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johnvferrigno's review against another edition
5.0
I have always been interested in David Bowie. I am by no means a devoted super fan or anything, but I know all the hits, and am familiar within his various identities. I have always meant to get more into his music and career, so when I saw that a graphic novel about him was coming out, with art by Mike Allred, it seemed like a great way to dive deeper into Bowie's life and career.
The script by Steve Horton is very well done, capturing the right balance of biography and story. The story moves at a brisk pace and covers the big moments. It is certainly not as in depth as an actual biography, but it gives you a good starting point. Think of it as a greatest hits compilation that makes you want to get the individual albums.
As much as I did like the writing, the main attraction here is the artwork of Mike Allred. His cartoons style is absolutely perfect for a Bowie book, and he does an outstanding job of capturing not only the many looks of David Bowie, but so many of the other musicians and stars of the period.
I have loved Allred's art for many years now, and I feel this is his absolute masterpiece. It is like his entire career has been leading to this moment. I can't imagine anyone doing a better job.
I absolutely must mention the coloring done by Laura Allred, as well. She has such a vibrant style that I have always loved, and it has never felt more at home than in this book.
This volume is essential for any Bowie fan!
The script by Steve Horton is very well done, capturing the right balance of biography and story. The story moves at a brisk pace and covers the big moments. It is certainly not as in depth as an actual biography, but it gives you a good starting point. Think of it as a greatest hits compilation that makes you want to get the individual albums.
As much as I did like the writing, the main attraction here is the artwork of Mike Allred. His cartoons style is absolutely perfect for a Bowie book, and he does an outstanding job of capturing not only the many looks of David Bowie, but so many of the other musicians and stars of the period.
I have loved Allred's art for many years now, and I feel this is his absolute masterpiece. It is like his entire career has been leading to this moment. I can't imagine anyone doing a better job.
I absolutely must mention the coloring done by Laura Allred, as well. She has such a vibrant style that I have always loved, and it has never felt more at home than in this book.
This volume is essential for any Bowie fan!
monicacm's review against another edition
4.0
That was a a read fun and gorgeous book. It’s a fabulous tribute to Bowie.
spacecat108's review against another edition
5.0
Wow - the best Bowie graphic bio I have read so far. From the moment I saw Neil Gaiman’s name on the introduction I was hooked, and sure enough this didn’t disappoint. Once again we get a snapshot of Bowie’s rise in and around the Ziggy Stardust years. Despite the well-traveled material this version was both clean and collaged, offering perspective that both cut to the heart of Bowie’s path while also papering the landscape of the era with a collage of images and references to other important cultural references from the time. I loved the art without reservation. Somehow this didn’t feel like story so much as a taste of a true moment in an artist’s life.
mrstephenconnor's review against another edition
5.0
A stunning graphic novel of Bowie’s early days, back when he was just David Jones, all the way through to the death of Ziggy Stardust. An absolute must-have for any Bowie fan.
michaelclorah's review against another edition
1.0
Although I'm a tepid fan of Bowie in general, I was intrigued by the notion of Mike Allred drawing his life - Allred's pop-art style seems perfectly suited to Bowie's theatrical career. And sure, the artwork is generally terrific. The script couldn't have been more turgid, sadly.
squid_vicious's review against another edition
4.0
After spending an evening riveted to my television watching “Moonage Daydream”, a recent documentary on David Bowie (which I highly recommend, though it must be noted that it is an unusual format of documentary, with no voice-over narration – just hypnotically edited footage of live performances, interviews and random bits of movies – and trippy AF), I was reminded of this comic book/biography that had been sitting on my shelf for some time, and I immediately picked it up.
I know it’s pretty common place to say that one adores David Bowie – he was the highest selling recording artist in the world for a significant part of his career, so his appeal was obviously not fringe – but he has a special place in my heart, for teaching me that it was OK to be myself unapologetically and wear whatever the fuck I liked, that one could be a literal rock-god/alien and still be incredibly well-read and amazingly kind. He has always been inspiring to me, as an artist, creator and human and I can’t believe I let this book gather dust as look as I did.
This book is by no means a comprehensive biography, but it attempts to cover the early part of Bowie’s career and his reinvention of himself as Ziggy Stardust. It covers his first band all the way to “Let’s Dance”, documenting his tours, his collaborators, his relationships and his experiments with music and art in general.
The highlight is the absolutely stunning artwork by Michael and Laura Allread: it is a delight for the eyes, the line work clean and confident, the colors popping vividly. They clearly had so much fun drawing Bowie and his ever-changing look and creative styles. From a narrative perspective, it’s a little meandering and incomplete, but it really is such a pleasure to leaf through as you blast what are (arguably) Bowie’s best records in the background.
I know it’s pretty common place to say that one adores David Bowie – he was the highest selling recording artist in the world for a significant part of his career, so his appeal was obviously not fringe – but he has a special place in my heart, for teaching me that it was OK to be myself unapologetically and wear whatever the fuck I liked, that one could be a literal rock-god/alien and still be incredibly well-read and amazingly kind. He has always been inspiring to me, as an artist, creator and human and I can’t believe I let this book gather dust as look as I did.
This book is by no means a comprehensive biography, but it attempts to cover the early part of Bowie’s career and his reinvention of himself as Ziggy Stardust. It covers his first band all the way to “Let’s Dance”, documenting his tours, his collaborators, his relationships and his experiments with music and art in general.
The highlight is the absolutely stunning artwork by Michael and Laura Allread: it is a delight for the eyes, the line work clean and confident, the colors popping vividly. They clearly had so much fun drawing Bowie and his ever-changing look and creative styles. From a narrative perspective, it’s a little meandering and incomplete, but it really is such a pleasure to leaf through as you blast what are (arguably) Bowie’s best records in the background.
hcoffill's review against another edition
4.0
The art is beautiful, the narrative is a bit more unclear. This is not necessarily a scathing critique, however, as this may be indicative of Mr. Bowie's existence.
It's certainly a beautiful thing to look at. Mr. Allred is to be commended.
It's certainly a beautiful thing to look at. Mr. Allred is to be commended.
toejben's review against another edition
2.0
I was massively let down by this. As other reviews have stated, this is more of a book about the famous people that Bowie met/played with/knew. It has some biographical elements to it but it's pretty thin and most of the stuff in it could probably have been sourced from Wiki or other internet sources. The art is gorgeous and about the only thing that helps it hold up at all.
ashtivist's review against another edition
2.0
Stunning art, but choppy narration and not informative. I listened to Bowie while reading, though, and that was fun
kenbooky's review against another edition
5.0
Nice reading day at the library. When I’m in a reading rut graphic novels are always a sure fire way to get back into it. I loved how the book was biographical and didn’t shy away from David’s eccentric behaviors or queer relationships. I think the illustrator did a stellar job of rendering people like Iggy Pop, who looked both cartoony but still ultimately recognizable. Kids book? Ehhhh maybe not but if I happened upon it in school id’ve been happy.