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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
dark
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
real life observations make this comic relatable in many ways.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A real joy. I loved Jimmy Corrigan, and this explores some of the same ground, looking at the how real life and fantasy and personal history mix in the lives of characters, especially Rusty & Woody. The latter two parts are more rooted in reality, but told very differently, Jason's cramped and chaotic, Joanna's wide and open.
reflective
slow-paced
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The cartooning in this book is top tier. You’ll definitely need a magnifying glass though! The story itself is deep and a bit all over the place. I read Lint a few years ago and hated it (for the character himself) Chris Ware definitely likes to look at every aspect of the human psyche, including the worst bits. But over all the stories are interesting. I want to know what happens to the characters and I’ll definitely read the sequel should it come to fruition.
À terceira empreitada de Chris Ware já sabia ao que ia. Mas nem por isso a experiência - e a arte sequencial de Chris Ware é realmente uma vivência sensorial e não apenas leitura - foi amortecida no embate.
Se Building Stories e Jimmy Corrigan tinham gente digna de toda a empatia que partia o coração ver redomadas em solidão, rejeição e frustração, aqui temos gente moralmente menos aprovável nessas mesmas condições e um quase domínio da linguagem audiovisual que simultaneamente lhe veste a forma absoluta enquanto transmite substância narrativa de densidade exponencialmente superior à da forma deliberadamente escolhida.
Consta que esta obra demorou duas décadas a ser concluída, sendo intermediada com outras obras do Ware. O formato presta-se bem às interrupções e parece ter até beneficiado delas, já que o resultado final é um lote de segmentos existenciais sobrepostos e/ou entrecruzados, quinhoando do malogro-base que é a bênção de existir, esbracejando diante de terceiros um bailado no singular ritmo de cada um, desde a solidão violenta do nascimento até à absoluta e solitária perda de si, que é a morte.
Se Building Stories e Jimmy Corrigan tinham gente digna de toda a empatia que partia o coração ver redomadas em solidão, rejeição e frustração, aqui temos gente moralmente menos aprovável nessas mesmas condições e um quase domínio da linguagem audiovisual que simultaneamente lhe veste a forma absoluta enquanto transmite substância narrativa de densidade exponencialmente superior à da forma deliberadamente escolhida.
Consta que esta obra demorou duas décadas a ser concluída, sendo intermediada com outras obras do Ware. O formato presta-se bem às interrupções e parece ter até beneficiado delas, já que o resultado final é um lote de segmentos existenciais sobrepostos e/ou entrecruzados, quinhoando do malogro-base que é a bênção de existir, esbracejando diante de terceiros um bailado no singular ritmo de cada um, desde a solidão violenta do nascimento até à absoluta e solitária perda de si, que é a morte.
I hated the first half of this book.
I'm not a huge Chris Ware fan, but I liked the experience of [b:Building Stories|13573235|Building Stories|Chris Ware|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1336846329l/13573235._SX50_.jpg|19154202] and I gave a good review to the third portion of this volume ([b:Jordan Lint|7911840|The Acme Novelty Library #20|Chris Ware|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327878861l/7911840._SX50_.jpg|11191916]). But the first two stories in this tome (Introduction and William Brown) delve deeply into the personas of stunted man-children obsessed with things sexual, super-hero, and science-fictiony, and I found them deeply painful to read. I understand that the development of independent comics in the 80's, 90's, and 00's often involved commentary on the very geeky and masculine subculture they were trying to break free of. Love and Rockets tried doing it with a sense of joy, [a:Dylan Horrocks|42127|Dylan Horrocks|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1330197652p2/42127.jpg] used a historical approach with [b:Hicksville|1137635|Hicksville|Dylan Horrocks|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1181288668l/1137635._SY75_.jpg|1124889], and [a:Evan Dorkin|59150|Evan Dorkin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1205103768p2/59150.jpg] simply burned the house down with the Eltingville Club. But now, you can see graphic novel after graphic novel produced that doesn't reference the (sometimes truly awful) gender issues that ran alongside the early days of the industry and fan base. So, seeing that same approach now was not only a shock, but felt like a revisiting of shame and hurt that I didn't really want to revisit (at least not from Ware's perspective). Watching a young boy obsess over sexualized daydreams of Supergirl (to the exclusion of all else) or a high school teacher obsess over the physical appearance of a new female student or a grown man turn his sexual misunderstandings into a cruel misogynist science fiction story just read like insights into incel culture. And because Ware is so formalistic in his approach, nothing in the art releases you from that intense gaze on the character.
