'Once Upon A Time: Out of The Past' Is A Must-Read

If that weekly Sunday night fix isn't enough Captain Hook for you, I have great news. You can now get your hands on the newest Once Upon A Time graphic novel, Once Upon A Time: Out of the Past . And yes, it includes an entire story about Killian Jones. There are also stories about Belle and Rumpelstiltskin, Regina, and the MIA-since-Season-2 Jefferson. If those characters alone aren't convincing enough for you to grab a copy of the book yourself, it's beautifully illustrated, and all the stories were written by Kalinda Vazquez, OUAT writer and producer.

The graphic novel's title greatly reflects the stories you'll find inside — all of them are out of the past, or "pre-Savior." And since the book has come to fans through a beautiful partnership between Disney, Marvel, and ABC, it's some of our favorite things put together. While the stories read like a true comic, they almost feel like you're reading a book. Honestly, if OUAT were done in a traditional novel format, it probably wouldn't grab your attention right away. But this graphic novel, with stories that seamlessly flow, action that makes sense, and terrific illustrations? Head down do your nearest book retailer (or Amazon) and grab a copy of this today, especially if you're someone who needs more than just one OUAT episode a week (guilty).

Each story is completely different from the next, both in tone and in representation. Hook's story is the one that feels most like a comic, just with tone and its drawings. Rumple and Belle's feels more like a really detailed picture book, considering that one has a very watercolor-esque feel to it and tells an early Rumbelle story. All four stories also highlight things we didn't know about the characters before the series started. No spoilers here, but each of these chapters easily could be made into an hour-long OUAT episode. They also answer some burning questions we've had about the characters, so Out of the Past should be required viewing for all die-hard OUAT fans.

If there's one complaint I do have about the book, it's that it was far too short for my liking. While I wasn't looking for anything novel-length with hundreds of pages, I was able to breeze through Out of the Past in one sitting. The world of OUAT is so big, between the different realms and the hordes of characters, I would have liked a little bit more to read with each story, or even a few more stories thrown in.

And if I can lodge one more complaint, I wish it had focused on more characters that we don't see on the show very often. We already get plenty of Hook, Regina, and Rumple and Belle in each episode. The story about Jefferson was totally welcome, if only because he has dropped off the Storybrooke map and hasn't been seen in over two seasons. But I even wish Jefferson's story been longer, because there's so much ground to cover with him. Since we're not getting in-depth pre-curse and pre-Storybrooke flashbacks as often on the series anymore, these companion graphic novels are a perfect way to give us a little bit more information. They're also considered completely canon within the OUAT world, so things that happen in the graphic novel could very well show up in a future episode.

Out of the Past is now the second graphic novel, joining Shadow of the Queen, which was a story just about Regina and the dearly departed Huntsman. Considering OUAT's continued popularity, I wouldn't be surprised if we see more graphic novels pop up in the future, and I'd be so ready for more of them. Just a little bit longer next time, OK?

Image: Marvel/Amazon