Chad Michael Murray's "Everlast"

I’ve never been a huge graphic novel fan. When I was younger I read some comic books here and there that were available at the library, but I never got truly invested in them. As I got older, I found it more enjoyable to read books without pictures, and save the pictures for my television.

However, I DO love when the comic book characters become characters on the screen. I’m a fan of ‘The Dark Knight’,’Spider Man’ and ‘X-Men’ films. A few years ago I also got hooked on the television series ‘Smallville’.

I do like superheroes, I’m a fan of the idea that there are people out there who care enough about others that they want to save them. I just preferred to watch their adventures on the screen instead of read them in a book, that was, until I read “Everlast”.

Chad Michael Murray portrays a story about a man named Derek Everlast who has the ability to save people, and the world. Derek has the nudge, which tells him who to save and why. Derek isn’t alone in wanting to save the world he has his confident Hutch and there is also Starvos.

I loved that Chad also incorporated a love interest into the story. Not only for Everlast, but for Starvos as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed “Everlast”. I think the dialogue was top notch and spot on. There were no excess words. I laughed out loud at points. My favorite line was “We’re the Robin Hoods of human existence. Except he only uses bows and arrows. We get really big guns”. This phrase depicted a picture on it’s own. I love that Chad was so descriptive, even though there were drawings to convey what was happening in the story.

The theme of the story is universal, it’s been told many times before, but this version seemed fresh and new.

Chad had 5 artists assist him with “Everlast”. Each artist’s rendition of the Everlast world is different. From typical comic book styles, to photo realism, to a painting you’d see at a museum, each artist tells their version of the story in their own way. There were some panels in which I couldn’t fully understand what was happening, but overall I think the artists did a wonderful job telling Everlast’s story.

I like that the ending left room for more. Derek’s story is not finished, and I cannot wait to see what happens next in his life.