Meteor Men by Jeff Parker

Meteor Men Reviews

• 
  Sam Quixote

  Meteors containing aliens crash on Earth. Are these extra-terrestrials peaceful or hostile? They’re actually peaceful but the US Military knows one goddamn thing – it’s got some goddamn missiles and it’s gonna goddamn use them!
  
  As everyone freaks out about an alien invasion that isn’t happening because the aliens are too busy walking on air (literally!) as if they’re stoned superheroes who’ve just figured out their powers, one alien befriends lonely American teen Alden Baylor, a kid whose name sounds like someone with a mouthful of toffee trying to say “Alan Taylor”.
  
  You’d think he was miserable because of his crap name, or maybe because that’s the attitude that works best on the laydees but he’s not getting any, for some reason, even though he resembles an Abercrombie & Fitch model with no parents to tell him what to do and a massive amount of land he’s just inherited, plus media attention. (That said, can a teenager own land? I don’t know the US laws but doesn’t seem right)
  
  Middle middle middle, terrible anticlimactic ending, stare into space wondering what the point was, and it’s over.
  
  Meteor Men is probably the least interesting aliens come to Earth storyline you’ll ever read. Our “hero” archetype, Alden, might as well have empty speech bubbles for all its worth reading his dialogue. He’s the most vacuous person to have as a main character and there should be a sign hanging around his neck saying “WARNING: Listening to me talk for any amount of time will put you a coma”.
  
  The aliens are criminally dull too. I’m sure the idea that when aliens invade, the reader is supposed to be interested in finding out who they are and why they’re here but they do so little and display such little character – they’re like alien versions of Alden – that you’ve all but given up on them proving to be in the least bit worth knowing. I can say having read it, the reason why they do what they do is one of the most mind-numbingly boring reveals ever.
  
  The book overall has a strong Spielberg-ian feel to it. The kid who makes friends with the alien and the government/military hunting them down cliché is very ET and the fact that the comic is aimed at younger readers makes it a very safe read. Nothing original is attempted, there are no complex themes or characters, there’s little in the way of tension or obstacles to overcome, and the message is as universally positive as you can get – don’t judge appearances and be tolerant and kind to others. A fine sentiment but bland as hell – sorry, kids – “heck”, to read.
  
  Maybe that’s why the book has no resonance with me, being an adult reader, and teenagers will lap this up? It does seem to portray the life of a teenager fairly accurately – the awkwardness of a shy boy around girls, the parties, etc. - so perhaps for a reader going through these things themselves, they’ll identify more closely with the protagonist (who is luckily a blank slate – maybe that was the point?) and feel more strongly about the book as a result.
  
  Sandy Jarrell’s artwork is pretty good – I liked how the alien first spoke to Alden psychically, the background was whited out with a giant word to show how big an impact it had on his mind, and overall the comic is easy on the eyes. The alien designs aren’t that original though and seem fairly generic and forgettable.
  
  And those two words sum up Meteor Men – generic and forgettable. At no point was I engaged with any aspect of the narrative and the most powerful feeling I had when reading it was sleepiness. Maybe a teen who hasn’t read much sci-fi will enjoy this, but for the rest of us? It’s a miss. Like the meteors in the book when they lay on the ground split open, Meteor Men is quite hollow.
• 
  Skye Kilaen

  Seriously intriguing sci-fi graphic novel. Alden Baylor, a normal teenager, becomes the most important person in the world. The meteor shower that was supposed to be an interesting view turned out to be an alien invasion and things will never be the same. It's not a book with a pat, easy resolution just because it has a teenage main character. When my husband and I had both finished reading this, he said "I liked how it didn't have a happy ending." My response: "Or maybe it DID!" I was turning this one over in my mind for several days after I read it. Good stuff.
• 
  Wayne McCoy

  'Meteor Men' is a perfect story for the graphic novel format. It's mystery and wonder are perfect for this medium. Some slight spoilers follow.
  
