“The art is gorgeous in spots, and I think the ideas here are very solid. But I don’t think I would really understand what’s going on here if I hadn’t seen the movie first. Things are space-y and loose in a lot of places.
There’s also an aspect of this that’s very angst-y. There’s a beauty in the grotesque thing going on here that works.
When you read a little bit about the events surrounding the creation of this story, you can see why. O’Barr was a really young guy when he created this, went through some terrible pain, and expressed it.
It’s imperfect, but that also makes it feel VERY human, very personal, and I think the niche-ness of it probably repelled people, but it also meant that some could connect with it deeply. It’s a trade-off, and I think O’Barr made the right choice as he’s connected with a lot of people, and they’re people who desperately need that connection.
This book is the opposite of the heavily-computer-aided comics of today, and it’s just such a monumental achievement in the arts.
This is probably a 3 for me, just as a book, it’s not totally my style, but in terms of impact it’s had on my life and the lives of others, it’s a 5. “