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A review by mschlat
Solid State by Jonathan Coulton, Matt Fraction
4.0
So this is the companion graphic novel to Jonathan Coulton's science fiction concept album Solid State (which I've listened to once), but to really do this review justice, I should listen to it again, and read the lyrics, and reread the graphic novel, and that's not going to happen, so here are some quick points....
1) The art by Albert Monteys is stellar. You've got a bit of bigfoot cartooning mixed with excellent giant robots mixed with compelling depictions of the near future. (I love the dodecahedral helmets everyone wears.) At the same time, Monteys' formal structure is off the charts --- it's rare that I see such attention paid to effective panel transitions and full page splashes. Seen just from the design aspects, this is an amazing work.
2) Coulton and Fraction (with help of Monteys) deliver one of the most atmospheric works I've read in awhile. Yes, it's science fiction and a discussion of AI and a depiction of a privacy apocalypse (think of it as a precursor to [b:The Private Eye|26247784|The Private Eye|Brian K. Vaughan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1488819224s/26247784.jpg|46242164]), but because of Fraction's willingness to use sparse and often confusing language, the effect is more emotional than informational. I read the work and feel like I'm drifting between exposition and metaphor.
3) As a result, I finished the book fairly unsure of what was going on. I didn't really care that much mind you, but I was left with the sense that had I perused the album more, I would have exited with more understanding.
Highly recommended for fans of science fiction graphic novels who like some ambiguity, even if you don't listen to Jonathan Coulton.
1) The art by Albert Monteys is stellar. You've got a bit of bigfoot cartooning mixed with excellent giant robots mixed with compelling depictions of the near future. (I love the dodecahedral helmets everyone wears.) At the same time, Monteys' formal structure is off the charts --- it's rare that I see such attention paid to effective panel transitions and full page splashes. Seen just from the design aspects, this is an amazing work.
2) Coulton and Fraction (with help of Monteys) deliver one of the most atmospheric works I've read in awhile. Yes, it's science fiction and a discussion of AI and a depiction of a privacy apocalypse (think of it as a precursor to [b:The Private Eye|26247784|The Private Eye|Brian K. Vaughan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1488819224s/26247784.jpg|46242164]), but because of Fraction's willingness to use sparse and often confusing language, the effect is more emotional than informational. I read the work and feel like I'm drifting between exposition and metaphor.
3) As a result, I finished the book fairly unsure of what was going on. I didn't really care that much mind you, but I was left with the sense that had I perused the album more, I would have exited with more understanding.
Highly recommended for fans of science fiction graphic novels who like some ambiguity, even if you don't listen to Jonathan Coulton.