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25 reviews for:
SHOCK Anthology
Joe Pruett, Brian Azzarello, Brian Stelfreeze, Marguerite Bennett, Michael Gaydos, Andrew Robinson, Cullen Bunn, Szymon Kudranski, Bill Willingham, Paul Jenkins, Travis Moore, Michael Zulli, Jim Starlin, Phil Hester, Neil Gaiman, Andy Clarke, Francesco Francavilla, Mike Carey, Frank Tieri, Charles Vess, Dalibor Talajić, Marc Guggenheim
3.28 AVERAGE
25 reviews for:
SHOCK Anthology
Joe Pruett, Brian Azzarello, Brian Stelfreeze, Marguerite Bennett, Michael Gaydos, Andrew Robinson, Cullen Bunn, Szymon Kudranski, Bill Willingham, Paul Jenkins, Travis Moore, Michael Zulli, Jim Starlin, Phil Hester, Neil Gaiman, Andy Clarke, Francesco Francavilla, Mike Carey, Frank Tieri, Charles Vess, Dalibor Talajić, Marc Guggenheim
3.28 AVERAGE
A good variety of stories. It's an anthology so, different story, by different author, which is great. Some are, of course, better then others, but overall it's a good anthology, that offer great variety of horror in it's style of illustrations and of storyline. Interesting and original!
SHOCK Anthology is a collection of short stories told via comics. Being a lover of short stories, and taking into consideration that super cool cover, how could I resist? As with any anthology, some of the stories worked for me and some did not. One thing I learned was that I needed to go through this volume slowly, otherwise moving from comic to comic, each being totally different in writing and artwork styles, was too jarring. That said, these are the stories that stood out for me:
THE LAST DANCE WITH YOU: was a beautifully told tale and even though the clues were there, I didn't catch on to where the story was going until we arrived.
DUMB BITCH: Don't you touch that dog!
ISTANBUL: I loved this one because the art work was gorgeous and evocative, even with no words.
THE DEAD CITY AWOKE: This tale was super short and had few words, but the art was simply breathtaking. (Probably my favorite graphics in this collection.)
LIVE OR DIE: A spooky story taking place in the middle of a war battle.
DEVOLUTION: I loved this dystopian tale of caution even if it was a bit implausible. I see seeds of this in our day to day living right now and I often wonder where it's going to end up. DEVOLUTION presents its own ideas as to how things will turn out.
MOMENTS: With tongue firmly in cheek, this tale about social media and how far it could, (will?), go was hilarious and disturbing all at once. With so many people paying way too much attention to their online lives and so little to their actual lives, I thought this tale was a fun and unsettling way to look at what the future might bring.
Overall, I enjoyed the concept of this book and the book itself. Thanks to Jennifer's AWESOME review, which you can find here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2320500428?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1, I decided to request this book from NetGalley and I'm so glad I did! With lots of variety and something for everyone, I recommend this fun volume to fans of short stories,comics and graphic novels!
*Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. This is it.*
THE LAST DANCE WITH YOU: was a beautifully told tale and even though the clues were there, I didn't catch on to where the story was going until we arrived.
DUMB BITCH: Don't you touch that dog!
ISTANBUL: I loved this one because the art work was gorgeous and evocative, even with no words.
THE DEAD CITY AWOKE: This tale was super short and had few words, but the art was simply breathtaking. (Probably my favorite graphics in this collection.)
LIVE OR DIE: A spooky story taking place in the middle of a war battle.
DEVOLUTION: I loved this dystopian tale of caution even if it was a bit implausible. I see seeds of this in our day to day living right now and I often wonder where it's going to end up. DEVOLUTION presents its own ideas as to how things will turn out.
MOMENTS: With tongue firmly in cheek, this tale about social media and how far it could, (will?), go was hilarious and disturbing all at once. With so many people paying way too much attention to their online lives and so little to their actual lives, I thought this tale was a fun and unsettling way to look at what the future might bring.
Overall, I enjoyed the concept of this book and the book itself. Thanks to Jennifer's AWESOME review, which you can find here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2320500428?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1, I decided to request this book from NetGalley and I'm so glad I did! With lots of variety and something for everyone, I recommend this fun volume to fans of short stories,comics and graphic novels!
*Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. This is it.*
I was beyond thrilled to receive a copy of this on NetGalley, as I am a huge fan of Neil Gaiman and graphic novels in general. This was a fun collection of short anthologies in graphic novel form. There is a fantastic and wide variety of amazing authors, and illustrators in this collection. Personally my favorite stories in this graphic novel were Witch Work, Bloodflies, The Last Dance With You, and Little Red Hood. I can't wait until this comes out in print, as I will be heavily recommending that my library purchase a few copies for my city.
I received this ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received this ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Trigger warnings: torture, death, rape.. look, when it says “shock,” it means shock!
I generally like checking out anthologies as I think it’s a great way to find new authors. It takes a certain kind of storyteller to manage a short story, though, considering you need to condense so much plot and characterization into not too many pages. The same thing holds true for comics, as there’s a total of 21 stories in the 166 pages of this book – so only about 8 pages per story. Considering the shortness of each one, I’m doing a short 1-2 sentence review along with a rating and art sample. So without further ado…
“Witch Work” – Neil Gaiman, Michael Zulli & Marshall Dillon – ★★★★★. A lyrical, creepy poem with beautiful sepia-toned art.
"Bloodflies" - Cullen Bunn, Leila Leiz, Toni Fejezula & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. Creepy little fairy tale. I'm not exactly sure what the heck it was trying to say.
"Kerguelen" - Andy Clarke - ★★★★. Not exactly a pleasant story, but it definitely told a story in a few pages and the art was atmospheric and supported the story perfectly.
"Invasion" - Francesco Francavilla - ★★★★★. Loved the retro art and the story with a twist!
"The Mountain Pass" - Bill Willingham, Travis Moore, Hoyt Silva & Marshall Dillon - ★★★★. Beautiful art, and interesting, if predictable, story.
"Berserker" - Jim Starlin, Phil Hester, Kevin Mellon & Crank! - ★★★★. Utterly twisted, but brilliant.
"Dumb Bitch" - Marguerite Bennett, Hoyt Silva & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. I loved the idea, but I didn't care for the art, and though the dialogue was a bit clunky.
"The Last Dance With You" - Paul Jenkins, Dalibor Talajić, Stipe Kalajazic, Seb Camagajevac & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. Beautiful art, and bittersweet story, but I guessed the twist right away (who the heck puts candles on a wedding cake??). Too emotionally manipulative for my taste.
"Escape From the Lost World" - Mike Carey, Szymon Kudranski & Marshall Dillon - ★★★★. Memoir of a boy growing up in 1960s England, done in grayscale. Moving and thought-provoking.
"End Game" - Marco Kroner, Andrew Robinson & Adam C. Moore - ★★. Interesting idea, but confusing in such a short format. This might've been pretty good as a full-length comic.
"Iste Bu Istanbul!" - Charles Vess - ★★★★. This story is most told through the beautiful art. Quirky.
"Based on a True Story" - Brian Azzarello, Toni Fejezula & Marshall Dillon - ★★. It was going good and then it stopped. Relied more on shock value than actual storytelling.
"Little Red Hood" - Frank Tieri, Joe Eisma, Toni Fejezula & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. Like Fable, but a crime family. Fun idea, boring execution, though.
"Dead City" - Michael Gaydos - ★★★. Lovely art, but eye-rolling story.
"Live or Die" - Joe Pruett, Cliff Richards, Guy Major & Marshall Dillon - ★★★★. Creepy war story. Fits perfectly into this short format!
"Metroclash" - Marc Guggenheim, Laci, Aljoša Tomić & Marshall Dillon - ★★. Interesting beginning, but then it just turned into another Kaiju knockoff.
"Paroled" - Stephen Nilson, Wesley Gunn, Hoyt Silva & Charles Pritchett - ★★. Meh art, meh story.
"Devolution" - Aaron Douglas, Szymon Kudranski, Hoyt Silva & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. Interesting dystopian future, but too wordy.
"Circle of Fear!" - Richard Starkings, Sarah DeLaine & Axel Medellin - ★★★. I... just... what? It probably has my favorite panel of the whole book, though (not shown due to spoilers).
"Moments" - Mike Zagari, Will Sliney, Sjan Weijers & Marshall Dillon - ★★. Interesting idea, boring execution.
"A Job" - Marko Stojanović, Ivan Šanović & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. An interesting end to the anthology.