  Alden Baker lives on his deceased parent's farm until he's old enough to own it. On the night of the Perseid meteor shower, he and others are out in the pasture to observe it. Along with the shower, meteors crash on Earth, including not far from where he is. A fight ensues over who owns the meteor, but what are they really and why did so many land? The mystery deepens over weeks as mysterious things are seen on the planet, and Alden finds himself in a unique place in the middle of a global crisis.
  
  The art and story work well together, and it's the kind of visual story that works better with sequetial art. It's a good story completely suitable for YA. Alden is a likeable character. There are some strange jumps in the story. Some are possibly because of the story, but some were just a bit strange to me. I liked it well enough and I do recommend it.
  
  I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Oni Press and NetGalley. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
• 
  Eve

  There is nothing remarkable about the story or artwork for Meteor Men, except possibly its consistent blandness. Aliens come to earth in a meteor shower and co-opt human bodies for their use. Fairly typical or at least as typical as sci-fi can be and certainly more than a little boring. The most interesting parts of the story are brief tidbits about Alden Baylor’s history and previously mundane life. Yes, that’s right; the mundane parts are about as exciting as it gets. The author appears to be trying to make a grand statement about human aggression, violence, and even our existence, but the effort falls flat. The character development and plot are too abrupt to make readers feel much sympathy or even dislike for either the humans or the aliens. I kept reading thinking there had to be more revealing information and excitement further on in the plot. Unfortunately, the ending was as quick and abrupt as the rest of the book and left me feeling like the story was unresolved and underdeveloped.
  
  
  Thanks to Netgalley.com for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Corinna Bechko

  It's always nice to discover a new, original science fiction comic and this one has something rare: a grounded story with a satisfying twist. The art is a good fit with the somewhat contemplative mood of the narrative while also delivering strong action sequences. In short, I wish there were more comics like this.
• 
  Ash

  I saw this book in my library and felt intrigued enough with the synopsis to pick it up. It's a small graphic novel about first contact with aliens who come through meteors during a meteorite shower. One of the meteors falls on a boy's(Alden Baylor) farm and he ends up encountering one of these aliens. I liked the big reveal about the aliens- how they came to Earth, why they came to Earth and what they really want from humans was all interesting. This was a very different take on alien invasion/first contact story. I was pleasantly surprised by this book and not sure why I have never heard anyone mention this book anymore considering how good it is. This will make a good Hollywood flick I feel.
  
  Spoiler: The idea of these meteors being the carriers for the aliens like an egg was a great concept. The aliens are in fact parasites who take over any intelligent host's body. They are spreading throughout the Universe to various planets. They are unstoppable and cannot be beat so the main protagonist just accepts that and attaches an alien parasite to his own body. I liked the ending.
• 
  Kay

  The art was pretty good, but mostly I liked the colors and color blocking.
  I enjoyed this as a YA comic -I thought Alden was a great, thoughtful, and compassionate teen.
  
  I'm really iffy on the ending though, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. It was very fatalistic and kind of depressing (to me), though I know it wasn't supposed to be.
  Alden's choice to "merge" with a Meteor Man/alien parisite was supposed to be peaceful and bigger than himself -like Wilton was saying, that his memories would live on in the future with the parisite- but I just really didn't like it.
• 
  Brent Ecenbarger

  Fun story about a bunch of meteors that land on Earth that may contain Aliens told from the point of view of a teenager who inherited his home after his parents were killed by a drunk driver. Ended a little abruptly, but otherwise excellent story and art.
• 
  Daniel

  This review originally published in
  Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.5 of 5
  
  It is books like Meteor Men that have restored my faith in the graphic novel as a literary form.  This book is beautiful to look at and delightful to read.  To me, this is precisely what the graphic novel medium is intended to be.  I know that the bulk of the graphic novels out there are compilations of superhero comic books, but the more I've been reading lately, the more I really appreciate the non-superhero graphic novels.  A book such as this might be just the ticket to get the young adult/teen readers in to the graphic novel market.
  
