a teenage artist who’d taken the world by storm. He had it all, until a high-profile scandal left him in disgrace. Years later, his reputation in tatters, Ralph has fallen into an obsession with the legendary lost comics of Pithos Publishing—a shadowy company that vanished into the fog of time. As he uncovers the mystery of Pithos, the curtain unravels between his own mundane life and a fantastic version of reality. Ralph suddenly has everything he’s ever wanted: He’s a celebrity, a beloved artist, and he’s been reunited with the girl of his dreams. But soon this new paradigm turns deadly, and Ralph must fight for his life in a land where the impossible is commonplace, where caped heroes rule the sky, and where the villainous Ocularist will stop at nothing to conquer the world.” – Goodreads

Review: I have never read a comic in my life. Right I threw that out there, don’t hurt me. With that being said I actually really enjoyed this. Which I was surprised by, just shows you don’t need to know about comic to enjoy a really good story about superheroes and bad guys.

The main character wasn’t perfect, he was flawed and had made mistakes. He hadn’t given up though, he was still trying to live his dream of being an artist. Even when he became something much more, he wasn’t even close to being perfect. He had to re-learn everything, had to learn who he is deep down as a person.

The illustrations were amazingly well done and the information pages were very highly detailed. Just adding that nice extra layer and tone to the story. You could tell both the Author and illustrators had really put their souls into this book.

(Disclaimer: I received a free copy from the Author in exchange for an honest review.)