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calistareads's review
4.0
I enjoyed this book immensely. It is wonderful to have a series about tarot and other phenomena that I am interested in. It was really well done. There are 6 stories in this volume, each with a different cast accept madame Xanadu. Each chapter explores someone whose perception opens. There is hearing, seeing, tasting, touching, smelling, and the 3rd eye or precognition. In each case the person's life gets weird and Madame Xanadu helps them deal with their new gift.
Fantastic series. It is set in the 60s and the art gives it that 60s feel. I am going to have to see if I can find the first 3 volumes of this as my library only has this one. Anyone into the extraordinary - this is a great story for you.
It simply makes me happy.
Fantastic series. It is set in the 60s and the art gives it that 60s feel. I am going to have to see if I can find the first 3 volumes of this as my library only has this one. Anyone into the extraordinary - this is a great story for you.
It simply makes me happy.
nancyotoole's review
3.0
Extra Sensory is the fourth and final volume in the Madame Xanadu series. Unlike previous volumes, which told of Madame Xanadu's history, Extra Sensory collects six short stories. Each tale focuses around a single sense. Not all stories are created equal, making this the most uneven of the Madame Xanadu graphic novels, but the collection as a whole is solid, capturing different elements of the sixties, and giving us a glimpse of things to come.
“None so Blind” (art- Marley Zarcone)- The first story focuses on a young woman named Rosalyn who develops a disturbing ability related to sight, then turns to Madame Xanadu for help. “None so Blind” does a good job of telling a creepy supernatural tale, while lightly touching on the more realistic issue of how living life as a black woman in the 1960s was not very easy, with very few career opportunities. I found the art to be attractive, and Rosalyn to be a likable protagonist. Four and a half stars.
“Dirty Little Mouth” (art- Laurenn McCubbin)- During the second story, we meet Spenser Wilkins, an up and coming young businessman in the ad industry, who doesn't know what to do when the people around him begin to tell him to do awful things. At least, that's what he's hearing. I wasn't really fond of the artwork on in “Dirty Little Mouth,” finding it too bulky. Still, this Mad Men-esque story is quite enjoyable to read and I really liked the ending. Four stars.
“Lingering Scent” (art- Chrissie Zullo). Perhaps the saddest of the stories in this collection, “Lingering Scent” tells the story of a young homeless boy who can't find a way to fit in, due the fact that the people around him can't stand how he smells. What I enjoyed the most about the story, was the artwork, which reminded me of a picture book. This was really appropriate given the fantastical dreams little Sammy has where he becomes a hero, haunted by a witch. This is my favorite story of the bunch. The bittersweet ending with Sammy and Madame Xanadu was really heart wrenching. Five stars.
“Don't Touch Me There” (art- Celia Calle)- It's interesting that my favorite story in the collection would be followed by my least favorite. “Don't Touch Me There” focuses around Blue, an unemotional fashion model with strange abilities related to her touch. I don't necessarily think that this was a poorly done story, just not a good one for me. I had no interest in Blue as a character, and the fashion inspired artwork, filled with unique angles, didn't mesh well with me. One enjoyable aspect of this story is getting to figure out what real life people from the 1960s inspired the fictional ones (Roosevelt Coats is clearly supposed to be Truman Capote). Three stars
“A Taste of Things to Come” (art- Marian Churchland)- I figured it wouldn't be long until hippies were brought into this sixties themed collection. In this story, Carly, experiments with acid. Afterwords, whenever she eats something, she feels it's entire history with overwhelming intensity. One thing I liked about this story was how well the artwork fit the mood, weather it be illustrating Carly's crazy acid trip, or the barrage of sensation she feels with every following taste. This was an enjoyable addition to the collection. Four stars.
“The Advent of Tomorrow” (art- Amy Reeder Hadley)- In the final story of the collection, series artist Amy Reeder Hadley returns for a tale that's ties up some loose threads (want to know what happened to Betty from Broken House of Cards?) as well as hints to come. I'm a little disappointed that series has to wrap up here, but this is a rather appropriate place to end it. I enjoyed the appearance from past characters (especially one in particular) and found the art to be fantastic as always. Four and a half stars.
One might expect a series to end on epic battles and big emotional highs as Broken House of Cards did, but Extra Sensory's quiet finale is fitting, if somewhat unconventional. After all Madame Xanadu's greatest work is the help that she provides to others, so it makes sense that the series would end on a volume showing her interacting with various clients. I'm sad to see the series end, but I'm happy it at least ended on an enjoyable note.
