Reviews

.Self by Christopher Sebela

inthebelljar's review

3.0

For a story focusing so much around identity and the self, this had just....so little character development/exploration for me? The art is great and I LOVED the concept of this, but I just felt like I got so little from Nat as a character. Like, I am told she is so cautious and careful and tries to do anything she can to be safe after her tumultuous upbringing, but also...I felt like I was just told this. A lot. It doesn't help that the very first scene I get is of her fighting and of relishing this - there was very little established about who Nat was before I'm told all about how different she is during all of this- which fell pretty flat for me.

At first I was also super interested in all of these other Nats, like, what made them tick differently than Nat 1.0, but really they felt like completely different characters from her for the most part, not just copies with slight adjustments,

Spoiler

besides our Final Boss Natalie, who I felt was the most interesting of all of them

. I kind of hoped there would be more exploration of the copies since they are...literally the driving force of the comic. But they felt extremely one-dimensional and almost always unrelated to the original Nat.

I also

Spoiler

hated how much of a non-character Nat's husband was? Besides him being the "safe" choice, I did not understand why they ever got together in the first place which left him feeling just....annoying and unnecessary. He was a vehicle for character development that felt very unearned to me, and I did not give a single fuck when Nat left him

.

I didn't hate this, but I really didn't love it. It felt so 2.5/3 star in the "It was alright but I'm not going to think about this a week from now" way.

jessidee's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

aveincobalt's review

5.0

This comic makes you revaluate your life choices in the best possible way. It is rare for a comic’s art and writing to both be outstanding. This is an exception.

thomasgoddard's review

2.0

I really enjoyed my last foray into the graphic novel arena and figured I'd have another run at a title. Amazon Prime is, unfortunately, pretty invaluable as a service for life's essentials for me. And having my partner move in with me meant that it was time to set up the whole 'household' settings. Just so Amazon knows exactly whose data is who's, theirs and mine adding up to the sum of our lives. With that came re-examination of the perks to try balance out some of the privacy concerns.

Look, you get some music... and some games...

This graphic novel was a perk from comiXology because it comes with Prime. An original from comiXology Originals that you can borrow and read for free with your kindle app. So I figured, why not? I'm a huge fan of anything identity related. The self is a real focus of inquiry for me. It won't cost me anything...

I couldn't have been more disappointed. The story lined up with my recent concerns over data harvesting by corporate interests. A sort of speculative fiction experience in copy paste human life. But it just failed on so many levels.

It reminded me of black mirror, but with none of the depth. A great concept poorly fleshed out.

For a story that presents a world where there are countless other versions of Nat... None of them added any layers to her character and at times they actively seemed to single-handedly defeat their own conceit.

The husband was pocket lint... Almost nonexistent.

The ending... obvious.

At almost every step I was thinking up better directions the story could have taken to really give the audience something powerful and gripping.

The artwork was great. That takes it up to two stars... Barely.

I almost wished Amazon did save our lives experiences, so I could delete this one.

muriel_mika's review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

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

4.0

graypeape's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I enjoyed this! It's not perfect, but it was fun to read. It's an interesting story, and while I don't know if the premise - a device that backs op everything about your life so that "you" can be downloaded into a body blank when you die, allowing family and friends to have closure - is actually possible (or rather, will be possible at any point), I'm sure somebody out there is trying to work out how to do it, and the story doesn't feel all that far-fetched. The execution, though... I don't know, something felt lacking. It needed to be a bit longer, given more space to breathe. Some parts got a bit rushed, and I would've liked to have seen the whole idea of the story explored more. Still, I enjoyed the bones of it. The art though! The art and coloring were gorgeous, just, wow! Crazy good. 
So, in short, fun read, story could've been longer, frickin' great art. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

whogivesabook's review

2.0

I really enjoyed my last foray into the graphic novel arena and figured I'd have another run at a title. Amazon Prime is, unfortunately, pretty invaluable as a service for life's essentials for me. And having my partner move in with me meant that it was time to set up the whole 'household' settings. Just so Amazon knows exactly whose data is who's, theirs and mine adding up to the sum of our lives. With that came re-examination of the perks to try balance out some of the privacy concerns.

Look, you get some music... and some games...

This graphic novel was a perk from comiXology because it comes with Prime. An original from comiXology Originals that you can borrow and read for free with your kindle app. So I figured, why not? I'm a huge fan of anything identity related. The self is a real focus of inquiry for me. It won't cost me anything...

I couldn't have been more disappointed. The story lined up with my recent concerns over data harvesting by corporate interests. A sort of speculative fiction experience in copy paste human life. But it just failed on so many levels.

It reminded me of black mirror, but with none of the depth. A great concept poorly fleshed out.

For a story that presents a world where there are countless other versions of Nat... None of them added any layers to her character and at times they actively seemed to single-handedly defeat their own conceit.

The husband was pocket lint... Almost nonexistent.

The ending... obvious.

At almost every step I was thinking up better directions the story could have taken to really give the audience something powerful and gripping.

The artwork was great. That takes it up to two stars... Barely.

I almost wished Amazon did save our lives experiences, so I could delete this one.