I really liked this graphic novel. It took me a little bit to figure out the format but once I did, I loved it. The little story vignettes was unique for me and really kept me reading. I also found it just on the edge of realistically bizarre, which was fun. I definitely will be looking to read more from this trio. I really hope it’s in the same vein.

Highly recommend this one!

Classic Brubaker and Phillips with a twist. These two are masters of the crime genre after putting together a stellar run of titles over the last couple of decades. This book does things a little bit different by keeping the location to a quiet suburban street, and mixing up the characters to include more everyday folks. Phillips’ art is, as ever, outstanding, and the character work and narrative by Brubaker is griping.

The best team currently working in comics deliver the goods once more. An intricate puzzle of a book that draws the reader in right from the start.

The description "Like a true crime podcast crossed with a long-lost diary" was absolutely true. I loved the format of this graphic novel. The ending, though, of how the private investigator really does felt like a cop-out.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

“Where the Body Was” by Ed Brubaker is a graphic novel that delves into the complexities of crime and romance, set against the backdrop of a seemingly ordinary neighborhood. Brubaker, alongside his long-time collaborator Sean Phillips, presents a narrative that intertwines the lives of its characters in a manner that is both intricate and compelling.

The story unfolds on Pelican Road, a picturesque street that harbors more than its fair share of secrets. With a cast that includes young delinquents, a cheating wife, a respected policeman, and a homeless veteran, Brubaker crafts a tale that explores the lengths to which people will go for love, and how power dynamics can shape those expressions of love.

The novel’s structure is ambitious, initially presenting a neighborhood map and a cast list, suggesting a complex story that requires active engagement from the reader. However, this complexity does not always pay off. The geographical layout, while detailed, does not significantly impact the unfolding mystery, and the narrative sometimes feels too familiar to Brubaker’s previous works.

Despite these criticisms, “Where the Body Was” shines in its character development. Brubaker’s script, complemented by Phillips’ art, creates a vivid world where each character’s motivations and desires are palpable. The story’s shift from a crime narrative to a romance feels somewhat forced, but it does not detract from the overall experience.

The artwork by Sean Phillips, with colors by Jacob Phillips, is a standout feature. The visuals capture the mood of the story perfectly, enhancing the emotional depth of the narrative. The lettering style, though understated, adds to the book’s unique style.

Really enjoyed this tale of interconnecting lives and the fronts that everyone puts up to protect themselves. It seems to be a murder mystery and there are many potential subjects: the man pretending to be a cop, flashing his dead father's badge; the psychiatrist, overworked and falsifying the records of his patient, a homeless Vietnam vet; the young guy, breaking into houses to try to impress a girl. It all takes place on one small street, where a young girl skates around in a mask and cape, pretending to be a superhero/detective. Excellent artwork as usual. And the solution, when it comes, is pretty much perfect.

"Where the Body Was" plunges readers into a gripping blend of true crime and intricate storytelling, unlike anything seen before from the powerhouse duo of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Set in a boarding house teeming with secrets and a cast of complex characters, this tale weaves together the narratives of a neglected housewife, a young girl with superhero aspirations, a disillusioned cop, and a determined private detective on the trail of a runaway girl. As their lives intersect against the backdrop of a fateful summer, the truth behind a murder unfolds through multiple perspectives, each shedding light on the tangled web of love, loss, and violence in the suburbs. With a meticulous attention to detail, Brubaker and Phillips craft a haunting narrative that reverberates through decades, exploring the depths of human nature and the consequences of a single act of violence. Illustrated with the duo's signature style and accompanied by a map of the crime scene, "Where the Body Was" is a tour-de-force that will captivate fans of true crime podcasts and mystery aficionados alike.

As a long term fan of both Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips I’m always keen to read and see more of their work.

A boarding house full of druggies. A neglected housewife. A young girl who thinks shes a superhero. A cop who wants to be left alone. And a private detective looking for a runaway girl. These stories collide one fateful summer in WHERE THE BODY WAS, a tale of love and murder in the suburbs, told from a dozen different points of view. All the neighbors on the block have an opinion about the murder and how it happened, but which of them is telling the truth?

I’ve loved Brubaker since his days at DC & Marvel and his Daredevil and Captain America runs are legendary but it’s his work on Gotham Central that captured my imagination, I even own some original artwork from that run.

In recent years Brubaker has started to work with Sean Phillips almost exclusively and between them they have created a real line in Noirish graphic novels. As a big fan I think I have everything they’ve done and quite a few books with sketches by Phillips. So it’s fair to say I was looking forward to this!

The book feels both familiar as their partnership has a strong visual style but it also feels slightly different. There is something about their partnership which always gives a vibe of high quality TV miniseries.

I enjoyed the flashback nature of the story and how it unfolded, Brubaker does a nice line in exaggerated realism and it works for this. It was maybe a little more explicit than some of their stuff but it didn’t bother me too much.

It did feel different to their other works like Criminal or Fatale but it had a similar dark sense of humour and often unlikeable characters.

It might not be for everyone but if you’ve enjoyed their past work you’ll probably really like it!

