Advance Review: Hype by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray

Hype is the new 64 page original graphic novel by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. It comes out January 24, 2017 from Adaptive Books. I was sent an advance copy and sat down with it.


Hype is the story of Amanda Marr. She recently lost her father. She is estranged from her brother. She has been terribly single for a while. She is also a brilliant scientist who does lectures. She is approached by the government to work on a failed project. That project is Hype (aka Noah Haller),  a super soldier that has been shelved for 20 years after a failed rescue at a Waco style cult.
Amanda works on getting Noah, who can only operate for 45 minutes at a time before his body burns out, to become more human. The advances in his body make him more than human but his limited exposure to the outside world cause him to be on the emotional level of a child. So is his capacity to understand following orders and knowing when to deviate from them, which caused him to be shelved previously.
During their time together Amanda and Noah develop and interest for each other.  But the feelings could complicate things when Amanda is kidnapped by a terrorist group that his been kidnapping scientists to develop a biological weapon and Noah will need to save her.
Here is the book’s solicitaion:

The United States military has a secret weapon: an individual who wields the superhuman abilities of immense intellect, speed, power, and strength. The cost? His power only lasts forty-five minutes a day. Noah Haller is HYPE, a man who is forced to undergo complete cellular regeneration twenty-three hours each day to retain his capabilities. As Noah works to solve the world’s complex problems, he struggles to achieve the emotional balance and understanding that comes naturally to most humans. Scientist Amanda Marr aids him in his journey, but loyalties are tested as a terrorist group threatens the world with a deadly pathogen.

I have enjoyed Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti’s work together before, especially on “The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning” and “Random Acts of Violence” as well as Justin and Jimmy’s work on the Friday the 13th comic series from Wildstorm, so I was very excited to read this. The book is well done with clean art. The 64 page format is nice but I would love to see the story fleshed out more as it does jump in time a bit. 
Over all Hype is a good story, even with the jumps in the timeline that can be slightly distracting. However, as a whole package, the story is entertaining and the art is well done. While the story is engaging and works well as a one shot, I would love to see it as a mini series of ongoing. The comic provides big screen action on the page, and fans of sci-fi and spy thrillers will not be disappointed. Noah’s naivety adds a bit of comedic elements to the story, as he has spent most of his life in hibernation, he doesn’t have a good grasp on personal space and human interaction.
One aspect of the partnership I really like is, Jimmy and Justin are working with Paperfilms to adapt their properties into other media, these stand alone books work well as pitches (and story boarded at that) for TV and movies.