A Man With An Agenda

Paul Chadwick retells and expands Concrete's origin story with great results.

As originally told, Concrete's origin story was by necessity brief - it was traumatic, but necessarily went through the governmental red tape as quick as was plausible so that the story could go where Chadwick wanted it to go. Reading it again as it was published in the first collection there are some holes to the plot, to plausibility, and, of course, real storytelling potential that could be addressed.

Concrete has became an even mixture of pleas for ecological consciousness and taut thriller - something that works much, much better than it sounds. It makes sense that the new origin story would take advantage of that. Concrete and Maureen's relationship is given better context and his ultimate freedom makes more sense to a cynical readership.

'Concrete' readers shouldn't pass this one by, new readers may start here as they choose - though personally I always think its better to work chronologically.

Concrete

Next: 'Concrete, Vol. 7: The Human Dilemma'

Previous: 'Concrete, Vol. 5: Think Like a Mountain'