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annegorah's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Lindas imágenes en blanco y negro. Captivating y pensar que es del 1919 o algo así.
oblomov's review
2.0
DOUBLE REVIEW!!WEIVER ELBUOD
Passionate Journey by Maserell vs [b: Destiny: A Novel in Pictures|1350727|Destiny A Novel in Pictures|Otto Nückel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1380034340l/1350727._SY75_.jpg|1340406] by Otto Nückel: two Weimar era period, wordless graphic novels about the trials and personal tragedies of two Germans. Who will win and who is a wee bit shite?
The Plot:
Passionate Journey:
The adventures of a nameless young man who comes to the big city. Enamoured by alcohol, ladies of the night and the fun to be had, he slowly developes a sense of class consciousness and recognises the need for socialist change in a poverty stricken world.
This guy seems to be having the time of his life, and his struggles are fairly minor, save his rather creepy rescue of an abused girl who he later seems to fall in love when she grows up, who then dies of cop-out 'un-named female withering disease'. Mostly he's a strong, willful fellow who wanders from one sitation to another and seems fairly beloved by all who meet him, especially children. The story failed to give much punch or drama, as his hardships seem elastic at worst.
Destiny:
The tragic life of a young woman, from losing her mother and alcoholic father, to her run in with a despicable rakehall, a stint in prostitution, three marriages and a violent death.
If Passionate Journey's punches didn't land, Destiny was a swift kick to the bollocks and then spitting on me while I groan. This is a dark, realist tale of misfortune, bad choices and hopelessness. It's a sympathetic portrayal of a woman trapped in a cruel, opportunisic, vengeful, vicious and unsympathetic society.
First round: Destiny.
The Art Style:
Passionate Journey is a series of expressionist woodcuts, putting me in mind of a colourless and castrated George Grosz or early soviet posters. They're rather lifeless and unmemorable, and the story presented isn't always clear. Thomas Mann offered a rather gushing introduction in my edition, and without some of his summary I think I may have missed key plot points.
Destiny is also a fairly expressionist in style, with bulky law enforcement, creepy clowns and dark, dreary and claustrophobic settings. Moody and atmospheric, I needed no summary or introduction to understand what was happening, with Nückel's story always clear, though the motivations and gaps in story telling allow for space for some horrible workings in your own imagination.
Second Round: Destiny.
The Politics:
Passionate Journey is a rather flagrant propaganda piece, with evil capitalists and an untouchable and indefatigable lower class hero, who even goes to Africa and his beloved by all the little village children and at this point I felt somewhat offended and talked down to. While the politics is overt, it doesn't really say anything, and the depiction of sex workers (a vulnerable group who needed the support of class aware political figures) isn't shown in the best light, while other episodes, such as the young girl he raises to be his girlfriend *hurk* are just out of place tangents.
There is nothing as overtly political in Destiny. There are no revolutionaries, just an unfeeling and unjust world, where poverty is rife and tainted by alcohol, where there is no safety net, no psychological help and prison simply punishes rather than reforms. It's an unspoken cry at a system that leaves people vulnerable and destitute, the 'Destiny' of the title referring to the protagonist's doomed siutation as an orphaned, lower class woman. A far more effective comment on society's ills.
Third Round: Destiny
Final result: Knock out win for Destiny.
As utterly miserable as Destiny is (you will need a cheery counterweight to its abject wretchedness to hand if you read it), it was a welcome emotional sucker punch after the bland and condescending dreariness of the mistitled Passionate Journey. The latter will only be interesting to those studying early graphic novels or German expressionism, while the former for is for those same people, but also those with even a passing interest in humanity.
Passionate Journey by Maserell vs [b: Destiny: A Novel in Pictures|1350727|Destiny A Novel in Pictures|Otto Nückel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1380034340l/1350727._SY75_.jpg|1340406] by Otto Nückel: two Weimar era period, wordless graphic novels about the trials and personal tragedies of two Germans. Who will win and who is a wee bit shite?
The Plot:
Passionate Journey:
The adventures of a nameless young man who comes to the big city. Enamoured by alcohol, ladies of the night and the fun to be had, he slowly developes a sense of class consciousness and recognises the need for socialist change in a poverty stricken world.
This guy seems to be having the time of his life, and his struggles are fairly minor, save his rather creepy rescue of an abused girl who he later seems to fall in love when she grows up, who then dies of cop-out 'un-named female withering disease'. Mostly he's a strong, willful fellow who wanders from one sitation to another and seems fairly beloved by all who meet him, especially children. The story failed to give much punch or drama, as his hardships seem elastic at worst.
Destiny:
The tragic life of a young woman, from losing her mother and alcoholic father, to her run in with a despicable rakehall, a stint in prostitution, three marriages and a violent death.
If Passionate Journey's punches didn't land, Destiny was a swift kick to the bollocks and then spitting on me while I groan. This is a dark, realist tale of misfortune, bad choices and hopelessness. It's a sympathetic portrayal of a woman trapped in a cruel, opportunisic, vengeful, vicious and unsympathetic society.
First round: Destiny.
The Art Style:
Passionate Journey is a series of expressionist woodcuts, putting me in mind of a colourless and castrated George Grosz or early soviet posters. They're rather lifeless and unmemorable, and the story presented isn't always clear. Thomas Mann offered a rather gushing introduction in my edition, and without some of his summary I think I may have missed key plot points.
Destiny is also a fairly expressionist in style, with bulky law enforcement, creepy clowns and dark, dreary and claustrophobic settings. Moody and atmospheric, I needed no summary or introduction to understand what was happening, with Nückel's story always clear, though the motivations and gaps in story telling allow for space for some horrible workings in your own imagination.
Second Round: Destiny.
The Politics:
Passionate Journey is a rather flagrant propaganda piece, with evil capitalists and an untouchable and indefatigable lower class hero, who even goes to Africa and his beloved by all the little village children and at this point I felt somewhat offended and talked down to. While the politics is overt, it doesn't really say anything, and the depiction of sex workers (a vulnerable group who needed the support of class aware political figures) isn't shown in the best light, while other episodes, such as the young girl he raises to be his girlfriend *hurk* are just out of place tangents.
There is nothing as overtly political in Destiny. There are no revolutionaries, just an unfeeling and unjust world, where poverty is rife and tainted by alcohol, where there is no safety net, no psychological help and prison simply punishes rather than reforms. It's an unspoken cry at a system that leaves people vulnerable and destitute, the 'Destiny' of the title referring to the protagonist's doomed siutation as an orphaned, lower class woman. A far more effective comment on society's ills.
Third Round: Destiny
Final result: Knock out win for Destiny.
As utterly miserable as Destiny is (you will need a cheery counterweight to its abject wretchedness to hand if you read it), it was a welcome emotional sucker punch after the bland and condescending dreariness of the mistitled Passionate Journey. The latter will only be interesting to those studying early graphic novels or German expressionism, while the former for is for those same people, but also those with even a passing interest in humanity.
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