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A review by torywestside
Satellite Sam, Vol. 1: The Lonesome Death of Satellite Sam by Howard Chaykin, Matt Fraction
1.0
I found the artwork in this book to be very confusing. It was very hard to tell the difference between most of the male characters, and while the black and white style gave an excellent noir feeling to the artwork, it really didn't help. The style of the word bubbles added to the confusion, I felt it often wasn't clear who was speaking at any given point in time, and bubbles appeared to be connected across panels at times when it was not appropriate.
I also didn't really understand the motivations of any of the characters until after I read the bios that were grouped at the end of the book, which originally were released with each individual issue of the comic. In a letter at the end of the book Fraction wrote that someone reading the story in a condensed format rather than monthly shouldn't need the bios to accompany each issue, but I felt like the writing and story were so nebulous that it would have been helpful. It wouldn't have made a difference aesthetically or in terms of page number, so I'm not really sure what the reasoning was there. I didn't fully understand what had happened in the book until after I read them.
The premise is excellent and interesting enough that I almost want to keep reading, but I just don't think I could slog my way through another volume. Just not a book for me.
I also didn't really understand the motivations of any of the characters until after I read the bios that were grouped at the end of the book, which originally were released with each individual issue of the comic. In a letter at the end of the book Fraction wrote that someone reading the story in a condensed format rather than monthly shouldn't need the bios to accompany each issue, but I felt like the writing and story were so nebulous that it would have been helpful. It wouldn't have made a difference aesthetically or in terms of page number, so I'm not really sure what the reasoning was there. I didn't fully understand what had happened in the book until after I read them.
The premise is excellent and interesting enough that I almost want to keep reading, but I just don't think I could slog my way through another volume. Just not a book for me.