A dark, funny and nourish story set in the 80’s with Phillips excellent, stylistic art – give it a shot!

Definitely had no idea what the ending was going to be. Also, this feels vastly different from Brubaker and Phillips's other works. I've read part of Criminal, and loved it, so when I noticed this was available, I jumped at the chance. It is for sure a murder mystery, but not in the way you think. The story starts off with what becomes the Sid and Nancy event and was a pure rollercoaster until the end. I love Brubaker's story telling, it's dark, it's gritty, it's hard to read sometimes because it's scary too, but it is so so good I will always come back to it. And Phillips art is raw, emotional, gritty, and *chef's kiss* perfect for dark stories. If you like the darker Batman stories, or grittier mystery/thrillers, this is the comic for you.

This was so good I loved every minute of it. The multiple characters. The flash forwards and the past. All trying to solve and who killed who. It had the perfect amount of mystery for me. Great read. Great art.

A quick, intriguing read.

I loved the colours of this one - perfect for the 80s setting.

The story takes its time getting to 'the body' which I really liked - it becomes a character study, looking at the lives of a small group of people at a specific place in time. I really enjoyed the way it played out.

Clever title, in that it creates the mystery then and there and we spend the whole time wondering who did it before the body even turns up.

Really clever and the artwork complements the story beautifully. Highly recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley for a copy

I probably should have done more background reading before starting this work - I went in expecting a humorous murder mystery based on the title and that is decidedly not what this is. Instead, it’s a convoluted story (in the best way) about a death on a suburban block. Everyone has a different perspective, and it isn’t at all clear who, if anyone, is right. There are some explicit panels early in the work, you’ll know right away if it is or isn’t for you. While it wasn’t for me, I can see it being a solid choice for anyone who prefers gritty murder mysteries. My rating is based on my personal enjoyment (2/5) and the skill and artistry displayed by the creators (4/5).

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review.

I was screening this for a high school library, but I stopped after a few pages due to inappropriate content.

Yeah, there’s a dead body, and yes, there are more than a few unscrupulous characters, but the latest graphic novel from this superstar creative team is more of a slice-of-life story, a stylistic fusion of Anne Tyler and S.A. Cosby. Made for me, in other words.

Despite its title, it’s actually less concerned with the body, and more interrogating the lives of the people living on the picturesque street of Pelican Road in the summer of 1984. There’s a real hodgepodge of characters here, exquisitely rendered in Sean Phillips’ inimitable style: a cheating wife and her husband; the checkout guy at the local liquor store who masquerades as a cop with his dead father’s badge; two juvenile delinquents in a tempestuous sometimes-romantic relationship; a masked roller-skating eleven-year-old; the homeless man she has befriended; and a private detective searching for a missing person.

“Where the Body Was” is framed as a true crime documentary, with characters (decades later) recounting their memories of that fateful summer on the street. Brubaker deftly establishes his characters and their relationships, then sets off the key chain of events pivotal to the story’s plot.

But actually, it’s the quieter moments I most enjoyed here, ruminations on young love and choices made, and the subtle changes in Phillips’ presentation of the characters as they recount their memories of the summer. We don’t get much exposition about their current lives; instead, Phillips’ artwork does the talking. You can tell a lot about a person by the sadness in their eyes, and there is no artist better equipped to show this. Infused with an elegiac and wistful tone, “Where the Body Was” is a quintessential Brubaker/Phillips production.

I absolutely loved this graphic novel. It reminded me of an older detective show. Beautiful story and beautiful illustrations that depicted the year 1984, its setting, well.

This is my first book by these authors and I really liked it I liked that the narrative was told from multiple points of view and that they were interconnected. It worked!
Many thanks to ImageComics and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Where the Body Was isn't the crime of a century. It's a tale of secrets, two-faced lives, and how messy romance can be.

Brubaker and Phillips deliver another amazing read. Delve into the 1980s with a cast of characters as varied and developed as a high-end drama. From a child dressed up as a superhero to a woman tricking her husband only to be tricked in return.

Another day, another graphic novel from the incomparable duo that is Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Where the Body Was feels a bit like a minor work compared to something like The Fade Out. However, its ’80s-set tale of suburban ennui, bored housewives and illicit affairs, young romance and heartache, and — because this is Ed Brubaker we’re talking about — a shocking murder mystery that undoes everyone’s lives (for better or worse) is not without its affecting moments. Particularly when Brubaker has the characters’ older selves break the fourth wall to reflect on that tumultuous period in their lives.

I was able to read this as an arc via NetGalley.
I don't think this is one for me. I read through it quite quickly and it's based on the premise that a body is discovered in a neighbourhood in the 1980s.
Much prefer a proper book to comics but that's a personal choice....thanks to NetGalley and the authors

Reading multiple points of view was key to my enjoyment of the story. It kept the action moving in a way that kept me engaged. The various reveals were spread out enough that I was always wondering what would happen next and wanted to keep reading. It was interesting to see the characters interact with each other, and even break the fourth wall, as we get to know them from different perspectives. I would recommend this book comic book and mystery fans alike.