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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
Three and a half stars. The art was fantastic and was perfect for the story. I was intrigued by a lot of the story, but didn't necessarily enjoy it. And I just didn't like the ending at all. Not very satisfying.
Nice use of graphics to create drama, interesting story, confusing transition between scenes at times. Interesting premis with a character named twain (who may or may not be related to a famous author), the hudson river and two boys that may or may not be famous characters. But those questions were not answered. Just so-so for me.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Had a really hard time following the story of this book. Felt as though the women and mermaids were VERY over sexualized, and it didn’t seem like they had much a part in the story for any purposes other than lustful objects. Maybe I missed something, but it felt like I was reading someone’s mermaid fantasy, kinda creeped me out!
Rather gothic novel like, very enjoyable, and for me very aesthetic.
I think I’m at 2.5 stars for this book, but I’ll round up for the drawings. I really enjoyed the artwork, however I wish the characters didn’t look so different from different angles. This really bugged me throughout - Captain Twain looked like a good looking man from a side angle, but from front on he looked like a goofy cartoon because of his eyes. Oh well. I didn’t fully understand everything that was going on in this story, but it was enjoyable enough.
Great story, and the artwork is fantastic! At first glance it looks simplistic and cartoony, but Siegel really knows how to work with light and shadows, and uses the medium to its full potential.
I read this too fast, immediately after checking it out from the library. That's probably where I went wrong, but I felt enchanted, compelled! And by the end, a little dismayed. This is probably not too far away from how Sailor Twain himself felt through most of this book, so maybe I didn't do too wrong either way.
I feel it's important to say that I had an inborn reluctance to touch the pages so I wouldn't smear the charcoal.
No, but really the charcoal art was really great, it did a beautiful job of capturing light and shadows and making the Hudson river world noir in a smoggy way. Sometimes the caricature style didn't work for me, but sometimes I dwelled on single panels for the way Twain's face was suddenly alive and full of the nuances of wonder, suspicion, and guilty fear. I liked his hair. The pacing was great, the plot was new and fascinating, the characters well-built and cared for, even side characters like the boiler man and the first mate (or whoever he was).
I was confused, like many others, not so much about the fate of Twain himself but the details of Lafayette's curse and seven loves. Not sure how that all shook out. My favorite was Twain's concept of the singing of women, and the comparisons between his wife, Pearl, and the mermaid. I tell myself and others that I like to see duality in the world, so I must like this tale of the duality in Sailor Twain and how it reaches its literal, lethal point.
I feel it's important to say that I had an inborn reluctance to touch the pages so I wouldn't smear the charcoal.
No, but really the charcoal art was really great, it did a beautiful job of capturing light and shadows and making the Hudson river world noir in a smoggy way. Sometimes the caricature style didn't work for me, but sometimes I dwelled on single panels for the way Twain's face was suddenly alive and full of the nuances of wonder, suspicion, and guilty fear. I liked his hair. The pacing was great, the plot was new and fascinating, the characters well-built and cared for, even side characters like the boiler man and the first mate (or whoever he was).
I was confused, like many others, not so much about the fate of Twain himself but the details of Lafayette's curse and seven loves. Not sure how that all shook out. My favorite was Twain's concept of the singing of women, and the comparisons between his wife, Pearl, and the mermaid. I tell myself and others that I like to see duality in the world, so I must like this tale of the duality in Sailor Twain and how it reaches its literal, lethal point.
Interesting story, beautiful charcoal though disconcertingly cartoony characters