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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
Some words that come to mind: astonishing; brilliant; beautiful; funny; tragic; bleak; hilarious; depressing; dense. Inspiring too. Oh, I left out genius.
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Chris Ware never ceases to make me feel deep emotion from simple pages and frames. This is a book about Omaha, the endless winter of the soul, repetition, hope, Americana, and fantasies of what we could be and what mistakes could be erased. It's one of my favorite graphic novels I've read in recent memory. It feels essential, and stirring, and something I want to return back to again and again.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I bought "Rusty Brown" as a Christmas gift to myself … and as a fairly typical (??) book buyer with a problem, it took me until April (and a global pandemic to boot) to finally get around to it. I had been a huge fan of/or at least had mad props for Chris Ware's "Building Stories" -- which I know see I read back in 2013 (time flies!) -- a 14-piece multi-media graphic "novel" where it was up to the reader to select the order of each item read. It somehow worked, and so when I saw Ware had a new book out I decided to treat myself to it.
This one was a bit different. Well, more than a bit. More of a compilation of his works over the past 16 years with some new material added in. In a hardcover book format, it was more a traditional and sequential experience - tho with Ware, I am surmising there is always a randomness to his works -- and while everything is linked, it takes some work on the readers' part. In "Building Stories" it was just a given that randomness was built into the project -- so here I struggled more with it. And again, given the timing of this read (during the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020) certainly not the best time for the need to be focused and have a clear mind. Thus "Rusty" gets a bit of rating ding for that - but again I am willing to lay some (most?) of the blame on myself.
One thing that is a valid ding here is the size of the artwork and more so the often miniscule text. Part of Ware's genius is he knows exactly when he wants on the same the page -- but given how small it had to go at times was ridiculous. This hardcover edition is already bulky and an irregular size. I would guess that it would have to be at least twice as big to make everything fit/readable - which I'm guessing would be virtually impossible without custom printing equipment. I utterly respect Ware's vision, but it certainly felt compromised with the size limitations.
With these mental point deductions for some stories working and some stories not along with the challenges of actually being able to read the text at times - it feels like my rating should drop to about 3 stars. But I just can not do it. I'll say it again: Ware is genius. The storytelling that worked for me was incredibly moving, sometimes spanning an entire lifetime of a character in a few dozen pages. The artwork is amazing - sometimes funny, often tragic and sad. The emotions truly come off the page. 5 stars in many ways - but again some mental and physical (eyesight!) issues on my part bring it in at 4 stars with continued respect and aware for Ware.
This is quite epic but definitely not for everyone. It is a collection of comics about a few different characters who all intersect for a short time at a school in Omaha, but each character's entire life is explored. The artist does a lot of innovative things with panel order and word balloons (or lack thereof), sometimes page orientation and art style as well. My one complaint is that the lettering is often too small (and low contrast) for my aging eyes. Oh, and my two complaint is that the lives the comic tells about are mostly fairly depressing.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
I’m absolutely taken aback by this graphic novel. I’ve read Chris Ware before so I know how intricate the stories are, how rich he paints images of people. As where Building Stories might was a little overwhelming, this novel is more back to the storytelling from Jimmy Corrigan, sprinkled with some twists from Building Stories. There are comics sideways, upside down, backwards, there are comics and important details on the cover, on the wrapping and on the endleaves. It’s a joy to read craftwise.
That said, it is tough to read due to the nature of the story. I had to take several breaks just because I got too sad to continue. It really hits you with all its beauty, sadness and humility. A tour de force, no question about it.
That said, it is tough to read due to the nature of the story. I had to take several breaks just because I got too sad to continue. It really hits you with all its beauty, sadness and humility. A tour de force, no question about it.
A collection of pieces of lives, some more thorough and affecting than others.
I think the highlight is the Jordan Lint section - brutally sad and harsh, but it put me through a ringer similar to what Scrooge went through on Christmas Eve - and I wanted to be a better person (father, son, and husband) after reading it.
There aren't many areas of the book that feel complete, and I frequently lost track of where I was in time. Maybe that's not what other readers experience - but that is almost certainly Ware's intent a lot of the time. To show you a short film, put a blindfold on you, spin you around - and let you pick up the thread in the direction you're left looking.
There isn't a lot of hope, light, or uplift in Rusty Brown. In fact, it's grievously dark. If you aren't depressed at least half of the time, you probably aren't following the story.
I won't be rushing to reread it, but it was impacting. I had the impulse to give it 3 stars, but went with 4 - because of the degree that Chris Ware manages to make a reader feel.
A fault I'm not willing to overlook is the teeny tiny scale of a lot of the text and some paneling. Some of the text is intended to be illegible, but I think a decent 20% or so that you are encouraged to read is right at the limit of reasonable eyesight. I didn't welcome needing to change my lighting and shift the book to read it.
I think the highlight is the Jordan Lint section - brutally sad and harsh, but it put me through a ringer similar to what Scrooge went through on Christmas Eve - and I wanted to be a better person (father, son, and husband) after reading it.
There aren't many areas of the book that feel complete, and I frequently lost track of where I was in time. Maybe that's not what other readers experience - but that is almost certainly Ware's intent a lot of the time. To show you a short film, put a blindfold on you, spin you around - and let you pick up the thread in the direction you're left looking.
There isn't a lot of hope, light, or uplift in Rusty Brown. In fact, it's grievously dark. If you aren't depressed at least half of the time, you probably aren't following the story.
I won't be rushing to reread it, but it was impacting. I had the impulse to give it 3 stars, but went with 4 - because of the degree that Chris Ware manages to make a reader feel.
A fault I'm not willing to overlook is the teeny tiny scale of a lot of the text and some paneling. Some of the text is intended to be illegible, but I think a decent 20% or so that you are encouraged to read is right at the limit of reasonable eyesight. I didn't welcome needing to change my lighting and shift the book to read it.