Groom Lake by Chris Ryall


Groom Lake
Title : Groom Lake
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 160010536X
ISBN-10 : 9781600105364
Language : English
Format Type : Paperback
Number of Pages : 124
Publication : First published October 29, 2009

The truth is out... er, under there? In the remote Nevada desert there sits a dry lakebed called Groom Lake, and under that land resides a secret base that holds all the secrets of the world. Not this world, either. Karl Bauer's father disappeared on him a year ago, but he didn't just "go out for cigarettes" in the usual way of abandoning his kid. Turns out his father was an alien abductee who was sent back with altered DNA that has forever changed Karl's life, too. Karl is drawn -- okay, taken -- to a secret base under Groom Lake in Nevada where he's drawn into a plot to weaponize alien technology in the form of a new Manhattan Project. Karl, who is befriended by a cynical female worker and a group of unpredictable aliens, leads an escape from the base even while closely pursued by a worldwide organization that will kill to preserve the greatest secret in (in-)human history. There's nowhere on the planet to hide and beyond even that, Karl faces the twin threats of his altered DNA and a group of aliens whose true motivations are otherworldly, to say the least.

Writer Chris Ryall and artist Ben Templesmith present a tale of abductions and probings, conspiracies and secrets.


Groom Lake Reviews


  • Brendan

    The book is a 3.5 for me and unfortunately suffers from a convoluted first section that is clunky and very boring. I now remember attempting to read this a few years ago now. The book isn't without its flaws, a chunky and messy beginning, annoys more than opening interest. The finale is the strongest part and I was flipping those pages like crazy. I'm interested to see if there are more books in this series but I won't get to them for some time.

  • Alane

    Call me a bad mother. It seemed like a fun thing to read with my 11 year old. Exploding gonads, chain smoking aliens, semi-SS style government agents... I don't know - I liked the art? I did receive a, "Mom, you are so weird," out of it so I got that going on. But it was kind of a disappointment. Wholly memorable, however.

  • Imogene

    Where does one start with this one? Describing is difficult, I mean, the chain-smoking, chocolate obsessed little grey alien, or the guy whose balls may be explosive and may save the world? Ummmm.

    It’s a unique little book. Not to everyone’s taste. The artwork can make the story a little harder to follow, and it’s definitely a strange ending.
    But at least now I have a hilarious image in my head from part of the climax, in which two types of aliens are bent on coming to earth for assorted reasons.

    No, I’m not telling you what happened.


  • Michelle (Bookaholic Banter)

    I have not read many graphic novels but I must say, I enjoyed this one the most! The story was great and the illustrations were fabulous! there is even an art gallery of beautifully illustrated pictures at the book. I highly recommend this one!

  • Venus Maneater

    Oh wow it's like no one really knew which way to go, story wise, so they kinda went all over the place and it shows.

    The whole wise-cracking, emotional-bomb-dropping, cynical agent trope doesn't really work if the protagonist is actually pretty easy going. Honestly, he adapts pretty well and goes from hillbilly to a member of an alien gang without a hitch

    The Grey is pretty chill though and honestly the best character.

    Partway through the gang picks up someone who offers absolutely nothing to the plot except a reason to make more jokes about someone's virginity, because it is really shameful to be a virgin I guess? Also there are a lot of jokes about aliens putting stuff up people's butt so if that's your jam, go buy this.

  • Tanja L

    Well, this was kind of weird, it was cynical and it had some dark humor. I didn't really get attached to any of the characters, and the story doesn't really go anywhere, but I liked the main alien - he didn't really care about anything but chocolate and cigarettes. It was an entertaining read, but ultimately forgettable.

  • Erica

    More Archibald the alien! ...and I don't think the artist knows how to draw human hands 🤔

  • Barbara

    Cute story with good graphics. Just bought the next edition in the series.

  • Angel

    This was mostly an ok read. Interesting take on the whole Area 51 plot. Basically, the story is a guy, whose father had been kidnapped by aliens, is now captured by the government that has an interest in his DNA. The government has been keeping aliens and their technology underground for years. The guy decides to escape with help from some of the aliens.

    The cynical tones were a different take, but it does get a bit on the heavy side after a while; some readers may or not like that. There is some dark humor as well which I think some readers will like. While this may remind some readers of The X-Files or Men in Black, the tone is darker in terms of the humor and cynicism. But it is an interesting read overall. And it's quick.

  • Damon

    This was... fine. The story was pretty generic - nothing new, nothing particularly hilarious, certainly nothing profound, but still entertaining enough. (Judging from the stuff I've read, this seems to me more or less Ryall's signature style.)

    I like Templesmith's art a lot, but it's very uniform across titles, so you don't get a distinct look for any particular book. That's fine - it's just another place where this book doesn't disappoint, but doesn't stand out.

    Overall, this was an acceptable way to spend some time, and worth the $4 or whatever I paid for it.

  • Mark Desrosiers

    Once again
    Ben Templesmith gives life and blood to a very silly tale, in this case a hick plus a buncha aliens busting out of Area 51 in order to destroy earth. Or avert earth's destruction. Anyway, it all began with an anal probe...

  • Josh

    I'm not upset I read it, nor am I especially pleased. It was a fun read at times, not a new story, but a decent story. Unfortunately the author never got me to care about any of the characters, or what happened to them. But hey, I read it.

  • Molly

    This was a fun little science fiction story with great Templesmith art throughout. The plot isn't anything to write home about, but the characters (particularly the captive aliens) are delightful enough to make up for it.

  • A. Mickey Perkins

    I've been on an alien kick lately, and this was fantastic. The art is only okay, the story isn't all that original, and the characters are fairly dull, but something about it resonated and left me wanting more. It kept my attention, and at the end it was pretty good.

  • Ch J Loveall

    Read 92 pages and the rest is artwork. Does anyone want?

  • Sam

    A fun short comic. Read it & phone home.

  • Jay D

    It was entertaining enough, nothing outstanding about it. It was worth the few hours it took to read.

  • Janice

    The art was lame. The story line was so-so. Flat characters. Not worth reading.

  • Scott

    As funny as it is weird. Great art by Ben Templesmith, as to be expected.

  • Jared Rasic

    Dumb but really fun. Templesmith is a genius.

  • Jay Salvosa

    Doesn't really offer anything new. The humor is "there but not there."

  • Amanda

    I would've given this 1 star, but I really like Ben Templesmith's artwork. The story was atrocious: it seemed to have been written by a 16 year old boy obsessed with ladybits and anal probs.

  • Tony

    Interesting but disjointed

  • Aura

    Not really my style for either art or humour but not bad either. If there are further installments I'll read them if I see them at the store but I wouldn't go out of my way to order them.

  • Dana Jerman

    A fun romp! For more in this vein, watch the movie "Paul".