Mercy Thompson: Homecoming cover image (art by Dan Dos Santos) is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Bestselling author Patricia Briggs is known for her novel series; one of them is the Mercedes Thompson Series, which began in 2006 with the publication of Moon Called.  This series of urban fantasy novels is set in the Tri-Cities area of the state of Washington, but this is an alternate world in which werewolves, vampires, and certain types of the faerie creatures exist.

Mercedes “Mercy” Thompson is a Native American shapeshifter who was raised by werewolves.  She is a “walker,” a magical being with the power to transform into a coyote at will.  Working as a VW mechanic, Mercy tries to learn her true nature and also finds herself caught up in the affairs of the local werewolf pack.  Patricia Briggs joined Dabel Brothers Publishing to produce a graphic novel origin story (serialized as a four-issue series) about Mercy.  Entitled Mercy Thompson: Homecoming, the series is now seeing publication as a hardcover collection from Del Rey.

In Homecoming, Mercy has left Portland, Oregon to return to the Tri-Cities are of Washington in hopes of getting a teaching job.  She becomes caught in a vicious struggle between rival packs of werewolves.  The Columbia Basin Wolf Pack, led by Adam Hauptman. control the area at the behest of Mercy’s stepfather, Bran Cornick (unseen in this story), who is the “marrok (leader) of the werewolves.  A rogue pack of werewolves, led by the belligerent Park Orson, is challenging Adam’s pack in order to regain control of the area Orson’s pack once had.  As Mercy tries to get her life together, she must decide whether she should leave what she hoped would be her new home or stay.  Staying means being smack-dab in the middle of a werewolf gang war.

THE LOWDOWN:  Will comic book buyers balk at paying 23 dollars for a 112 hardcover book collecting a four-issue comic book?  I’d like to know the answer. [I didn’t have to pay for a copy because Del Rey gave me one to review.]  The snazzy front-jacket illustration by Dan Dos Santos definitely makes Mercy Thompson: Homecoming look like it belongs on the shelves next to bestselling novels.  I could stare at it for hours.  Anyway, I liked Mercy Thompson: Homecoming.  As snobby as I want to be about urban fantasy [Why, I don’t know], I’ve enjoyed the few reading experiences I have had with comic books adapted from urban fantasy novels.

Homecoming is not without its problems; for instance, the series switches artist right in the middle of the story.  Francis Tsai, a comic book painter, drew the first two issues, and Amelia Woo painted the last two issues.  Each artist obviously has different painting styles.  Tsai’s work looks like John Bolton’s painted comics, but sometimes without Bolton’s draftsmanship or skill at composition.  I prefer Woo’s half of the graphic novel.  Her work is pretty good, although her drawings of wolves and Mercy’s coyote form look awkward.  Both artists are fairly good storytellers, but this graphic novel would have been better served by having only one painter.

Apparently writer David Lawrence (Ex-Mutants) scripted this series from a 10-page story breakdown provided by Patricia Briggs.  Having never read the Mercedes Thompson novels, I don’t know how close the graphic novel is to the books, but Briggs’ participation probably makes it a safe bet that Homecoming is in harmony with the books.  As a graphic novel, Homecoming is a breezy, entertaining read.  It introduces some interesting characters, and Lawrence certainly sells Mercy Thompson as a character readers will want to get to know better.  Homecoming feels a little too compressed, as if it would read better if it were expanded to six issues.  It could certainly use a subplot or two.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Fans of urban fantasy, especially fans of Mercedes Thompson, will enjoy Mercy Thompson: Homecoming.

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