Reviews

The Smell of Starving Boys by Edward Gauvin, Loo Hui Phang, Frederik Peeters

theangrystackrat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

lautreamont's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

marcomywords's review against another edition

3.0

I wish the author had been aware that they didn't have enough pages to touch on all of the subjects they were interested in.
It felt like I could hear them think:

"Oh, I like westerns, so I'll put that in the comic. I'll add a commentary on colonialism, and mysogyny, and homophobia, and grief, and crossdressing, and ghosts, and horses, and....."

DUDE. Calm down.

aschurtz's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

3.25

robin_dh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

steveatwaywords's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

An intriguing mix of the supernatural, the Old West mythology, American capitalism/expansionism critiques, sexual mores (pedophilia? "boys" voiced instead of "men"), and . . . folk 'knacks.' What stands out in here is a sense of tension and mood of impending horror established through some beautiful graphics. 

Unfortunately, the book fails in its ambition

(deciding for a quick and unnecessary expositional unveiling of conspiracy we had long anticipated)

, settling for appearances of the unsettling to establish its story with little to no effort to find coherence, either in plotting or theme.  More, while no prude, I found the work's interest in dwelling upon the nudity of the single female character (vs. any of the other characters

beyond a pants-less surveyor played for grotesquerie

) disturbing for reasons apart from the storyline.

What's left is still a fairly unique imaginative concept, under-developed and under-realized, but a curiosity. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Gore

Minor: Pedophilia

leasaurusrex's review against another edition

4.0

Des dessins vraiment très beaux, une histoire western un peu barrée, des mystères, le tout converge en une BD qui aurait mérité d'être plus longue, histoire de continuer à en profiter. Je suis restée sur ma faim, mais j'ai adoré le voyage.

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

2.0

This was a really weird one. I liked the setting and the initial premise was interesting. I think there was either much needed bisexual representation or queer-baiting, can't decide which one yet. And the eventual ending was metaphysical enough to go completely over my head, leaving me feeling at a loss for concrete plot and a little out of the loop. So I'll mark this as 2/5 even though I did enjoy it and the art was gorgeous -- just a little to unexplained for my taste.

juannaranjo's review against another edition

3.0

Pensaba que iba a leer un western LGBT+ y, aún siendo una historia bastante original, no es mucho ni western ni LGBT+. Prima demasiado un componente sobrenatural que no se entiende muy bien y que no encaja demasiado con el contexto.
Es un cómic en el que lo mejor es el título (y algunos pasajes románticos de la primera mitad).

battleofevermore's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75