Review - Ball Peen Hammer

Ball Peen Hammer
Written by Adam Rapp
Art by George O'Connor
Publish By First Second

Ball Peen Hammer is about a society suffering from an unknown disease which affects 96% of the population and is fatal. Told through a hand full of characters which initially seem unrelated, the reader gets glimpses into how society has changed with many of its inhabitants suffering from this modern day plague.

There are four main characters. Two men, Welton, a musician, and Aaron, a writer are holed up in a basement while a woman named Exley is helping a teenage boy named Horlick atop clock tower. All of them are trying to figure out how to survive in this broken, dangerous world. It seems there is a group that assigns individuals gruesome tasks which they must complete. But no one knows who this group is or why they these tasks are required. And tension in the story grows as we learn more about the characters discuss their situations and responsibilities.

Adam Rapp is actually a novelist, playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, and musician and this is his first time writing a graphic novel. I didn't know he was so versatile when I picked this up for the library. But on contemplation after reading, it's easy to see how this could be set as a play. With just a couple settings and limited characters, there is depth to the story that isn't present in most comics.

What's interesting is that the two groups each emphasize a different aspect of this broken society. Welton and Aaron discuss the tasks individuals are given, art, and the reason why they ended up sitting in a basement. While Exley and Horlick are growing emotionally closer to each other with little thought about why they are in the terrible situation society seems to be in. Rapp is able to use these two groups to look at the same situation from two different angles giving the reader a more nuanced look at the world he has created for this book.

The art by George O'Connor is a little cartoony, but very well done for this work. The color palettes change between the pages concerning Welton and Aaron or Exley and Horlick. The characters are all very unique and have great expressions. The backgrounds are somewhat sparse, but in a post-apocalyptic work, it is very appropriate.

The blurb on the back cover is from Booklist magazine and says "Not for gentle readers". I am putting this in the adult non-fiction area of our collection because there are some harsh language and graphic violence. I can see a school librarians in Kentucky would be nervous ordering this.