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booknooknoggin's review against another edition
4.0
review - http://geekpronblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/review-aleister-adolf-nsfw.html
jonh's review
2.0
I finished this a while ago, but didn't know what to say about it.
The premise is very interesting, but the execution leads something to be desired.
To my understanding and to my memory, Douglas Rushkoff is a media theorist with, at least later in his career, a particular focus on cyber-culture. Reading some of the titles of his work, I get a slightly conspiratorial vibe and wonder how factual his work might be. But make no mistake: I am intrigued, especially by the ideas he presents in Aleister & Adolf.
Aleister & Adolf is a graphic novel focused on the power of symbols, especially as they relate to the occult. It expands on theory that noted occultist Aleister Crowley aided the British in their World War II propaganda efforts by crafting symbols that were "more powerful" than Hitler's use of the swastika.
That, to me, is interesting in and of itself. From what I've read before, I know Crowley was not the type of magician who'd wave a magic wand. His magic was more primal. His magic focused on nature and the human psyche, and not so much on alchemy or prestidigitation. With that in mind, it strikes me as completely plausible that Crowley could have aided in the war efforts, and that the use of symbols could be an effective means of psychological warfare.
If Aleister & Adolf were just about that--occult propaganda efforts during the war--I would have been very satisfied. Again, I don't know how factual the book would have been, but I could guess Rushkoff would have had some sources to back up his theory, and it would have been interesting to see that information illustrated.
Instead, Aleister & Adolf chooses to focus on a stupid fucking United States secret fucking agent trying to infiltrate Crowley's inner circle and the whole graphic novel gets bogged down in a stupid fucking romantic subplot. By all means, introduce a skeptical character: it's a great surrogate for the reader's skepticism, I'm sure. But when that skepticism completely derails the central ideas of the book!
Jesus Christ, man, what's your goal? Do you want us to understand and believe in the power of Crowley's symbolic tactics? A prologue and epilogue suggests you want us to connect his work with our present-day culture of advertising, logos and slogan standing in for something bigger than what the products actually represent.
But at times, it feels like you're just here to take the mick out of Crowley, paint him as an old fool who had no idea what he was talking about. And the illustrator seems to confirm this! After the book is done, there's a little blurb from the illustrator, wondering if Crowley was just "trolling" everybody. Again, I can understand the skepticism, but it's disheartening to read that from someone who just spent I don't know how many months to illustrate this damn thing. It taints the efficacy of the message, I think.
Augh, frustrating. I'd still recommend this as a primer on Crowley and what he's about. And the idea of symbols as power is an important one. I just wish the narrative these two built around that idea was a little more cohesive.
The premise is very interesting, but the execution leads something to be desired.
To my understanding and to my memory, Douglas Rushkoff is a media theorist with, at least later in his career, a particular focus on cyber-culture. Reading some of the titles of his work, I get a slightly conspiratorial vibe and wonder how factual his work might be. But make no mistake: I am intrigued, especially by the ideas he presents in Aleister & Adolf.
Aleister & Adolf is a graphic novel focused on the power of symbols, especially as they relate to the occult. It expands on theory that noted occultist Aleister Crowley aided the British in their World War II propaganda efforts by crafting symbols that were "more powerful" than Hitler's use of the swastika.
That, to me, is interesting in and of itself. From what I've read before, I know Crowley was not the type of magician who'd wave a magic wand. His magic was more primal. His magic focused on nature and the human psyche, and not so much on alchemy or prestidigitation. With that in mind, it strikes me as completely plausible that Crowley could have aided in the war efforts, and that the use of symbols could be an effective means of psychological warfare.
If Aleister & Adolf were just about that--occult propaganda efforts during the war--I would have been very satisfied. Again, I don't know how factual the book would have been, but I could guess Rushkoff would have had some sources to back up his theory, and it would have been interesting to see that information illustrated.
Instead, Aleister & Adolf chooses to focus on a stupid fucking United States secret fucking agent trying to infiltrate Crowley's inner circle and the whole graphic novel gets bogged down in a stupid fucking romantic subplot. By all means, introduce a skeptical character: it's a great surrogate for the reader's skepticism, I'm sure. But when that skepticism completely derails the central ideas of the book!
Jesus Christ, man, what's your goal? Do you want us to understand and believe in the power of Crowley's symbolic tactics? A prologue and epilogue suggests you want us to connect his work with our present-day culture of advertising, logos and slogan standing in for something bigger than what the products actually represent.
But at times, it feels like you're just here to take the mick out of Crowley, paint him as an old fool who had no idea what he was talking about. And the illustrator seems to confirm this! After the book is done, there's a little blurb from the illustrator, wondering if Crowley was just "trolling" everybody. Again, I can understand the skepticism, but it's disheartening to read that from someone who just spent I don't know how many months to illustrate this damn thing. It taints the efficacy of the message, I think.
Augh, frustrating. I'd still recommend this as a primer on Crowley and what he's about. And the idea of symbols as power is an important one. I just wish the narrative these two built around that idea was a little more cohesive.
squidbag's review
3.0
Weird and fun and speculative and in some places, even true, there's much more of Aleister than I can usually stomach in this little comic, and nothing at all of Adolf, except the weighty feel of his influence and the Nazi machine. Another peek behind the closed third eyelid of the world, this fits on a shelf between The Protocols and anything by Robert Anton Wilson. Rushkoff's POV is splendidly broken, a fractured lens for casting a prismatic reality, and Oeming's artwork is Noirtastic, as per usual. Fun without being great, but you won't be sad you read it. Lots of swastikas and cartoon penises, though, so maybe not at a large family gathering?
hamikka's review
3.0
Intriguing concept that wasn't fully fleshed out. I wanted more length and depth.
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