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adamcagey's review against another edition
4.0
Tony Millionaire is one of my favorite cartoonists and this book is a great example why. Millionaire is the author of both Sock Monkey and Maakies (which can be found in many alternative newspapers).
Billy Hazelnuts is a stand-alone story for kids. Millionaire's art style is reminiscent of illustrations in 19th Century children's lit, but his story-telling and subject matter are straight out of some kind of not-so-unpleasant fever dream.
The titular character is made by rats out of bits of garbage and mince meat. Despite this, he is befriended by Becky, a young science wizard and the two have a fantastic adventure featuring a spurned love, a steam-driven crocodile, and the missing moon. Millionaire tells it all with a dark-edged joy at the possibilities of the medium he loves.
Billy Hazelnuts is a stand-alone story for kids. Millionaire's art style is reminiscent of illustrations in 19th Century children's lit, but his story-telling and subject matter are straight out of some kind of not-so-unpleasant fever dream.
The titular character is made by rats out of bits of garbage and mince meat. Despite this, he is befriended by Becky, a young science wizard and the two have a fantastic adventure featuring a spurned love, a steam-driven crocodile, and the missing moon. Millionaire tells it all with a dark-edged joy at the possibilities of the medium he loves.
horrific_child's review against another edition
5.0
"A headful of bats should make you sufficiently demented..."
bluenicorn's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent, excellent- language, artwork, everything.
charles_cbcpl's review against another edition
4.0
This graphic novel creates a violent and sweet dreamscape rendered in thick pen lines and humorous faux-victorian dialogue. If you enjoy Terry Gilliam films (the better ones anyway), it will definitely make you smile. I preferred Tony Millionaire's Sock Monkey, but both are worthwhile and easily read in under half an hour.
munchin's review against another edition
3.0
This is probably the single oddest book I've ever read. I have no idea what to make of it. I am bemused.
elouisevb's review against another edition
3.0
This was defiantly not what I was expecting! It was a fun thrilled action adventure, featuring all sorts of different creatures and animals. I will defiantly be carrying on with the second book. Overall I give this book a 3.75.
thecommonswings's review against another edition
5.0
As countless attempts to do surrealist comics very quickly come apart because of their creators’ inability to understand what surrealism actually is, those people should look to Tony Millionaire to find out how it’s done. Although very different to Jim Woodring in content and style, he shares a very similar sense of representing dreams on paper. Whereas Woodring heads into a richly symbolic world, Millionaire seems more interested in childhood and the universe surrounding those formative years. Billy Hazelnuts - created by mice, “humanised” by a young girl - flirts with nursery rhymes and fairy tale territory, but drives it in this ferocious direction where events have a kind of inevitability to them.
There’s a line in Twin Peaks, another work of art that demonstrates the success and failure of trying for surrealism, that I always love from Mike, the one armed man: “I mean it like it is, like it sounds...” I always read that line as a crystallisation of Lynch’s belief that the story doesn’t have to make literal sense but have a sort of flow that it DEMANDS to have. So the events in this make no narrative sense in conventional story telling but have this real sense of feeling like moments rising from the depths of the unconscious mind. There’s a sadness and anger and beauty here, but one that feels drawn from a singular vision and brought into a glorious whole. It’s a phenomenal work of art, let alone a great comic
There’s a line in Twin Peaks, another work of art that demonstrates the success and failure of trying for surrealism, that I always love from Mike, the one armed man: “I mean it like it is, like it sounds...” I always read that line as a crystallisation of Lynch’s belief that the story doesn’t have to make literal sense but have a sort of flow that it DEMANDS to have. So the events in this make no narrative sense in conventional story telling but have this real sense of feeling like moments rising from the depths of the unconscious mind. There’s a sadness and anger and beauty here, but one that feels drawn from a singular vision and brought into a glorious whole. It’s a phenomenal work of art, let alone a great comic
floodfish's review against another edition
3.0
Of course the drawings are jaw dropping and the hijinks hijinkular—this is Tony Millionaire. But ... points off for flippant animal cruelty. And for a story that is merely ok enough to set up the action sequences. Comes close to deeper emotional resonance, but can’t quite make the leap.
emilyinherhead's review against another edition
3.0
This is clearly the beginning of a pretty zany adventure. It's fast-paced, sometimes to a slightly confusing degree, but I liked the art style, impressive writing, and madcap vibe.