Countdown to Christmas: Everlast (2011)

Everlast is a hardcover graphic novel, set in a pre-apocalyptic future, and written by actor Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill) in his comics debut. For all the press that has accompanied other Hollywood personalities, most notably actor-director Kevin Smith, when they've crossed over to comics, Murray has managed to fly under the radar. Maybe that's because Everlast isn't being published by either Marvel or DC. Instead, it's an independent release that landed in stores a week ago.

The title character, Derek Everlast, has been sent to retrieve a number of souls to protect them from the end times, but has his own issues to deal with at the same time. While I disagree with the use of coarse language in the dialogue, I realize that there is potential here for Murray to shop this around for a possible feature film. In that regard, Everlast would fall right into line with films such as "Priest", which came out earlier this year, and Arnold Schwarzenegger's "End of Days". Where I also find fault is the use of five different, distinct artists, including Trevor Hairsine and Daniel Zezelj, which denies the tome artistic continuity. It's partially painted, partially hand drawn, depending on the artist. From an artistic standpoint, the book does get better as the story goes along, especially in the scenes set in "Haven" (a representation of Heaven, naturally), which are beautifully painted. The story ends early, allowing for a second, shorter, prose tale by Murray to full the remaining pages.

I shan't be surprised at all if Murray is able to sell Everlast to a studio, say, for example, Dimension Films, and see it released within the next couple of years.

Ratiing: B--.