All told, the ratings average out to about 3.5 stars, but I'll round up to 4 just because I think the idea of a comics anthology is pretty great. Yes, some stories were spectacular, some worked, and some were just plain awful, but that mixed bag is about what you get with any anthology. There's not really an overarching theme to the anthology, with genres ranging from scifi to fantasy to just plain weird. There's enough diversity here though that I think pretty much any comic book reader could find something to love!
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I generally like checking out anthologies as I think it’s a great way to find new authors. It takes a certain kind of storyteller to manage a short story, though, considering you need to condense so much plot and characterization into not too many pages. The same thing holds true for comics, as there’s a total of 21 stories in the 166 pages of this book – so only about 8 pages per story. Considering the shortness of each one, I’m doing a short 1-2 sentence review along with a rating and art sample. So without further ado…
“Witch Work” – Neil Gaiman, Michael Zulli & Marshall Dillon – ★★★★★. A lyrical, creepy poem with beautiful sepia-toned art.
"Bloodflies" - Cullen Bunn, Leila Leiz, Toni Fejezula & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. Creepy little fairy tale. I'm not exactly sure what the heck it was trying to say.
"Kerguelen" - Andy Clarke - ★★★★. Not exactly a pleasant story, but it definitely told a story in a few pages and the art was atmospheric and supported the story perfectly.
"Invasion" - Francesco Francavilla - ★★★★★. Loved the retro art and the story with a twist!
"The Mountain Pass" - Bill Willingham, Travis Moore, Hoyt Silva & Marshall Dillon - ★★★★. Beautiful art, and interesting, if predictable, story.
"Berserker" - Jim Starlin, Phil Hester, Kevin Mellon & Crank! - ★★★★. Utterly twisted, but brilliant.
"Dumb Bitch" - Marguerite Bennett, Hoyt Silva & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. I loved the idea, but I didn't care for the art, and though the dialogue was a bit clunky.
"The Last Dance With You" - Paul Jenkins, Dalibor Talajić, Stipe Kalajazic, Seb Camagajevac & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. Beautiful art, and bittersweet story, but I guessed the twist right away (who the heck puts candles on a wedding cake??). Too emotionally manipulative for my taste.
"Escape From the Lost World" - Mike Carey, Szymon Kudranski & Marshall Dillon - ★★★★. Memoir of a boy growing up in 1960s England, done in grayscale. Moving and thought-provoking.
"End Game" - Marco Kroner, Andrew Robinson & Adam C. Moore - ★★. Interesting idea, but confusing in such a short format. This might've been pretty good as a full-length comic.
"Iste Bu Istanbul!" - Charles Vess - ★★★★. This story is most told through the beautiful art. Quirky.
"Based on a True Story" - Brian Azzarello, Toni Fejezula & Marshall Dillon - ★★. It was going good and then it stopped. Relied more on shock value than actual storytelling.
"Little Red Hood" - Frank Tieri, Joe Eisma, Toni Fejezula & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. Like Fable, but a crime family. Fun idea, boring execution, though.
"Dead City" - Michael Gaydos - ★★★. Lovely art, but eye-rolling story.
"Live or Die" - Joe Pruett, Cliff Richards, Guy Major & Marshall Dillon - ★★★★. Creepy war story. Fits perfectly into this short format!
"Metroclash" - Marc Guggenheim, Laci, Aljoša Tomić & Marshall Dillon - ★★. Interesting beginning, but then it just turned into another Kaiju knockoff.
"Paroled" - Stephen Nilson, Wesley Gunn, Hoyt Silva & Charles Pritchett - ★★. Meh art, meh story.
"Devolution" - Aaron Douglas, Szymon Kudranski, Hoyt Silva & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. Interesting dystopian future, but too wordy.
"Circle of Fear!" - Richard Starkings, Sarah DeLaine & Axel Medellin - ★★★. I... just... what? It probably has my favorite panel of the whole book, though (not shown due to spoilers).
"Moments" - Mike Zagari, Will Sliney, Sjan Weijers & Marshall Dillon - ★★. Interesting idea, boring execution.
"A Job" - Marko Stojanović, Ivan Šanović & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. An interesting end to the anthology.
All told, the ratings average out to about 3.5 stars, but I'll round up to 4 just because I think the idea of a comics anthology is pretty great. Yes, some stories were spectacular, some worked, and some were just plain awful, but that mixed bag is about what you get with any anthology. There's not really an overarching theme to the anthology, with genres ranging from scifi to fantasy to just plain weird. There's enough diversity here though that I think pretty much any comic book reader could find something to love!
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.