InvestiGators

Maybe a bit awkward at times.

Long-time InvestiGators fan here! I was very invested in the mystery that they managed to adapt to audio format, but I can say otherwise for elements they tried to adapt.

I won’t lie, though, the audio translation felt quite slower paced than I thought. Perhaps it’s just me, since I feel like with a comic book series like InvestiGators, my brain automatically holds it to a cartoon level standard, rather than a usual audiobook.

Since I’m very familiar with the comics, I couldn’t help but notice some changes to the dialogue, as if they kept in mind that the reader would not be reading along with the audiobook. Nice move, but could’ve been executed better, as although the more slow-paced aspects, with the mystery, and investigation kept me absolutely invested, the more suspenseful, dramatic, and action-filled scenes areat the same pace, thus making for some awkward moments that drag out, making for some hard listens.

For example, the science factory explosion looks MUCH bigger in the book, rather than what is heard in the audiobook. Why did it have to happen in the background?! Also… I do not wanna hear Mango and Brash struggle to get out of the toilet for longer than a second, it sounds like they’re doing something else… I felt like an absolute monster laughing at Hardbones getting bitten by a helicopter, too. Oh my goodness.

Musical montages hold the same problem as well, as the point of them are basically for M&B to get through their jobs in a faster and fun way, but the mix of a lofi hip hop sound does not set the mood very well.

The cartoony voices of each character, (for some reason, out of all characters, Brash is the most serious sounding one out of all of them, I must add on the side, as all slower paced scenes manage to match up when he is speaking) clashing with the slower serious pacing of an audiobook also makes for a jarring experience too. The acting is sometimes very underwhelming, as if they’re afraid to scare the neighbors… you’re all voice actors, for SUIT’s sake.

Another thing that I have heard from a few people about the audiobooks is that there’s a little too much explaining, whether from the narrator himself, or the characters. I can kind of see where they are coming from, as that also slows down the pace even more.

I should say that pauses in between each dialogue should be a little less than a second, music cues should be used appropriately, and our narrators shouldn’t be afraid to get all obnoxious, as I feel like that should be the vibe for the first book!

Overall, 3/5. Dramatic, but awkward. Unfortunately, I would not wanna recommend listening to this alone, as it can pull you out sometimes, due to the flaws I had mentioned. Neither do I recommend reading along with it, as the lengthy dialogue changes may put your reading to a pause.