paigicus's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
quailtea's review against another edition
5.0
This book was proudly handed to me by a kiwi friend as one of the top graphic novels in the world. And I did really love it- a compelling mystery, whimsical small town characters, overlaid story lines, gorgeous black line art. Still letting it simmer, but I'm definitely interested in learning more about what inspired the main story and setting.
haddocks_eyes's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
gregor's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
zorpblorp's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
rex_libris's review against another edition
5.0
The story feels larger than itself, there is a real sense you could push at the edges to find more, which made it a compelling and rich reading experience. It feels like there are more stories and details to discover if you just look again.
It took me a few attempts to read through. I found the meandering stories would through me, the story can feel disjointed and some threads just seem to fizzle out.
It took me a few attempts to read through. I found the meandering stories would through me, the story can feel disjointed and some threads just seem to fizzle out.
edgeworth's review against another edition
3.0
I’ve never been a fan of superheroes, which means in turn that I’ve never been a fan of comics, even though I like the art form. (It’s a pain in the ass to find acclaimed comics that don’t feature superheroes, although this Goodreads list is quite helpful.) Hicksville isn’t a superhero story, but it is a meta-work about superhero comics, following a journalist trying to trace the origin of a hugely successful cartoonist by travelling to his hometown of Hicksville in an obscure corner of New Zealand; an odd little place where everybody is obsessed with comics.
I can’t remember the last time I cracked out the Field of Dreams analogy, but it goes like this: you will never understand the love that certain people (always Americans or Canadians) have for the Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams unless you grew up playing baseball and have a deep and overwhelming sense of nostalgia about it. Hicksville works much the same way. I can see how a comics tragic would adore it. As an outsider I can look at it, and respect it, and didn’t feel it was a waste of my time; but I could easily tell that I wasn’t the target audience.
I can’t remember the last time I cracked out the Field of Dreams analogy, but it goes like this: you will never understand the love that certain people (always Americans or Canadians) have for the Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams unless you grew up playing baseball and have a deep and overwhelming sense of nostalgia about it. Hicksville works much the same way. I can see how a comics tragic would adore it. As an outsider I can look at it, and respect it, and didn’t feel it was a waste of my time; but I could easily tell that I wasn’t the target audience.
stephanievanriet's review against another edition
3.0
As I'm not a comic book expert, I think a lot of the content probably went over my head. Enjoyable nonetheless!
jakekilroy's review against another edition
4.0
What a sweet, goofball love letter to comics. Strangely fantastical yet grounded, with a heartfelt optimism to balance out its sense of inevitable cynicism that comes with art, the whole thing reads disjointed at first, or it did to me (though I was down for cruising all over the road), and then it starts to form a picture that you'd very much like to believe it, that there is this world somewhere. Comic shops are already something of a safe haven, so if there was a whole town like that on the other side of the world, fearlessly and furiously into an entire medium? Damn. It's hard not to fall into it with your arms behind you. Plus, it always helps when there's a total '90s villain and a big mystery attached.