Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Victor Lavalle's Destroyer, Volume 1 by Victor LaValle

10 reviews

thatnerdclaire's review

challenging dark sad

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, Child death, and Grief

amandadevoursbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Frankenstien's Monster awakens in the Arctic. A broken-down, burnt out scientist is perfecting her next experiment. When it works, her son is brought back. This places him in the middle of a tug a war between his mother's old boss, his mother, and the monster. 

I loved the art. I loved the story. Some of the scenes felt disconnected and unclear. I wish this had been a 3 series arc.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Child death, Racism, Murder, and Gore

jessereadsthings's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Good concept, but I think I would have enjoyed it more as a book or maybe a longer form comic series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Child death, Death, Animal death, and Police brutality

devin_raquel's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

FAVORITE QUOTE: “Who benefits from your ignorance?”

Another graphic novel assigned to me in my Literature & Medicine class. This book is a “continuation” of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and explores concepts of medicine, social injustice, and enviromental terrorism. The art style reminded my A LOT of The Walking Dead comics, and the use of color is really unique and engaging. In 180 pages LaValle and Smith have created a story that encompasses so many important ideas, made palatable by the inclusion of a story we’re already familiar with.  I gave this graphic novel an overall rating of 3.5 stars simply because of the abrupt ending. I’m aware this is the first installment of a series, but I think Lavalle could’ve ended in a “cleaner” manner. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Medical trauma, Police brutality, Death, Racism, Violence, Child death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

kingcrookback's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

This is a very interesting take on the themes of humanity and hubris that Shelley explored in the original Frankenstein. I would have gladly spent more time reading about how race and racism affect people's perception of humanity and compassion (especially in America) and about the intersection between science/the pursuit of knowledge and capitalism. But maybe it's a characteristic of the more visual medium (I don't have much experience with graphic novels, so I wouldn't know) or a consequence of the shorter length of the story, a lot of the themes felt very heavy-handed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Racism, Child death, and Police brutality

Moderate: Animal death

ellacole03's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Police brutality, Grief, Death, Hate crime, and Racism

Minor: Pregnancy and Deportation

readingsofaslinky's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Death of parent, Child death, Police brutality, and Racism

hettym's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality

peachani's review against another edition

dark reflective sad fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, and Body horror

farbooksventure's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A great read for Fortnight Frights readathon. Destroyer is a homage to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein along with heartbreaking social commentary on police brutality in the USA. An important & impactful read. Definitely 5/5 stars. Highly recommended.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Racism, and Police brutality