tmarso's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Amazing art and style with a very deep message. Great story!
jsmithborne's review against another edition
3.0
Not sure why I took so long to finish this. I read half of it, put it down, and didn't pick it back up until last night. This book is gorgeous, but dense. I think I will love it on second reading. Right now I'm in awe of the art, but a little baffled by the story.
tcbueti's review against another edition
3.0
A beautiful and stylish work, but I'm not sure what it was about. There was a lot of "all of this will be explained in time" but I didn't feel like it was. Philosophical: "Gradually having people realize that their world has changed, and that it's time to move on" was my 10-year old son's interpretation. (He thought the whole thing was amazing.) There is stuff about working together, accepting differences, accepting (and even seeking) change, and not being passive. Maybe I'm too cynical and jaded to get it.
I enjoyed the pages of tribute art by other artists, and the section explaining some of the process of creating the artwork for this book. And I have to admit I love that the introduction was written by "the original dapper man", Tim Gunn of Project Runway fame!
Quirky and original, for active graphic novel collections.
I enjoyed the pages of tribute art by other artists, and the section explaining some of the process of creating the artwork for this book. And I have to admit I love that the introduction was written by "the original dapper man", Tim Gunn of Project Runway fame!
Quirky and original, for active graphic novel collections.
mvertel's review against another edition
3.0
The art is beautiful but I couldn't get into the story.
chwaters's review
3.0
For some reason, this graphic novel didn't really move me. The artwork is probably the most interesting part. It's sort of a collage/art deco/steampunk sort-of style that one typically doesn't see in comics all that much. The story is about a land where time has, quite literally, stopped. One day, 314 identical "dapper" men descend on the planet and attempt to get things going again. The answer lies in a young boy and his robot companion. I don't know if the numbers are supposed to mean anything or not, but the rest of the story also feels too oblique for its intended audience.
theartolater's review against another edition
4.0
3 for the story, 5 for the art.
A fantasy/fairy tale of sorts, the story is perhaps too esoteric and fantastical to even bother trying to recap. Where this book excels is the absolutely gorgeous art and format, which brings this world to life in a way few graphic efforts do.
I just ultimately wish the story was better. I'm sure many people love this sort of world, but it overall failed to grab me and the result was a nice read, but nothing as special as what I thought I was getting when I picked this up.
I won't not recommend it, but just know it might not be what you're looking for.
A fantasy/fairy tale of sorts, the story is perhaps too esoteric and fantastical to even bother trying to recap. Where this book excels is the absolutely gorgeous art and format, which brings this world to life in a way few graphic efforts do.
I just ultimately wish the story was better. I'm sure many people love this sort of world, but it overall failed to grab me and the result was a nice read, but nothing as special as what I thought I was getting when I picked this up.
I won't not recommend it, but just know it might not be what you're looking for.
poetkoala's review against another edition
3.0
If I could give 3.5 stars, I would. I picked up Return of the Dapper Men because the size of the book was appealing and I really love the look of the art. Besides the pretty art, this book brings along with it some thought-provoking instances, although I felt at times that there was a panel or two missing in some conversations because they seemed to leap around too quickly. An enjoyable read for a summer afternoon.
shadyglade's review against another edition
2.0
This one was weird. Maybe I'm a lazy reader, but I like things spelled out for me a bit. This one just had me confused all over. The illustrations were beautiful though, even if the story didn't grab me.
cathman's review against another edition
3.0
It was fine? I think I must have found out about this through FBCD at some point but after reading it I'm not really sure why it would have caught my attention.
jasminenoack's review against another edition
2.0
eh. just eh.
The art in this book is beautiful. There are some really great insightful moments. There are some beautifully done literary references.
But the plot is poorly developed and basically unexplained. One character just magically suddenly understands things. I mean I feel like it's a story that would have thrived in a different form. Preferably one without pictures. I think it depends on the pictures and uses them as a handicap. It's like when a television show doesn't bother to fully explain something because you can SEE IT! Well I think these type of stories benefit from being forced to really tell their story and I think this is one of them.
The art in this book is beautiful. There are some really great insightful moments. There are some beautifully done literary references.
But the plot is poorly developed and basically unexplained. One character just magically suddenly understands things. I mean I feel like it's a story that would have thrived in a different form. Preferably one without pictures. I think it depends on the pictures and uses them as a handicap. It's like when a television show doesn't bother to fully explain something because you can SEE IT! Well I think these type of stories benefit from being forced to really tell their story and I think this is one of them.