Also, this middle-aged man had quite a few problems reading the smaller text at times. You might want a magnifying glass.
Reading Jordan Lint through for the second time, I was struck by how much Ware took a "douchebag" character (a stoner high schooler, a sadistic frat boy, a serial womanizer) and added texture to his life. Lint is not exactly sympathetic (thank goodness!), but Ware makes a logic of his life that is compelling. I was fascinated to see the times Lint thought he had turned his life around only to lose it again and again.
The last story (Joanne Cole) is the biggest departure in the volume and felt more like Building Stories than anything else. Ware's protagonist is a female African American teacher (who taught Jordan Brown and Rusty Brown and works with William Brown). The usual Warian themes of isolation and regret are there, but the story feels more open and takes more interesting turns. (Or, I was just relieved to not read about disgusting men...)
If you are interested in Chris Ware, I would not recommend this as a first book. I'm going to find it hard to keep the volume given that I already own the Acme Novelty Library with Jordan Lint in it. But it might be worth checking out of the library to read the second half.
I'm not a huge Chris Ware fan, but I liked the experience of [b:Building Stories|13573235|Building Stories|Chris Ware|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1336846329l/13573235._SX50_.jpg|19154202] and I gave a good review to the third portion of this volume ([b:Jordan Lint|7911840|The Acme Novelty Library #20|Chris Ware|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327878861l/7911840._SX50_.jpg|11191916]). But the first two stories in this tome (Introduction and William Brown) delve deeply into the personas of stunted man-children obsessed with things sexual, super-hero, and science-fictiony, and I found them deeply painful to read. I understand that the development of independent comics in the 80's, 90's, and 00's often involved commentary on the very geeky and masculine subculture they were trying to break free of. Love and Rockets tried doing it with a sense of joy, [a:Dylan Horrocks|42127|Dylan Horrocks|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1330197652p2/42127.jpg] used a historical approach with [b:Hicksville|1137635|Hicksville|Dylan Horrocks|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1181288668l/1137635._SY75_.jpg|1124889], and [a:Evan Dorkin|59150|Evan Dorkin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1205103768p2/59150.jpg] simply burned the house down with the Eltingville Club. But now, you can see graphic novel after graphic novel produced that doesn't reference the (sometimes truly awful) gender issues that ran alongside the early days of the industry and fan base. So, seeing that same approach now was not only a shock, but felt like a revisiting of shame and hurt that I didn't really want to revisit (at least not from Ware's perspective). Watching a young boy obsess over sexualized daydreams of Supergirl (to the exclusion of all else) or a high school teacher obsess over the physical appearance of a new female student or a grown man turn his sexual misunderstandings into a cruel misogynist science fiction story just read like insights into incel culture. And because Ware is so formalistic in his approach, nothing in the art releases you from that intense gaze on the character.
Also, this middle-aged man had quite a few problems reading the smaller text at times. You might want a magnifying glass.
Reading Jordan Lint through for the second time, I was struck by how much Ware took a "douchebag" character (a stoner high schooler, a sadistic frat boy, a serial womanizer) and added texture to his life. Lint is not exactly sympathetic (thank goodness!), but Ware makes a logic of his life that is compelling. I was fascinated to see the times Lint thought he had turned his life around only to lose it again and again.
The last story (Joanne Cole) is the biggest departure in the volume and felt more like Building Stories than anything else. Ware's protagonist is a female African American teacher (who taught Jordan Brown and Rusty Brown and works with William Brown). The usual Warian themes of isolation and regret are there, but the story feels more open and takes more interesting turns. (Or, I was just relieved to not read about disgusting men...)
If you are interested in Chris Ware, I would not recommend this as a first book. I'm going to find it hard to keep the volume given that I already own the Acme Novelty Library with Jordan Lint in it. But it might be worth checking out of the library to read the second half.
We all just want to be superheroes but really we’re just characters in a Chris Ware comic. This is a labor of love that took YEARS to make and its just beautiful.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book beautifully illustrates how we inflect pain upon others whether intentionally or unintentionally and how we process that pain throughout our lifetime. While a bit confusing at times it was a wonderful read and made me feel such strong emotions.