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geekwayne's review against another edition
4.0
'Long Distance' by Thom Zahler was a different sort of graphic novel than I would normally read. I liked this bittersweet story.
Carter and Lee meet in an airport during a snowstorm that has them both stranded. He is an artist with his own advertising agency. She is a scientist working at research at a university. They hit it off and fall for each other. The problem is that he lives in Columbus, Ohio and she lives in Chicago, Illinois. A budding romance can take a little long distance, but as the months go on, the challenges mount up. She can't leave Chicago because of her grandma. He can't leave Columbus because of his business and the best friend he runs it with. Will it last, or will it end?
I liked this sweet story. The art leans more towards caricature, and I was less crazy about it, but it fits okay with the story. The story has a few twists and turns, and those kept me interested in finding out what happened.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from IDW and NetGalley. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Carter and Lee meet in an airport during a snowstorm that has them both stranded. He is an artist with his own advertising agency. She is a scientist working at research at a university. They hit it off and fall for each other. The problem is that he lives in Columbus, Ohio and she lives in Chicago, Illinois. A budding romance can take a little long distance, but as the months go on, the challenges mount up. She can't leave Chicago because of her grandma. He can't leave Columbus because of his business and the best friend he runs it with. Will it last, or will it end?
I liked this sweet story. The art leans more towards caricature, and I was less crazy about it, but it fits okay with the story. The story has a few twists and turns, and those kept me interested in finding out what happened.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from IDW and NetGalley. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
briarhoes's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a really nice book. It's got the sense of humor I've come to expect from gen X comic book writers, which is a lot of 'so epic' and geek references, but it's not TOO overwhelming, and it's charming. It fits the characters well, too. The art style is really consistent and dynamic enough that you don't get bored reading all of the dialogue. What also helps is how constantly it changes between the different styles of communication, such as text message bubbles, twitter, email, phone calls, and speaking out loud.
This is a comic that benefits greatly from being one. Thomas Zahler makes full use of the visual medium, with the colors changing based on who's the focus or where they are, with that color coding going so far as to signify who's speaking or texting without having to add anything. The paneling is well done and great for the style, as my eyes followed it around so naturally and it was varied just right. I liked the visual ways that he showed time passing, as well, from shadows falling on a door to wine glasses emptying. It was a real treat to read this, even just artistically.
But it was a treat to read for the story, too. I'm in a long distance relationship myself, going on two years now. I'm hoping to move soon, but it's hard. Moving that great a distance, leaving everything behind, is a scary task, and scarier still is the fear of the unknown. At the same time, though, it's really difficult to be away from the person I love and to not take care of her when she's sick or comfort her if she's crying. There were so many small details in this that were so relatable, from getting sick due to being in airports so much, to not wanting to waste a single second of the brief time you have together. It was, overall, a very touching story, and I have to say I was actually surprised by the ending. I figured it was going for the easy, predictable ending, which I still would have enjoyed. The fact that it took it a step further was clever, and proof that I was right to be Thomas Zahler's personal hype woman to random strangers for the past eight years.
Highly recommend a read.
This is a comic that benefits greatly from being one. Thomas Zahler makes full use of the visual medium, with the colors changing based on who's the focus or where they are, with that color coding going so far as to signify who's speaking or texting without having to add anything. The paneling is well done and great for the style, as my eyes followed it around so naturally and it was varied just right. I liked the visual ways that he showed time passing, as well, from shadows falling on a door to wine glasses emptying. It was a real treat to read this, even just artistically.
But it was a treat to read for the story, too. I'm in a long distance relationship myself, going on two years now. I'm hoping to move soon, but it's hard. Moving that great a distance, leaving everything behind, is a scary task, and scarier still is the fear of the unknown. At the same time, though, it's really difficult to be away from the person I love and to not take care of her when she's sick or comfort her if she's crying. There were so many small details in this that were so relatable, from getting sick due to being in airports so much, to not wanting to waste a single second of the brief time you have together. It was, overall, a very touching story, and I have to say I was actually surprised by the ending. I figured it was going for the easy, predictable ending, which I still would have enjoyed. The fact that it took it a step further was clever, and proof that I was right to be Thomas Zahler's personal hype woman to random strangers for the past eight years.
Highly recommend a read.
ezrasbabel's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
jmanchester0's review against another edition
3.0
I have to admit, I love superhero comics. But sequential art is a form that lends itself to many different kinds of stories, and I like them all.
At first blush, the art is a bit cartoony - women's faces have too many curves and men's have too many angles.
And the banter is a bit too...uh...what's the word I'm looking for? Perfect. It's all too perfect. It's not really natural. As if someone was writing characters that were all hip and cool and witty words just flowed from their lips.
But then I started to get into the groove of the conversation and it wasn't that bad. The geek references were fun and witty. And the allusion to men taking all the credit from women's ideas in academia was a welcome touch of reality.
And the infusion of electronic communication and social media was an interesting touch.
Sweet. Not too sappy. And a twist end that I...no, I'll let you read it.
Thanks to NetGalley and IDW for a copy in return for an honest review.
At first blush, the art is a bit cartoony - women's faces have too many curves and men's have too many angles.
And the banter is a bit too...uh...what's the word I'm looking for? Perfect. It's all too perfect. It's not really natural. As if someone was writing characters that were all hip and cool and witty words just flowed from their lips.
But then I started to get into the groove of the conversation and it wasn't that bad. The geek references were fun and witty. And the allusion to men taking all the credit from women's ideas in academia was a welcome touch of reality.
And the infusion of electronic communication and social media was an interesting touch.
Sweet. Not too sappy. And a twist end that I...no, I'll let you read it.
Thanks to NetGalley and IDW for a copy in return for an honest review.
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