“None so Blind” (art- Marley Zarcone)- The first story focuses on a young woman named Rosalyn who develops a disturbing ability related to sight, then turns to Madame Xanadu for help. “None so Blind” does a good job of telling a creepy supernatural tale, while lightly touching on the more realistic issue of how living life as a black woman in the 1960s was not very easy, with very few career opportunities. I found the art to be attractive, and Rosalyn to be a likable protagonist. Four and a half stars.
“Dirty Little Mouth” (art- Laurenn McCubbin)- During the second story, we meet Spenser Wilkins, an up and coming young businessman in the ad industry, who doesn't know what to do when the people around him begin to tell him to do awful things. At least, that's what he's hearing. I wasn't really fond of the artwork on in “Dirty Little Mouth,” finding it too bulky. Still, this Mad Men-esque story is quite enjoyable to read and I really liked the ending. Four stars.
“Lingering Scent” (art- Chrissie Zullo). Perhaps the saddest of the stories in this collection, “Lingering Scent” tells the story of a young homeless boy who can't find a way to fit in, due the fact that the people around him can't stand how he smells. What I enjoyed the most about the story, was the artwork, which reminded me of a picture book. This was really appropriate given the fantastical dreams little Sammy has where he becomes a hero, haunted by a witch. This is my favorite story of the bunch. The bittersweet ending with Sammy and Madame Xanadu was really heart wrenching. Five stars.
“Don't Touch Me There” (art- Celia Calle)- It's interesting that my favorite story in the collection would be followed by my least favorite. “Don't Touch Me There” focuses around Blue, an unemotional fashion model with strange abilities related to her touch. I don't necessarily think that this was a poorly done story, just not a good one for me. I had no interest in Blue as a character, and the fashion inspired artwork, filled with unique angles, didn't mesh well with me. One enjoyable aspect of this story is getting to figure out what real life people from the 1960s inspired the fictional ones (Roosevelt Coats is clearly supposed to be Truman Capote). Three stars
“A Taste of Things to Come” (art- Marian Churchland)- I figured it wouldn't be long until hippies were brought into this sixties themed collection. In this story, Carly, experiments with acid. Afterwords, whenever she eats something, she feels it's entire history with overwhelming intensity. One thing I liked about this story was how well the artwork fit the mood, weather it be illustrating Carly's crazy acid trip, or the barrage of sensation she feels with every following taste. This was an enjoyable addition to the collection. Four stars.
“The Advent of Tomorrow” (art- Amy Reeder Hadley)- In the final story of the collection, series artist Amy Reeder Hadley returns for a tale that's ties up some loose threads (want to know what happened to Betty from Broken House of Cards?) as well as hints to come. I'm a little disappointed that series has to wrap up here, but this is a rather appropriate place to end it. I enjoyed the appearance from past characters (especially one in particular) and found the art to be fantastic as always. Four and a half stars.
One might expect a series to end on epic battles and big emotional highs as Broken House of Cards did, but Extra Sensory's quiet finale is fitting, if somewhat unconventional. After all Madame Xanadu's greatest work is the help that she provides to others, so it makes sense that the series would end on a volume showing her interacting with various clients. I'm sad to see the series end, but I'm happy it at least ended on an enjoyable note.
lancakes's review
3.0
I don't really read comics, but this book was on display right next to a comic book I was picking up at the library, and the cover looked intriguing, so I figured I'd grab it. This book is the last in a series but because most of the stories, except for the last couple pages, are stand alone I don't think it really matters that I hadn't read the previous 4 (?) in the series. The first story (sight) is hella pointless: a young woman in Harlem suddenly sees visions of gruesome injuries, goes to Madame Xanadu, who tells her they're warnings, she sees her family burnt to a crisp and sends them away to save them from an apartment fire, the end. Also, idk if Matt Wagner is a black man, but the writing in this seemed a little... iffy if he's not, the dialogue is written a lot like a white person's conjuring of AAVE. The second story (hearing) is a little cooler, and the art direction is a little better. I hated the art in the 3rd story (smell), and I thought it was super cheesy: basically a little vagrant boy wanders around until Madame Xanadu sets him to rest. The 4th story (touch) is by far my favourite: the art is gorgeous, and it tells the tale of a succubus living as a Factory Girl/muse in the 60s - it's super cool. The 5th story (taste) has a cool premise (a woman can see/empathise with the entire life cycle of whatever it is she's eating - a burger makes her live out the life cycle of a calf born for slaughter, an orange gives her insight to the labour conditions of fruit pickers) and I think the art was at its best during those moments too, but the actual main character and her life I had zero stake in. The end I didn't really care about because I'm not invested in this series.
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