A review by alexctelander
Ball Peen Hammer by Adam Rapp, George O'Connor

3.0

While the cover and title will certainly be misleading for some readers who look at this graphic novel for the first time, I recommend they read the inside flap for a description. It’s not about S&M and violent sex games, but in fact a world where a sickness has wiped out a considerable amount of the population. In the style of //Children of Men//, people are fighting to survive, fighting for food, and fighting to get a sample of the vaccine that will cure them of the lethal sickness. With a harsh, rough art style that lends greatly to the dark and doomed storyline, Rapp introduces a subplot on top of all the sadness with the murdering of innocent children. If the characters don’t comply, they will suffer for it, so what choice do they have? Rapp does introduce some happiness with the girl depicted on the cover searching for the musician whom she fell for, but //Ball Peen Hammer// ends before this is possibly reconciled, leaving the reader wondering if there’ll be more or is that the bleak end of it all?

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