Reviews

Virgil by Steve Orlando

bluehairedlibrarian's review

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

This is a paint-by-numbers of exploitation story, this time with a gay Black protagonist that has to go against his own when his fellow police officers murder his friends and kidnap his boyfriend for being queer. The set up is basic. The violence is basic. Why the police officers kidnap the boyfriend when they think Virgil is dead is a giant mystery that is never explained. 

It wasn't until I discovered that this was an all-white creative team that things started feeling wrong. A similar story could have been told that did not involve strictly black-on-black violence told by white people. That makes me feel very uncomfortable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Hate crime, and Homophobia

keeloween's review

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

joelipsett's review

3.0

The term queersploitation couldn't be more apt in this simple, elegant revenge tale. I imagine that some will take issue with the violence and hateful language, but if you consider the precedent set by the giants of the blaxploitation / revenge genre, this is on point. I like the earthy colour palette, which lends itself to the Jamaica locale and helps Virgil stand out from other graphic novels. Although the taunts by Virgil's adversaries grow a little taxing, they're unfortunately pretty representative of the region and reflective of people with misinformed opinions about gay relationships. If for no other reason, that's what makes Virgil so interesting and refreshing - he's truly, unabashedly and unapologetically gay and unafraid to knock a few heads around to get his man back.

idlecee's review

2.0

2.5.
Maybe if it was longer, less rushed
I would have enjoyed it more?

At least the art was nice.

multimindz's review

5.0

Really outstanding book. I strongly recommend it for anyone that likes a queer love story in the Caribbeans. It wasn't depressing or filled with tropes, the story was really straightforward and I liked the art and the arc

tangleroot_eli's review

3.0

This is not a happy book, despite the

Spoiler

happy ending

. If blacksploitation is your kind of thing, this will be your kind of thing. If you don't have much stomach for violence, less so.

stophie12's review

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

3.75

abetterbradley's review

4.0

Virgil is "a queersploitation revenge tale". And, if you're a fan of blacksploitation and queer characters, you'll like this book.

ederwin's review against another edition

3.0

I personally don't much care for violent revenge stories. But it is good for what it is.