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renee_pompeii's review against another edition
4.0
Fante Bukowski's swan song leaves one feeling pretty good, like things don't have to be perfect or even that good, but they still can end up making sense in this dumb world of ours. Hooray for beautiful losers and scary weirdo friends!!! NVS's guest appearance, this time as the skeevy "graphic novelist", is completely delightful.
cjordahl's review against another edition
5.0
A few laugh aloud moments, a great many chuckles, a joy to read throughout. Well, there were a couple of punchlines that didn't land for me, and a stretch where Fante's story jumped the shark. But Van Sciver gives us humor, pathos, and schadenfreude... sure, all of them... well done.
The book cover references David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest. I haven't read that book so I can only note it with curiosity. Also amusing is the author photo on the back cover which is not actually Noah Van Sciver but rather a vaguely hipster millennial model dude.
The book cover references David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest. I haven't read that book so I can only note it with curiosity. Also amusing is the author photo on the back cover which is not actually Noah Van Sciver but rather a vaguely hipster millennial model dude.
callymac's review against another edition
4.0
Super enjoyable and funny series. Lighthearted and very pisstakey but also it does have its moments of seriousness too.
lovelemons's review
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
ori2590's review
5.0
Not the ending I expected but the ending this story deserves. Gooo Fante Bukowski
hypops's review
3.0
The further (final?) adventures of the self-obsessed, pretentious, wanna-be writer Fante Bukowski. This third volume has less of the wry awfulness of the first Fante book and even less of the satiric bite of the second one. Instead, A Perfect Failure sets out to earn the otherwise-detestable Fante some sympathy points, making A Perfect Failure a much flatter, more crowd-pleasing volume than the prior two.
Flashbacks give us a version of how daddy’s little deadbeat son, Kelly Perkins, became comic fandom’s little deadbeat writer, Fante Bukowski. This backstory doesn’t do much for the character since we could all pretty much guess what kinds of personal cliches might go into making an egotistical, unproductive artist. There’s not anything at stake here. And the story in the present just feels like Fante’s character and story have entered into a steady holding pattern.
It’s all perfectly enjoyable reading, but there’s just not anything exceptional here, aside from a few panels showing Fante’s affection for a family of raccoons and a brief gag featuring John Porcellino. There’s nothing being risked, reimagined, or revealed about the character, about the art world, or about anything else. It’s like a forgettable episode of a perfectly serviceable sitcom filled with predictable jokes and story beats.
And I’m only speaking so harshly since I know Van Sciver is capable of much better. The prior Fante volume was fantastic, and Van Sciver’s ongoing Blammo anthology continues to be filled with some of the best new comics going. Unfortunately, this latest Fante book already feels like the character has run out of creative steam.
Flashbacks give us a version of how daddy’s little deadbeat son, Kelly Perkins, became comic fandom’s little deadbeat writer, Fante Bukowski. This backstory doesn’t do much for the character since we could all pretty much guess what kinds of personal cliches might go into making an egotistical, unproductive artist. There’s not anything at stake here. And the story in the present just feels like Fante’s character and story have entered into a steady holding pattern.
It’s all perfectly enjoyable reading, but there’s just not anything exceptional here, aside from a few panels showing Fante’s affection for a family of raccoons and a brief gag featuring John Porcellino. There’s nothing being risked, reimagined, or revealed about the character, about the art world, or about anything else. It’s like a forgettable episode of a perfectly serviceable sitcom filled with predictable jokes and story beats.
And I’m only speaking so harshly since I know Van Sciver is capable of much better. The prior Fante volume was fantastic, and Van Sciver’s ongoing Blammo anthology continues to be filled with some of the best new comics going. Unfortunately, this latest Fante book already feels like the character has run out of creative steam.
otterno11's review
4.0
Is this the end of the Fante Bukowski saga? If so, it’s a great place to end as Fante Bukowski’s over the top literary escapades hit a satisfying climax. Continuing the second book’s witty satire on the art of writing and the lit scene in general, Bukowski actually hits on some success as a ghostwriter for some young pop star and also must confront his past. At the same time, his new performance artist friend Norma Lee brings in the art world to skewer as well. We get to see some of young Kelly Perkin’s background, making his single minded love of writing in full disregard of his talent even more endearing.
What I’ve said in my previous reviews of Noah Van Sciver’s work in the Fante Bukowski series continues to apply with A Perfect Failure. Things increase in absurdity a bit in this one, though, in ways that are best experienced in situ, though perhaps in ways that don’t quite fit the humorous world Bukowski has existed in so far. In any case, a fun and satisfying conclusion.
What I’ve said in my previous reviews of Noah Van Sciver’s work in the Fante Bukowski series continues to apply with A Perfect Failure. Things increase in absurdity a bit in this one, though, in ways that are best experienced in situ, though perhaps in ways that don’t quite fit the humorous world Bukowski has existed in so far. In any case, a fun and satisfying conclusion.
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