Reviews

Haha by W. Maxwell Prince

ashesofstars's review

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dark funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

jonwesleyhuff's review

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3.0

I found the concept of this intriguing, and the art was excellent. Some wonderful visual storytelling. These are essentially six loosely connected stories. One of which takes an odd jaunt into crossing over with a popular movie from a couple years ago. I really liked the issue centered on the mime and Pound Foolish. That being said, I might have liked a little more variety of... "outlook" I guess you could say. This is INCREDIBLY subjective, but reading this as a trade just felt like being pelted with one unrelentingly sad clown story after the other and when I got done, I realized that I was thoroughly sick of depressing clown stories. A rare instance where I think a modern comic might have been better read as single issues.

novelerachavela's review

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dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

jsandy's review

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dark

3.5

joshgauthier's review

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5.0

This is the sort of book where no one's going to believe me when I insist it's good.

Less horror than Ice Cream Man but otherwise in a similar vein of storytelling, Haha is an anthology series of various clowns facing off against the weight and decline of life overshadowing them. Careers, family trauma, aging, a world that feels more uncertain by the day--Prince balances nihilism and hope in a way that shouldn't work. But somehow, Sad Clown Stories not only works--it's engaging, thoughtful, and layered--delivering comics storytelling in the way that only Prince can. With a brief jaunt into the Ice Cream Man universe, and creative talents from regular collaborators and new artists, Haha is fascinating, strange, and heartfelt--and its separate pieces manage to create a greater whole as each of these clowns faces a crossroads in life and makes a decision--for better or worse.

mmmcranberryjuice's review

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dark funny reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
This rocks I love prince I love ice cream man I love clowns

shannonleighd's review

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2.0

More miss than hit; issue #5 was the best and could just be read as a standalone.

Individual issue reviews: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6

Total review score: 2.5

jwdonley's review

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4.0

RTC

yevgeny's review

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

indigo_han's review

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3.0

Well that was one of the strangest and most heart breaking things that I’ve read in a long time

NOT for anyone feeling fragile.
Props for a couple of Ice Cream Man Easter eggs, and I’m 99% sure that there was an Arthur Fleck Joker reference.