  The story is a rather basic 'first contact' story.  A group of teens gather to watch the annual meteor shower only this year it appears that one has struck the earth.  Bright, loner Alden discovers that the meteor has landed on his property.  After exploring and experimenting with the meteor, he intends to give it to a local museum.  But when Alden learns that similar meteors have struck the earth all over the world and there are coinciding reports of disappearances of local people, Alden realizes that there may be more to this than a random meteor.  When Alden discovers and befriends an alien, neither Alden, nor the Earth, will ever be the same.
  
  The story flows so naturally and author Jeff Parker not only creates an interesting and page-turning story, but he has also created unique, distinct, and involved characters.  Even our minor characters here have more personality and depth than some of the long-runnig superheroes I've read lately!  And while it's a teen-type book, the adults are not always the villians here.
  
  The art is really delightful.  Appropriate and effective and the sort of book you might thumb through just to look at the art.
  
  This is one of those books which I didn't know what to expect when I requested it from NetGalley and it turned out to be a beautiful surprise.  This is highly recommended to graphic novel fans and teen readers.
  
  Looking for a good book?  Meteor Men is a beautiful graphic novel with compelling characters and a strong story.
  
• 
  Nikki in Niagara

  This is a strong piece of pure science fiction (something I don't come across often enough these days). Aliens arrive on Earth during a meteor storm and the author brings a mature variation on the alien invasion theme. I found this to be a quick read and a story I was quickly hooked on. Usually when aliens arrive on earth one of two things happen: the aliens are bad and earth has to find the elusive way to kill them or the friendly, peace-loving aliens are misunderstood by the bad army/government people who want to kill them just because they are alien. I enjoyed Parker's take here as neither the aliens nor the authority figures are so easy to understand. We don't find out the alien objective until the end, which has a wonderful twist ending that leaves you thinking whether it was good or bad. Quite impressive. The art was excellent. Done realistically with a variety of frame structures that enhances the text.
• 
  Kevin

  One night during the Perseid meteor shower, thousands of meteorites make contact all over planet Earth. One of those meteorites crashes in the farm of young Alden Baylor. After investigating, he makes contact with an alien that came down inside the meteorite. What does the alien want? Is it peaceful? These and many more questions are ones that both Alden and the world's ever-twitchy and defensive governments and militaries would like answered.
  
  It's not the best alien invasion story I've read but it's also not the worst. Sure, that might not sound like I'm giving it much credence. But I just felt it was a bit choppy and rushed. It had a lot of potential that was squandered by the conciseness of it. But I did breeze through it in one hour which is the quickest I've torn through a graphic novel. That could be either good or bad. I did enjoy the artwork from Sandy Jarrell.
• 
  Melissa

  Ok so this was just weird, and not my cup of tea. But I'm sure plenty of others will enjoy it. This was just the weirdest alien species premise ever! They look like octopi but then morph and completely cover their host living being (usually a human) so they end up looking like humans just with big heads. Anyway, it never was adequately explained why Alden was connected to the aliens when no one else was, and I was confused as to why some people could hear the aliens thoughts and then later only Alden could. Also, they kept mentioning Alden's four cows so I was convinced they were going to be an important part of the plot. Lastly, I disagreed with the ending (I just don't see Alden making that decision), but I won't spoil that here.
• 
  Valerie Anne

  This was fine. For me, the characters were a little on the shallow side and the plot a little thin, a little typical, but it was still entertaining and the art was cool and: ALIENS! I think this would be a great comic for younger sci-fi readers.
• 
  Sonic

  A not so unusual premise handled in a unique way. This is a nice sci-fi story that actually made me think!
• 
  Abigail Monhollen

  Boring to read. I didn't fully finish it because it was hard to get through. It had potential to be good sci-fi, but failed.
• 
  Sharon

  Meh.
• 
  Katrina

  One of the reviews on the back of the book called this an "optimistic" story, which I don't particularly see. I suppose that's an Earth-centric view; if you step outside of humanity and look at the story from the wider universe's perspective, or from that of the alien invaders, there's certainly a sense of community. But at what cost? The conclusion seems to be that humans don't really deserve to maintain our hold on this planet when our instinct is to destroy the unusual rather than attempting to understand it.
  
