Heroes - The Online Graphic Novels

Go ahead. Call me a geek. I don't care. So what if I derive a great deal of satisfaction from reading supplementary online-only graphic novels featuring backstories on the characters from NBC's runaway hit (and my #1 favorite show currently on tv) Heroes? Each week, a new 5-6 page graphic novel appears on NBC's Heroes page, written and illustrated by different popular comic book authors.

The short stories, each from a different character's point of view, provide some extra insight into specific characters or moments from the television. Also, each comic has a hidden link embedded somewhere that takes you to see some other Heroes-related content from the NBC website. For instance, in Novel #1, by clicking on the first page, you shown a black and white drawing of Hiro's jump into the future, which you can see here.

Since I'm such a nice guy (and since I'm clearly too obsessed with Heroes), I've decided to read all the online graphic novels that have been published thus far and provide you all with a quick summary of each. Hopefully, this will save you the time it takes to read the novels (they're very short, but it takes almost 10 seconds for each new page to load, which is a very annoying way to read), and also give you some important info as to the next story arc's crucial query: Are you on the list?

To save you further time, I've grouped the stories into 3 categories for you, so you can read only what you're interested in.

1) Additional Character Info - 1, 3, 4, 7, 10, 12, 19
2) Character Back Story- 5, 6, 8, 9, 13
3) Cool Narrative Info You Otherwise Wouldn't Have- 2, 11, (14, 15, 16), 17, 18, 20

Note - If you don't already watch Heroes, don't waste your time with these

Novel #1 - "Monsters" -- Mohinder Suresh investigates the cab in which his father was murdered. He becomes employed at the same taxi company and vows to pursue his father's scientific work, not wanting his father to have died in vain.
- Secret link: Black & white comic page

Novel #2 - "Hiro" -- Hiro Nakamura, after jumping five weeks into the future and seeing the atomic bomb-like explosion, returns to present time and vows to stop the impending disaster. He reveals that his parents named him after Hiroshima, a similar disaster that claimed the life of his grandfather. He visits his grandfather's grave, which is littered with origami cranes on strings-- (Connection alert! -- On the show, Hiro strings origami cranes around Charlie's diner to prove to her that he can bend space and time. She is later killed by Sylar. Coincidence? I think not!)
-Secret Link: Black & white comic page of Nathan Petrelli

Novel #3 - "Nathan" --Nathan passes by a burning building and against his better judgment, uses his powers to fly up to the fourth floor and carries a young girl to safety. He leaves a "Vote for Petrelli" pin in her pocket.
-Secret Link: Nathan Petrelli Political Commerical

Novel #4 - "Aftermath" --After purposely crashing her car while that rapist kid is in it, Claire begrudgingly pulls him from the car before it explodes, saving his life.
-Secret Link: Claire's MySpace page

Novel #5 - "Snapshots" --While being interrogated for his part in the armed robbery of a bookie in Primm, Nevada, from which he supposedly stole 2 million dollars, D.L. Hawkins discovers his power for the first time when he slips out of his handcuffs to punch a guard who makes a rude comment about Nikki. Later that night, D.L. decides that his family needs his protection from whoever framed him for the robbery, so he uses his powers for the second time to pass through the wall of his cell, climb down a drain pipe and escape from prison.
-Secret Link: None that I could find

Novel #6 - "Stolen Time" --Six months ago, Nikki/Jessica accompanies D.L.'s crew on a heist, where she uses her super-strength to rip open the safe and steal 2 million dollars. After framing D.L. for the crime, Nikki and her three cohorts cruise through Nevada discussing their plans for the money. The three idiots turn their gun on "the new girl," and are dead before they know it. Nikki gives the money to some guy to "clean" for her so it can't be traced (a process that will take six months), and then drives to bury her three dead pals in the desert.
-Secret Link: Isaac's painting of locker doors flying at Peter during his confrontation with Sylar at Claire's homecoming

Novel #7 - "Control" --After punching his best friend in the face for sleeping with his wife, Matt Parkman goes for a drive in his cop car to clear his head. He happens to be in the area when a robbery suspect in a white sports car zooms by, and so Matt pursues him. Able to hear the criminal's thoughts, Matt chases his through a crowded shopping promenade and is able to stop the car and arrest the con.
-Secret Link: Isaac's painting of Sylar with the unfinished corner (that Peter later fills in).

