The Supernaturalist

Title: The Supernaturalist
Author: Eoin Colfer 
Adapted by: Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin 
Illustrator: Giovanni Rigano 
Colorist: Paolo Lamanna 
Publisher: New York: Disney Hyperion, 2012. 
Collection: Young Adult Graphic Novel 
Resources: Novelist, Goodreads

Annotation:  

Satellite city in the third millennium is run by the Myishi corporation. “A supercity of twenty-five million people with everything the body wants and nothing the soul needs”. This corporate run state has no welfare system so if you are an orphan like Cosmo Hill you end up at The Clarissa Frayne Institute for Parentally Challenged boys. The orphans earn their keep by being offered up for product experimentation. The testing conditions lead to short life expectancies and the only relief is escape.

Cosmo undertakes the perilous escape and almost dies in the process but is saved by the Supernaturalists also known as Spotters. Cosmo discovers that he possesses the same abilities as the other three Supernaturalists; they can all see these swarming blue Parasites that are invisible to most humans. Together they hunt down the parasites that show up at accidents or hospitals to suck the life force from human bodies. But they come to realize that the Parasites are actually not feeding on humans but instead they are an ancient creature – part of the earth’s ecosystem that help take pain away from people who are suffering and the real enemy lies elsewhere.

This clever adaptation uses detailed descriptions and concise dialogue to enhance the logically laid-out panels. Dark amber and khaki colouring is punctuated through bursts of neon colour introduced by lights, nuclear gadgets, weapons or the mysterious blue Parasites, highlighting the drama.

This is one for readers who enjoy a story line that has many twists -- never knowing till the very end who is good or evil and who will live or die.