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nycterisberna's review against another edition
4.0
Soy una gran fan del trabajo de Jason. Todos sus cómics hasta ahora resultan ser una clase de cómo manejar los silencios en el cómic, usar saltos temporales como si nada, hacer expresivas situaciones donde los personajes tienen los mismos gestos (o se parecen mucho) y lograr que situaciones absurdas usando personajes reales (en este caso Chet Baker o el Santo) sean emotivas.
punkstronomer's review against another edition
4.0
Como en Carver, las historias se construyen en partes iguales a partir de lo que se dice y lo que no se dice. Maestría absoluta del fuera de campo.
tmaluck's review against another edition
3.0
Mixed bag of short stories, but there's still plenty of cleverness on display and Jason fans should definitely check this out.
levitybooks's review against another edition
3.0
Jason's weakest collection: too inconsistent to be as good as 'Almost Silent', clearly worse than 'Low Moon', and far from the brilliance of 'What I Did'.
In comparison to his individually published stories, this is about as good as 'Athos in America' and 'The Last Musketeer', but far worse than others like 'Why Are You Doing This', 'Hey Wait', and 'The Left Bank Gang'...
The general weakness is that many of these stories are jokes based on references to modern history and pop culture that are underdeveloped, which he clearly knows how to do well given how good 'I Killed Adolf Hitler' is.
Here's a run down:
-------
If You Steal - 4/5
Best, as with more work this could have been a good single issue story. Too complex to be so condensed!
Karma Chameleon - 4/5
One of the funniest Jason comics I can remember.
Waiting for Bardot - 2/5
Missing the tension between those waiting as in Waiting for Godot, and the joke was too hurried.
Lorena Valazquez - 3/5
Funny message, but did we need that much fighting?!
New Face - 3/5
This absolutely feels like a B-side of If You Steal, taking an alternative approach to unreliable narration. It fails to connect emotionally though.
Moondance - n/a
Covers for graphic novels, serves as an intermission.
Night of the Vampire Hunter - 2/5
Having the heart in a doll is probably a reference I didn't get, but other than that nothing to see here.
Polly Wants A Cracker - 3/5
Adding a monobrow and making the bird a parrot didn't make Polly Wants a Cracker a meaningful or obvious reference to Frida Kahlo. The story was good anyway!
The Thrill is Gone - 2/5
Implying that this Chet Baker song is about when he got beaten up for heroin is interesting, but making him play the trumpet after it when in reality he couldn't play the trumpet any more didn't make sense. The story made no sense without the reference.
Ask Not - 2/5
Making the assassination of JFK by time travelling lizard people may have been interesting had it not been so long and relying so much on readers knowing events and people.
Nothing - 4/5
Third best in the collection, a harrowing simulation of late stage dementia, definitely should have been used for a bigger story!
---------
In comparison to his individually published stories, this is about as good as 'Athos in America' and 'The Last Musketeer', but far worse than others like 'Why Are You Doing This', 'Hey Wait', and 'The Left Bank Gang'...
The general weakness is that many of these stories are jokes based on references to modern history and pop culture that are underdeveloped, which he clearly knows how to do well given how good 'I Killed Adolf Hitler' is.
Here's a run down:
-------
If You Steal - 4/5
Best, as with more work this could have been a good single issue story. Too complex to be so condensed!
Karma Chameleon - 4/5
One of the funniest Jason comics I can remember.
Waiting for Bardot - 2/5
Missing the tension between those waiting as in Waiting for Godot, and the joke was too hurried.
Lorena Valazquez - 3/5
Funny message, but did we need that much fighting?!
New Face - 3/5
This absolutely feels like a B-side of If You Steal, taking an alternative approach to unreliable narration. It fails to connect emotionally though.
Moondance - n/a
Covers for graphic novels, serves as an intermission.
Night of the Vampire Hunter - 2/5
Having the heart in a doll is probably a reference I didn't get, but other than that nothing to see here.
Polly Wants A Cracker - 3/5
Adding a monobrow and making the bird a parrot didn't make Polly Wants a Cracker a meaningful or obvious reference to Frida Kahlo. The story was good anyway!
The Thrill is Gone - 2/5
Implying that this Chet Baker song is about when he got beaten up for heroin is interesting, but making him play the trumpet after it when in reality he couldn't play the trumpet any more didn't make sense. The story made no sense without the reference.