Novel #8 - "Isaac's First Time" --Isaac tells Eden about the first time he painted the future. With the help of Simone, Isaac had opened a big art show a few months back. One of the paintings on display was of a young blonde woman getting hit by a bus. At the show, the blonde woman from the picture punches and then berates Isaac for painting her like that, though Isaac tries to explain that he doesn't even know who she is. Furious, she bolts from the gallery with Isaac in tow. As Isaac chases after, she dashes into the street and is hit by a bus, the exact image from Isaac's painting.
-Secret Link: Isaac's painting of Hiro and Ando under the bloody "Homecoming" banner

Novel #9 - "Life Before Eden" --The story of how Eden discovered her powers. As a child, Eden's father walked out on his always quiet daughter and her abusive stepmother. With daddy gone, Eden's stepmother put her to work doing chores all day around the house and treating her like garbage. Eden still kept her mouth shut, hoping that one day her father might return. One night, when her stepmother was in a particularly terrible mood, she screamed at Eden, demanding she stop wishing for her dad to come because he would never come home to a worthless child like her. Enraged, Eden yelled to her stepmom to drop dead. And so she did, dropping her cigarette to the ground and setting their house ablaze. Eden, newly aware of her incredible persuasive powers, hitchhikes out of town, leaving her old life behind and starting her new one with her new name, Eden.
-Secret Link: Photo of Milo Ventimiglia and Hayden Panettierre from the set of Heroes

Novel #10 - "Turning Point" --FBI Agent Audrey Hanson arrives at a murder scene, and she instantly knows that the serial killer she's been tracking, Sylar, is responsible. In fact, Sylar is standing right behind her, enjoying his handiwork. Somehow, Audrey knows it's him and as they make eye contact, Sylar bolts down the street. He leaps onto the roof of a moving train and Audrey follows after. At the next station, she spots Sylar running ahead of her and unloads several bullets into his back. She runs to the body, only to find an old man in Sylar's coat and hat. Sylar grins and slips away.
-Secret Link: Photo of Greg Grunberg and Clea Duvall shooting a scene on the set of Heroes

Novel #11 - "Fathers & Daughters" -- Horn Rimmed Glasses (Mr. Bennet) goes to Eden's drunk father to tell him of her death at the hands of Sylar. The drunken hick says he doesn't care because his daughter was nothing but a whore. HRG punches him, explaining that she was a hero for taking her own life rather than give Sylar her powers. We see how HRG and the Haitian busted in on Sylar as he stood over Eden's body, and plugged him full of projectile tranquilizers (so THAT'S how he got re-captured! He never even left!) As HRG walks away from Eden's father, he tells the Haitian to erase his memory, but to leave the guilt.
-Secret Link: Isaac's painting of "Energyman" (dude exploding)

Novel #12 - "Super-Heroics" --In a coma, Peter Petrelli has a vision of himself not as the Exploding Man, but as a true super hero, with cape, tights and all. In the vision, he flies after The Rocket, a criminal with a jetpack and impenetrable armor. Grabbing The Rocket, Peter shoots up into the clouds, using the height to disable the jetpack. Peter then flies straight down, using the hard ground below to shatter The Rocket's armor and causing a huge explosion. The Rocket removes his mask, revealing that he too is Peter. Is Peter the villain or the hero?
-Secret Link: Photo of Milo Ventimiglia filming a scene on the set of Heroes

Novel #13 - "Wireless: Part One" --A glimpse of future hero Hana Gitelman, a.k.a. Wireless, before she even appears on the tv show! We see a flashback of Hana's grandmother Tanta, a resistance fighter against the Nazis in 1944 Berlin. Tanta is captured and put in a death camp, but she survives. Then, another flashback of Hana's mother Zahava, one of the IDF's first female fighter pilots, taking out enemy planes in Jerusalem during the Six Days War in 1967. Another flashback, Jerusalem 1989. Hana, Tanta and Zahava are aboard a bus as a suicide terrorist drives it off a cliff. Hana survives; her mother and grandmother do not. Another flashback, Beer Sheva 1997. Hana is an Israeli soldier who requests combat duty, but her superior tells her she can only be an Intelligence Officer because her thirst for vengeance will get her into trouble as soldier. Hana moves higher and higher in the Mossad Intelligence ranks, but still yearns for combat, to avenge her family. On patrol one night, Hana is attacked from the shadows and thrown to the ground. She pulls out her weapon, but her assailant is HRG, and he has come to change her future...
-Secret Link: Another photo of Milo and Hayden on the set of Heroes

Novel #14 - "Wireless: Part Two" --**Spoiler Alert** The second part of Hana's saga. It begins with a flashback- Tel Aviv, 1992. Hana is at an all-girls school where she has no friends, due to trust issues stemming from the day her mother and grandmother were killed. In the present, HRG takes Hana to a secret facility in the Alaskan tundra. He says he is with the C.I.A. and that Hana has been handpicked to fight evil. He puts her through a series of grueling physical tests, all of which she passes with ease. She then undergoes a series of medical tests, constantly being injected with "vitamins" and being poked and prodded by various doctors. She feels like she's wasting her time when she could be out carrying on her family's legacy. During one testing session, out of nowhere, she screams at a doctor to explain a text message about her she just read. The doctor tells her he's received no such message. A moment later, his phone rings, and the very message Hana described appears on-screen. Instantly, Hana's brain is flooded with every e-mail, satellite transmission and text message floating around the world. She freezes, unable to control the flood, until a swift punch from HRG knocks her out cold. Back in her room, Hana uses her mind to send an e-mail to everyone in the facility with the word "Kadima" ("attack" in Hebrew). She then uses her mind to send a text message to HRG, proving her control over her powers. He tells her she's ready for her first mission...
-Secret Link: A photo of Milo Ventimiglia and Adrian Pasdar shooting a scene on the set of Heroes

