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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Of all the books I have read (which is no small amount) few have managed to capture the sense of rage, anger, despair, heartache and utter confusion that comes with senseless violence as this has. Thankfully I have never experienced such pain (and I dread the day I do, or even anything that comes close) but as O'Barr empties his heart and soul onto the pages of this book, this comes close to what I imagine that to be. Each frame, each image and each moment of speech pounces off the page, grabs your guts and twists, especially those moments where Eric is tortured by his memories of Shelley, of the times before their car brokedown, before darkness entered their lives and of that moment itself when fate turned against them and tore their world apart. Granted the story itself is riff with stereotypical characters with little character development beyond what Eric himself goes through but that is the point. This is a book about loss and revenge, an attempt by a tortured soul to ease his pain and to show the world and cruel man can be. It is true that the film version does build on the characters more and provide more of a plot, including providing a motive for the attack on the couple, which is better as a story, but compared to this it looses the sense of randomness, of pointless violence and of the damage the unanswerable question of 'why' can be.
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this book was probably scarier in the 80s when you could look at eric without thinking about juggalos
This is by far one of the best books that I have ever read. I loved the story, and I loved the art the most !!
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was given to me by a work colleague. He placed the novel on my desk and pushed it toward me reverently. Then he made a claim that no reader should ever make. He tapped the bleak, black cover and looked me in the eye and said, "Best. Romance. Ever."
Well, Sir, gauntlet raised.
I've read Nicholas Sparks and so many regency novels that I sometimes catch myself mentally scalding men for touching women's hands without gloves.
With a claim like this thrown down I had to read it. I had scoffed, a graphic novel without zombies, huge amounts of death and that 'oddball' humour that only Graphic Novels seem to get away with..? I didn't believe such a graphic novel existed.
Turns out, I was right! There was death galore, oddball recitations and poems and a pseudo-zombie. Well, a vengeful man back from the dead.
I could see that the motivation was romance, that Eric's revenge was born out of love, but I never really felt that emotionally connected to that theme. It was horrific and unfathomable.
But I kept thinking, would Shelley have wanted him to come back as this vengeful spirit? To murder others in the same way that they were both murdered?
In summary, while reading it killed an hour, I wasn't enthralled by it and I certainly wouldn't label it "The Best Romance Ever!"
Well, Sir, gauntlet raised.
I've read Nicholas Sparks and so many regency novels that I sometimes catch myself mentally scalding men for touching women's hands without gloves.
With a claim like this thrown down I had to read it. I had scoffed, a graphic novel without zombies, huge amounts of death and that 'oddball' humour that only Graphic Novels seem to get away with..? I didn't believe such a graphic novel existed.
Turns out, I was right! There was death galore, oddball recitations and poems and a pseudo-zombie. Well, a vengeful man back from the dead.
I could see that the motivation was romance, that Eric's revenge was born out of love, but I never really felt that emotionally connected to that theme. It was horrific and unfathomable.
But I kept thinking, would Shelley have wanted him to come back as this vengeful spirit? To murder others in the same way that they were both murdered?
In summary, while reading it killed an hour, I wasn't enthralled by it and I certainly wouldn't label it "The Best Romance Ever!"