Reviews

Fagin, el judío by Will Eisner

organicwario's review against another edition

informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

pearseanderson's review against another edition

2.0

The beginning was uncompelling, the middle was summary, and the end was preachy. Amazing art, but if it was any shorter I wouldn't stopped reading. 5/10.

psalmcat's review against another edition

5.0

Great book! One of the more disturbing things in literature is lack of humanized ethnic characters. Eister does a good job of giving us a believable backstory for one of the more egregiously negative portrayals of a Jewish character. When Fagin meets Oliver, the story tracks along with Dickens' version of things exactly. Well done.

auntie_terror's review against another edition

4.0

This is the story of one of the characters of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" which the said character has set out to make known to look less bad than he was made out to be.
Will Eisner's style of drawing here felt a little Disneyish to me, while the story felt a little too didactic in its purpose. Of course it is important to explain why the antisemitic representation of Fagin in Dickens' novel is (while not surprising in historical context) worthy of criticism and discussion. But this felt a little too "in your face" - which often doesn't achieve the dessired effect.

glittergrandma's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Racial slurs, and Child abuse

Moderate: Violence

ori2590's review against another edition

5.0

This was such a good read. An adaptation of Dicken's Oliver Twist. Eisner humanised the villains from Oliver Twist and gave them a nice origin story full of tragedy and crime. The artwork was amazing and the script was top notch. Definitely a must read.

jameseckman's review against another edition

3.0

Fast read, but not as good as his New York or Spirit stories.

depleti's review against another edition

3.0

Just found this on a library shelf and realized I've never really read anything by Will Eisner, despite how famous he is in the comics world. His art is strangely intriguing to me, I don't hate it but don't love it. It sometimes borders on grotesque, but never loses its appeal. The pacing felt harried and choppy but that's just because I prefer more expanded storytelling (generational differences, maybe, lol). This still digs into history I never thought of or knew about before, and offers insight into a character whose name I always recognized but never really knew.