Ask Not - 2/5
Making the assassination of JFK by time travelling lizard people may have been interesting had it not been so long and relying so much on readers knowing events and people.
Nothing - 4/5
Third best in the collection, a harrowing simulation of late stage dementia, definitely should have been used for a bigger story!
---------
starnosedmole's review against another edition
3.0
The vignette modeled after Waiting for Godot was my favorite in this collection. Some stories were more cohesive than others, but Jason's wit and mastery of pacing still shine through.
pataustin11's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
norsulaulu's review against another edition
3.0
I really didn't get a couple of these, though I found a some to be mildly amusing and I did like the last story, "Nothing", especially.
elna17a9a's review
2.0
Unfortunately, every story missed the mark for me. I'm usually a big fan of Jason's wild ideas and understated execution, but these short stories were just too slight and incomplete. But "Nothing" is such a stand out that it's almost worth it just for that.
"If You Steal": 2/5 As a series of micro shots about a man regretting his turn towards burglary and how it ruins his life - 5/5. But with the scrambled chronology and the lack of meaningful dialogue, it lost me.
"Karma Chameleon": 2/5 Another one that I really wanted to like, but just lost me. The dad's weird discussion of masturbation, his insanity when his daughter gets engaged... it needed more time to make sense.
"Waiting for Bardot": 1/5 A bland parody of Waiting for Godot, without any of the humor or big ideas.
"Lorena Velazquez": 3/5 A pastiche of luchador movies that drags on a little but has a sweet ending.
"New Face": 3/5 Uuugh, I wanted to like this one so bad. The 2nd person narration is interesting, the idea that this man who may or may not have been innocent gets consumed by a need for revenge... it's all wonderful. ButI have no idea what was wrong with his face! I thought, at first, the surgeon didn't do anything, but then the man is walking around unrecognized, so something must be different. But what?? Why is he so obsessed?
"Moondance": 1/5 Apparently re-imaginings of Van Morrison covers, but I don't know Van Morrison, so didn't connect.
"Night of the Vampire Hunter": 3/5 An interesting little vampire hunting story, and that's it.
"Polly Wants a Cracker": 2/5 Frida Kahlo as an assassin - what could be better? But it's not really about Frida Kahlo, and the parrot twist is too strange to me.
"The Thrill is Gone": 2/5 Another one that's based on something I'm unfamiliar with (Chet Baker), and otherwise falls flat.
"Ask Not": 1/5 A hodge podge of conspiracy theories.
"Nothing": 5/5 A heartbreaking, wonderfully sad and relatable look into dementia/alzheimers and the pure confusion it brings about.
A really interesting interview with Jason someone else posted: https://www.cbr.com/jason-discusses-if-you-steal-and-remixing-pop-culture/
"If You Steal": 2/5 As a series of micro shots about a man regretting his turn towards burglary and how it ruins his life - 5/5. But with the scrambled chronology and the lack of meaningful dialogue, it lost me.
"Karma Chameleon": 2/5 Another one that I really wanted to like, but just lost me. The dad's weird discussion of masturbation, his insanity when his daughter gets engaged... it needed more time to make sense.
"Waiting for Bardot": 1/5 A bland parody of Waiting for Godot, without any of the humor or big ideas.
"Lorena Velazquez": 3/5 A pastiche of luchador movies that drags on a little but has a sweet ending.
"New Face": 3/5 Uuugh, I wanted to like this one so bad. The 2nd person narration is interesting, the idea that this man who may or may not have been innocent gets consumed by a need for revenge... it's all wonderful. But
"Moondance": 1/5 Apparently re-imaginings of Van Morrison covers, but I don't know Van Morrison, so didn't connect.
"Night of the Vampire Hunter": 3/5 An interesting little vampire hunting story, and that's it.
"Polly Wants a Cracker": 2/5 Frida Kahlo as an assassin - what could be better? But it's not really about Frida Kahlo, and the parrot twist is too strange to me.
"The Thrill is Gone": 2/5 Another one that's based on something I'm unfamiliar with (Chet Baker), and otherwise falls flat.
"Ask Not": 1/5 A hodge podge of conspiracy theories.
"Nothing": 5/5 A heartbreaking, wonderfully sad and relatable look into dementia/alzheimers and the pure confusion it brings about.
A really interesting interview with Jason someone else posted: https://www.cbr.com/jason-discusses-if-you-steal-and-remixing-pop-culture/