Head Wounds: Sparrow

by Oscar Isaac (Produced by), Brian Buccellato (Text by), Christian Ward (Illustrator), Robert Johnson, John Alvey

Overview

WHAT KILLS YOU MAKES HIM STRONGER

A detective with a higher purpose feels the pain and wears the wounds of those he’s failed to protect, and there’s only one way to stop the bleeding: vengeance. As a divine battle of good and evil between Angels and Demons rages around him, can this crooked detective follow the straight-and-narrow to seek justice, or will he just save his own wounded skin as the fate of humanity hangs in the balance?

LEGENDARY COMICS is proud to present an unmissable neo-noir graphic novel from the mind of OSCAR ISAAC (Dune, Star Wars, Moon Knight) and featuring the creative talents of CHRISTIAN WARD (Invisible Kingdom, Blood Stained Teeth), BRIAN BUCCELLATO (Detective Comics: Batman, The Flash, Chicken Devil), ROBERT JOHNSON, JOHN ALVEY and JASON SPIRE.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681160900
Publisher:	Legendary Comics
Publication date:	10/18/2022
Edition description:	Not for Online
Pages:	120
Sales rank:	107,967
Product dimensions:	6.80(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Brian Buccellato is a #1 New York Times best-selling author out of the comic book universe, where he is best-known for his work on DC Comics’ titles THE FLASH, BATMAN, and INJUSTICE. In 2017, he completed Universal Studios' Feature Writer Program and was a member of Dan Lin’s 2019 inaugural TV development Incubator at Rideback where he developed an original pilot for MRC. He previously adapted his Image comic series CANNIBAL for Square One, who also optioned his first creator-owned book, SONS OF THE DEVIL. Brian’s recent comic work includes the yet to be released HEADWOUNDS for Legendary and Oscar Isaac, ARMORCLADS for Valiant Comics, and CHICKEN DEVIL, a new creator-owned with Aftershock Comics.



Raised in Queens, New York by a single Puerto Rican mother, Brian originally made his way into comics as a colorist for MARVEL and DC COMICS, before segueing to writing. He got his start in Hollywood working with director Tim Story, co-writing an indie thriller and eventually assisting on multiple studio films. A high school dropout who took the long road in life, Brian has gained a wealth of life experiences from odd jobs along the way, including working in a steel company, bartending, and ushering at a movie theater—all of which help to inform the grounded characters and worlds Brian creates. However, Brian’s most influential role in life is father to his twenty-year-old son, Paris, and young daughters Sophia and Olivia.

Christian Ward is a London-based illustrator, comic artist and writer.

Some of his clients include Marvel Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, The Guardian, Fence Records and Forbidden Planet amongst others.

Past comic-book projects include Image Comics' best seller The Infinite Vacation with Nick Spencer. He's also worked with Matt Fraction on The Time Ben Fell In Love a DHP Short, Kieron Gillen on Young Avengers and previously with Nathan Edmondson on his debut Image mini Olympus.

Editorial Reviews

07/25/2022

Partially conceived by actor Oscar Isaac, this propulsive but cluttered series opener piles on ripe genre elements but feels more like a pitch idea than an organic story. The world-weary narration of New Orleans cop Leo (“We’re just garbage people”) sets the tone for an overbaked plot about crooked police, political corruption, and homicidal ghosts. Leo’s got plenty of skeletons he wants to keep hidden, including an affair with the wife of a fellow officer, but sins of his past keep showing up as phantasms only he sees. His frazzled psyche takes another hit when a cop is shot to death, but every time Leo looks in the mirror, he envisions it’s him who has the bleeding head wound. In a Christmas Carol–like twist, Leo is told by a spirit that the only way out of his purgatory is to do what he has not done for awhile: “Your job.” Bayou mansions, a ghostly gang fight, and an Eyes Wide Shut–style shindig launch it all well over the top. The art by Eisner winner Christian Ward (the Invisible Kingdom series) is spooky, kinetic, and psychedelic, nearly making up for clunky dialogue by Buccelato (the Cannibal series). Though more goes wrong than right in this messy misfire, the creators at least erred on the side of much-too-much rather than not-enough. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

2022-09-28
A crooked cop inexplicably suffers others’ physical pain while hunting kidnappers in this supernatural graphic novel.

New Orleans cop Leo Guidry revels in his own seediness. He’s a perpetual drunk who steals and sells evidence and proceeds to have an affair with another cop’s wife. But lately, he’s seeing things he can’t explain, such as people who appear as glowing creatures. Things really take a turn when a fellow detective dies in the line of duty—a gunshot to the head—and Guidry suffers an identical injury simultaneously. Guidry survives with a hole in his head that never stops bleeding, though only he can see this dreadful wound. He doesn’t know what’s happening even as the detective’s apparent ghost materializes before him. Perhaps it’s time for this dirty cop to “settle up,” which he attempts to do by looking into the abduction of a drug addict. He later witnesses the same kidnappers grab a young Honduran man. Guidry tracks down the victims while facing an especially huge obstacle. When certain individuals suffer injuries, like a savage pistol-whipping, the detective feels the same thing and sees the results on his increasingly battered mug. Along the way, he encounters people he’s let down and deals with the guilt caused by the loss of his son. But his dangerous, graphically psychedelic journey seems to revolve around his choices that have hurt others and a newfound chance to clear his conscience. And Guidry soon realizes he’s only a small part of a much bigger fight and a much larger world. Buccellato’s novel—based on a story by Robert Johnson and John Alvey—moves at the pace of a Hollywood action film. That’s hardly surprising, as it was also developed by movie producer Jason Spire and actor Oscar Isaac. Guidry is the quintessential world-weary detective hiding in a dark city’s squalid underbelly. As he sees more and more bewildering things, a mystery slowly creeps into the narrative that couples well with such familiar sights as cops chasing baddies. Despite his flaws, Guidry is an appealing hero who eventually strives to do what’s right. Most of the police, meanwhile, see him as a peculiar guy with “mummy bandages” pointlessly covering his head; they can’t see the bloody and bruised agony on his face that he and readers spot. No one else in the cast gets as much focus, though Suzie, Guidry’s paramour, stands out as a woman who craves an emotional connection. Some characters are intentionally enigmatic, from a biker gang to the truck driver transporting the abductees. Ward’s richly hued artwork complements this somber detective story with blue-gray nights and glaringly bright lights. But the most striking visual is Guidry’s head wound, as its mesmerizing blood floats in the air and sometimes even covers the panels with spatter. As to what’s going on, there are few answers until the final act rolls around. While the creators provide a good deal of clarity, questions remain, and it’s clear they have planned this as the start of a series.

A superb noirish tale with otherworldly glimpses and a gruff, likable detective.

Kirkus Reviews