Novel #15 - "Wireless: Part Three" --Hana is on a mission in Tanzania, Africa. Using her mind, she intercepts an e-mail from an evil scientist, (which details his plans to genetically alter bacteria into a deadly virus), and forwards it to HRG, who is at home with his daughter Claire in Odessa, Texas. Hana is captured outside the enemy compound in Tanzania and thrown into a cell. Using her army training, she fights her way out and leaps over the compound gate, only to find herself standing face to face with a tank...
-Secret Link: None

Novel #16 - "Wireless: Part Four" --Hana surrenders in Tanzania, announcing she is a C.I.A. operative. She is transferred to Dar Es Salaam where she is informed that there is no record of her being in the C.I.A., no special operatives, no Alaskan compound, and all of the phone numbers she gives them have been disconnected. Using her abilities, Hana sets off the building's sprinkler system and uses the momentary distraction to grab a weapon, take her interviewer hostage, shoot out a window, and escape. She changes her name, relocates to Montana, and spends her time honing her powers and scouring wireless transmissions for information on HRG, the man who manipulate and lied to her. She intercepts an e-mail from "Teddyboy" and learns that she's not the only one who HRG has lied to. She hops on her bike and heads to the desert...
-Secret Link: None...but want to know what happens next? Click here.

Novel #17 - "How Do You Stop An Exploding Man?: Part One" --**Spoiler Alert!** Ted Sprague has the power to emit radioactive energy. After being captured by the FBI for this ability, Ted uses his power to blow up his transport and everyone in it. He runs away to the New Mexico desert, stocks up on weapons, and lives in a small shack. Periodically, he must go further into the desert and release a huge blast of nuclear energy as it builds up inside him. One day, Hana Gitelman appears in his cabin, and explains their connection: they've both been abused and lied to by HRG and together, they want revenge. She shows Ted a schematic for the needle with which they were both injected (both share the same mark on their neck, as do Matt and Nikki, among others). Hana intercepts some wireless transmissions and warns Ted they must run away immediately. Hana escapes on her motorcycle, but Ted is suddenly surrounded by a whole battalion of army personnel...
-Secret Link: None

Novel #18 - "How Do You Stop An Exploding Man?: Part Two" --**Spoiler Alert!** The army men that have surrounded Ted hose him with liquid concrete that prevents him from emitting any nuclear energy. They leave Ted's head exposed (big mistake) and load him into a truck. With his face exposed, Ted emits a huge blast of nuclear energy from his eyes and mouth, blowing everyone and everything to smithereens, except for the man who authored his capture. Ted searches the area for this man, but he is nowhere to be found. Using Hana's schematic, Ted tracks down the facility in which the needle they were injected with was made (it's in Billings, Montana). Inside the facility, he corners a scientist and learns that the hypodermic needle is shot from a gun, and that the gun is used to inject a special isotope into wild animals that allows the animals to be tracked. Furious, Ted uses his powers to blow up the building and storms off to seek his revenge...
-Secret Link: None

Novel #19 - "Bully" --Young Micah Sanders can talk to machines. After a schoolmate sends out a photo of Micah's mom with the word "killer" plastered all over it, Micah uses his power to learn who sent the photo (a kid named Frank). When he approaches Frank and threatens to tell the principal about what he's done, Frank punches him in the face. As Frank and his sidekick taunt Micah, Micah kicks Frank in the junk and speeds away from the schoolyard. Frank and his buddy follow Micah into a junkyard (that seemingly houses only defunct electronic billboards from Vegas). Frank and pal (let's call him beans) come across a brightly lit sign of a devil, and then of a billboard that reads "Beware Frank." Frank and Beans run away terrified.
-Secret Link: A photo of Masi Oka goofing off on the set of Heroes

Novel #20 - "Road Kill" --After being shot by HRG, Sylar escapes into a small Texas town to tend to his wounds. Wanting to escape North, Sylar hitches a ride with a beer transport truck. After learning the truck is actually heading west, Sylar uses his telekinesis to stick a six-pack of beer bottles into the driver's back. Having no clue how to operate a truck, Sylar uses the ability he took when he killed Charlie to quickly read and memorize the entire manual on truck operation. He drives through Virginia until a swarm of cop cars appears in his rear view mirror. He opens the door to the truck and uses another of his abilities to freeze the road as he drives over it, slipping up all the cop cars behind him. A few hundred yards down the road, an enormous roadblock of police wait for him. Using yet another power (flight? incredible leaping?), he jumps from the truck just as it drives over a cliff and hangs from a very high tree branch way above the freeway. As the cops investigate the crash, Sylar slips away to continue his "evolutionary imperative": acquisition. He remembers only one more name from Chandra Suresh's map, Zane Taylor. He arrives at Zane's with no clue how to proceed from here: how will he find all the other people will abilities? If you saw last week's episode, you know exactly what happens next...
-Secret Link: A photo of Jack Coleman shooting a scene on the set of Heroes.

Once more of these come out, I'll do a second batch to catch you up on the rest. Aren't I great?