Scan barcode
ekarcha's review against another edition
2.0
Love the cover design, but anyone really interested in the story of Petiot’s heinous killings should just read Death in the City of Light.
amywrites's review against another edition
2.0
A graphic novel about a serial killer during WWII - it sounds like this was made for me!
Unfortunately, this wasn't what I expected. It was short and rushed, almost like the author had made an outline and just went from that instead of fleshing it out. There were times when I had to go back because I thought I missed a page.
Honestly, it was so disjointed that I found it hard to care about what happened to anybody.
(Though I will be doing more research about Marcel Petiot as I hadn't heard of him before.)
Unfortunately, this wasn't what I expected. It was short and rushed, almost like the author had made an outline and just went from that instead of fleshing it out. There were times when I had to go back because I thought I missed a page.
Honestly, it was so disjointed that I found it hard to care about what happened to anybody.
(Though I will be doing more research about Marcel Petiot as I hadn't heard of him before.)
mattaukamp's review against another edition
3.0
The story was an interesting one that I had never heard before, and it was told humanely. The books leaves a lot to be desired, however.
The art style is reminiscent of 90s Vertigo comics, blocky and dark, with an attempt at realism. Not nearly as expressive or stylized as I think this story deserved. As it is, it was mostly people in rooms talking to each other.
The writing was also a little underwhelming. It was clearly a deliberate choice to avoid crude sensationalism, which i can respect. However, instead of approaching it, then, with creativity which could have glorified the humanity of the victims or the thematic ties the crimes had to the era or anything of depth, most of the scenes were tropey thriller moments which could be seen in any war or detective movie.
Its not fair to compare this against From Hell, so I'm going to do it only in exemplar. There are many ways to do stories like this without glorifying violence or titillating true crime audiences or dehumanizing victims. Flattening the story out probably isn't the *best* way. From Hell shows poetry, style, creativity, and artistry that I could have used more of here. I won't deign to say I know a better way it should have been told, I'm just saying I think there is a vast canyon between these two works and I wish it had gone a bit further across.
ALL THAT SAID: I would not have known the story of Marcel Petiot had it not been for Phillips and Kotz. I immediately leapt onto my phone to do more research. The foreword was also incredibly impactful and probably my favorite part of the book. It, plus the research, makes me want to read more of Stephanie Phillips' work.
The art style is reminiscent of 90s Vertigo comics, blocky and dark, with an attempt at realism. Not nearly as expressive or stylized as I think this story deserved. As it is, it was mostly people in rooms talking to each other.
The writing was also a little underwhelming. It was clearly a deliberate choice to avoid crude sensationalism, which i can respect. However, instead of approaching it, then, with creativity which could have glorified the humanity of the victims or the thematic ties the crimes had to the era or anything of depth, most of the scenes were tropey thriller moments which could be seen in any war or detective movie.
Its not fair to compare this against From Hell, so I'm going to do it only in exemplar. There are many ways to do stories like this without glorifying violence or titillating true crime audiences or dehumanizing victims. Flattening the story out probably isn't the *best* way. From Hell shows poetry, style, creativity, and artistry that I could have used more of here. I won't deign to say I know a better way it should have been told, I'm just saying I think there is a vast canyon between these two works and I wish it had gone a bit further across.
ALL THAT SAID: I would not have known the story of Marcel Petiot had it not been for Phillips and Kotz. I immediately leapt onto my phone to do more research. The foreword was also incredibly impactful and probably my favorite part of the book. It, plus the research, makes me want to read more of Stephanie Phillips' work.
jmbz38's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
earlybirdie94's review against another edition
3.0
It was short, and it jumped around. I thought we would get to know more about the killer but focused on the detective and son duo instead and ended in a rush. I did enjoy what it was though and the art was nice.
allisonwunderland's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
theresahasread's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
hann_smc's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism, Racism, Murder, and War
tiggerrd's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
4.0
treestostars's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
2.5