1. Dean Kmiecik
2. “5 is the Perfect Number” is a story focusing on the mafia. The dad is also the main story teller in this novel. This story takes place in probably the 70s and is inNaples,Italy. It begins with a dad and his son, the dad is discussing with his son past times of being in the mafia, but then tells his son that he became too old and had to let it go. His son took it up and has been doing it for a while now, but when he leaves to go do one of the jobs (murder) he never returns. The old man “Peppino” is very mad and finds out that his son was killed when he went out to do the killing. There are some crazy twists and turns in the story but Peppino gets back into killing people and calls some old friends and tries to handle business on his own. It’s a relatively violent story, but it definitely is interesting. Peppino kills many people on his way to find the murder of his son, but when he finally pinpoints the killer of his son he decides to let him go. This is probably the climax of the story, seeing as his friends are shocked by this twist as well. They tell him he’s a good man and tell him he needs to leave this town and go into hiding. He does and he is happy and growing old but he does still have the memories of his son and memories ofNaples,Italy.
3. The artwork in this graphic novel is slightly abstract, in the sense that it’s not completely realistic, but still resembles real life situations and people. The coloring of the book also adds to the story because without all the distractions readers are able to focus on the message of the story instead of things that aren’t important. The best thing was the detail within the pictures, because even though there was lack of color, it wasn’t difficult to distinguish certain things in the boxes, and all the different sequences were easily understood. I had absolutely no problem going through each and every sequence in the story because of the organization of the visual boxes. This would be a great first read for someone because of the simplicity yet entertaining storyline.
4. Igort most likely wrote the book to express creativity or some past emotion. The father and son relationship is complex but shows a lot of varying emotion. The topic is more than just an action story; it’s a story about family and compassion. The way that the mafia was passed down through the family and the loyalty was maintained throughout the years showing the bonds and giving Igort an opportunity to share a memory.
5. One of the weaknesses of the book would have to be the topic of which Igort chose to write about. Unfortunately, not everyone is interested in the mafia, meaning that this book is really just directed to those who are interested in reading or leaning about them. Although the book definitely has some underlying messages, the main theme would have been violence, which after all isn’t for everyone’s taste. Because the story line was portrayed so well, there aren’t any weaknesses. However, I would assume that this topic isn’t for everyone.
6. Unfortunately there were a lot of one tone images. With a little bit more color, it would have added to the story and maybe would have given it a little bit more personality. The graphic language was very inappropriate I think it took away from the story line and was used too often. He tries to incorporate it into his book way to hard. But I think the story line was good and was really what the mafia is all about. The book did a good job in explaining how things happen in the mafia.
7. I would recommend this book to beginners. This book was fairly easy to read and understand, and because of the way it was delivered, I got my fair share from the book. This book can be read by older teens and even up to later twenty something’s. The book does have some really graphic language in it, so I would suggest monitoring the ages of people that read the book. Other than that, the book was very easy to understand and read and actually ended up being really sentimental and meaningful.
Some of the strengths I found in the book were the pictures and captions. They were very easy to read, and for someone that has never read a graphic novel I was actually really intrigued. Another great strength is the fact that Igort chose to convey a very deep meaning behind all of the action scenes. Without being too drastic, Igort sends a very sentimental message to his readers, and keeps them very entertained while doing so. Another great addition would be the easy to read boxes. I know with some graphic novels, they boxes are meant for advanced readers who are able to tell which parts of the story come next, but for beginners this was a really simple way to convey the message and the visuals.
8. Igort also completed the Baobob series as well as another graphic novel titled I.G.N.A.T.Z.
9. I would rate this book a 4/5