  It's an interesting book to read after (belatedly) watching Arrival, because it starts off with a similar idea but follows a quite different path. I don't know that it feels totally complete to me. It's a sliver of a story, with insufficient attention given to laying out the relationships between the important characters. It makes the conclusion feel less rational to me.
  
  I don't see this as a story of a teenager finding his place in the world; I don't think the aliens are strictly evil, but they're still a parasitic invading force that plans to eventually populate the entire universe, which requires displacing the existing inhabitants. That's not exactly making them any better than the trigger-happy government officials on Earth.
  
  I also didn't see Alden's final choice as one he made when in full possession of his faculties. This was a quiet, sad sort of story. Worth reading, but not one I'll return to.
• 
  Kevin

  ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
  
  "Meteor Men" begins with a meteor rain that brought aliens to Earth. Our main character Alden is an orphan since many years back and even though he's a minor, he's been self-reliant -- with the help of his uncle, too. As a meteor landed on Alden's land, his uncle fights the scientists to give it back to him as it rightfully belonged to the boy. The scientists, however, wanted to keep studying the meteor. Meanwhile, alien sightings show up around the world and Alden meets one that he bonds with.
  
  I really love the premise of the book. The story really intrigued me and I loved learning about the aliens and how they work scientifically.
  
  However: my main issue with the book is that the scenes jumped in time and place without any notice. There is one instance in the beginning of the book where a page ends with Alden running towards something in the nighttime, and the next page begins with him at home in the morning. There is no box with "The next day" which would've helped. I had to -- several times while reading -- go back to check I hadn't accidentally missed a page because the end scene of one page didn't tie together with the beginning of another page. I also think chapter breaks would've helped this, too.
  
  I'm giving this book 3 stars because the premise is great but I spent too much time being confused! If there will be an extended and edited version of this book I'd definitely pick it up!
• 
  Blue

  I don't know much about astronomy and just this morning was reading in the news that some meteor shower would peak tonight here. It turns out this is the same meteor shower that starts Meteor Men, which I randomly picked up from the graphic novel shelf at the library yesterday, the Perseid meteor shower.
  
  Meteor Men is another alien first contact/invasion story, but it is unique and original. That everything, the survival of the whole human race, depends on one boy is the usual YA trope, but it's believable here to some extent. The story is well paced, the art is lush and beautiful. All in all, a pleasure to read.
  
  Recommended for those who like the night sky, pool parties, and cows.
• 
  Don

  My son picked this up at the library on a whim. Three hours later he told me "you've GOT to read this!!". He was right, it was a great story about a kid who has a meteor land in his back yard. I have a tendency to be very linear in my reading: I read these authors and these series in order... but, my son broke me out of that with this book. Indie comic company called ONI Press made it. Definitely worth checking out their stuff.
• 
  Amanda

  Would you think less of this if I tell you that while I was reading it--in the back of my head--I kept thinking of The Host? *face palm*
  
  Anyway, this was a super quick read, and I never felt that I quite connected with the characters. The art helped me through, but something wasn't quite there for me.
• 
  Cam

  First contact featuring an alien race arriving via meteor storm and frightening the authorities world-wide. A teenage orphan has a personal connection to one of the new arrivals that end up being unique in that he can communicate somewhat with them. Slowly, the security services realize his value and use his knowledge and advice, but still get it wrong, or do they?
• 
  Daniel Watkins

  Loved the artwork, and I think the story was well thought out in terms of the overall arc. But I think it’s a bit too brief to really develop a bond between characters. Hopefully the story continues...
• 
  Molly

  I know this was published well before The Girl With All the Gifts, but it is very much that kind of book. Except instead of hungries it has aliens. It's neat.
• 
  Cara

  I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The art was cool and the story was engaging. And that ending!!
• 
  Kathleen

  Not for those who have issues with body horror. Otherwise, a decent alien invasion tale!
• 
  Sarah

  2.5 stars
• 
  Tanja L

  For a story about an alien invasion, this was kind of boring.