jakekilroy's review against another edition
4.0
What a beautiful story told beautifully. Done in thick, generous strokes and colorings, the thin graphic novel tells the narrator's story and history of the Latin American village of Rosario. It's a quick tale, but elder Mr. Mendoza is a moralistic graffiti artist with one fat paintbrush. It's nostalgic and romanticized, swirling local history and personal history together, all with the tone and tempo of an old man trying to recapture the mystic wonder of his youth. I dug it a whole lot.
melanie_reads's review against another edition
5.0
Hey, I love it when things I love collide: magical realism, some nice art (graffiti included) and a fun little story about Mexico.
As part of my expanded reading for 2014, I've made an effort to read more graphic novels. So far, this is the best one I've read!
As part of my expanded reading for 2014, I've made an effort to read more graphic novels. So far, this is the best one I've read!
aartireadsalot's review against another edition
2.0
I don't think I understood this one, so I'm not going to review it. It had cool pictures, but I just didn't really "get" or enjoy the story much at all.
leaflibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Somewhere between a story book and a graphic novel, Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush explores the narrator's nostalgia for his childhood village and one particularly unpopular visionary, the enigmatic and moral Mr. Mendoza. "Mr. Mendoza had taken the controversial position that he was the graffiti king of all Mexico. But we didn't want a graffiti king." Mr. Mendoza's graffiti is all looping text, cryptic and moralistic. He tags not only buildings, but bodies, like the time he catches the narrator and his cousin spying on bathing school girls, strips their clothes, labels their skin with epithets like, "pervert" and the later useful, "I live for sex," and sends the boys running naked through the village streets.
The whole story is both magical and gritty, portraying the everyday life of a seemingly doomed village with the exagerated intrigue of a "macho" man looking back on an idealized, unreachable time. What became of the narrator, the village, or the heaven-bound graffiti king is unclear, but the meandering journey through a remembered hometown in Mexico makes a lasting mark.
The whole story is both magical and gritty, portraying the everyday life of a seemingly doomed village with the exagerated intrigue of a "macho" man looking back on an idealized, unreachable time. What became of the narrator, the village, or the heaven-bound graffiti king is unclear, but the meandering journey through a remembered hometown in Mexico makes a lasting mark.
rivercrow's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
Great art to accompany a sweet little short story which is originally the first story in Urrea's collection entitled Six Kinds of Sky.
Great art to accompany a sweet little short story which is originally the first story in Urrea's collection entitled Six Kinds of Sky.
sarahsponda's review against another edition
3.0
I was going to give this two stars, but I really liked the art, so: 3.
kendrabetweenthelines's review against another edition
3.0
This was good. It reads like a fable or legend, and it's a quick read with elements of magic.
aartireadsalot's review
2.0
I don't think I understood this one, so I'm not going to review it. It had cool pictures, but I just didn't really "get" or enjoy the story much at all.
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