mattcheu's review
4.0
Over time I can see this series having an enthralling story with character you latch to and others you wish the worst for. The issue I found was that this first volume takes 90 percent of the time setting the stage and introducing the cast of characters, but not enough time giving you a strong story arc and a purpose to the characters. So by the end my interest was peaked but I don’t have enough to desire to push forward. The presentation was great and the art was dark and sinister matching the story’s tone perfectly. If I was given more story to sink my teeth into I think I would feel compelled to push forward immediate. For now I will shelve the second volume and possibly come back to it on a rainy day.
ugmug's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent volume of Black Monday Murders. Here, Hickman provides answers to questions held over from the previous volume, but he introduces an equal amount of uncertainty. Riveting stuff. The art is also gorgeous. Characters are rendered as realistically as can be expected with facial expressions perfectly matching the tone of the scene. Also everything heavily shadowed, creating a bleak and creepy atmosphere. This is a fantastic comic. All hail Mammon.
ostrava's review
5.0
What a weird ass fucking comic. So, it couldn't be more explicit in its overall opinion of the financial market, but to make a comic book depicting them as satan worshippers who eat babies in their free time is bizarre.
But this is fiction and not reality so we're allowed to get a bit crazy. And through the sher craziness I feel like a lot is said on how power works in our world, the value and nature of money and the human psyche of those who worshipp it and pile it up as if they were dragons.
It does feel like a charitable portrait of the type of psychopaths that rule us, similar to serial killer stories that show them as cunning and charming people when most of them are asocial clowns with no interesting opinions whatsoever. Because that's what unempathetic people are: uninteresting. But their stories aren't and don't we all have a bit of morbidity inside of us? I have it as I'm the intended audience for these stories. It's intriguing from start to finish and I am officially hooked. I'll have to admit it, I enjoyed the craziness but I do wonder where the author will take it from here...
But this is fiction and not reality so we're allowed to get a bit crazy. And through the sher craziness I feel like a lot is said on how power works in our world, the value and nature of money and the human psyche of those who worshipp it and pile it up as if they were dragons.
It does feel like a charitable portrait of the type of psychopaths that rule us, similar to serial killer stories that show them as cunning and charming people when most of them are asocial clowns with no interesting opinions whatsoever. Because that's what unempathetic people are: uninteresting. But their stories aren't and don't we all have a bit of morbidity inside of us? I have it as I'm the intended audience for these stories. It's intriguing from start to finish and I am officially hooked. I'll have to admit it, I enjoyed the craziness but I do wonder where the author will take it from here...
ostrava's review against another edition
5.0
This story is fucking nuts. It's somebody who read the words "money is a manifestation of power in our world" and decided to take it as literally as possible, and the results are Lovecraft the Comrade.
Seriously don't understand the complaints, this is awesome lol. But is this thing finished or not? I would assume it's not and that its last arch was abandoned but I'm strangely satisfied with this point of the story. Maybe I'll go back and check it out to see if it's done in the future, and I'll most likely come back for the author.
Seriously don't understand the complaints, this is awesome lol. But is this thing finished or not? I would assume it's not and that its last arch was abandoned but I'm strangely satisfied with this point of the story. Maybe I'll go back and check it out to see if it's done in the future, and I'll most likely come back for the author.
sizrobe's review against another edition
5.0
More drama around the satanic capital elite. There's an encounter with The Fed that's the creepiest thing I've read in a good while.
misterfix's review against another edition
3.0
Volume One was fantastic, fulfilling so many of my dream comic qualities including an intriguing story that involves politics, economics, supernatural, horror, crime with gorgeous and unique artwork (reminds me of Alex Maleev) and a distinct and appropriate color scheme and lettering style, YET the ending! What the...?!
I don't mind when comics leave things open ended with the intention of continuing the story so long as there is some closure to the tale they have endeavored to tell BUT when there is a false resolution then I get angry. For example, recently I completed Secret Weapons and this is an example where the ending clearly established that there would be opportunities to return to this world for more stories, however I was satisfied as the questions the series raised had been answered. That is not the case with The Black Monday Murders. I do not want to include spoilers but suffice to say the ending felt like the end of any other issue of the series.
I am not aware of any plans for when/if Kirkman will continue and this makes the series all the more infuriating. My suggestion is hold off on reading this series until the next one is complete and you have reviewed to see how that one leaves things.
Grrrrrrrr.
I don't mind when comics leave things open ended with the intention of continuing the story so long as there is some closure to the tale they have endeavored to tell BUT when there is a false resolution then I get angry. For example, recently I completed Secret Weapons and this is an example where the ending clearly established that there would be opportunities to return to this world for more stories, however I was satisfied as the questions the series raised had been answered. That is not the case with The Black Monday Murders. I do not want to include spoilers but suffice to say the ending felt like the end of any other issue of the series.
I am not aware of any plans for when/if Kirkman will continue and this makes the series all the more infuriating. My suggestion is hold off on reading this series until the next one is complete and you have reviewed to see how that one leaves things.
Grrrrrrrr.
lookhome's review against another edition
3.0
The Black Monday Murders is a graphic novel brimming with ideas, filled with vast concepts and large, far flung conspiracies.
While the world the reader was introduced to in the first volume continues to grow and expand, so does the filler (5 consecutive pages of single line e-mails, really???)
There's a definite growing concern that this may be an overly stylized take on the ancient tale of Mammon. Greed is not a new topic of discussion.
Gordon Gecko and Patrick Bateman were both absorbed into our culture hive minds over 20 years ago, needless to say the many religions and folk tales (faust included) that decry Greed and the fate of those human beings that whose lives revolve around the accumulation of wealth.
There's still lots of potential here but it needs some tightening.
For some reason I do feel comparisons could be made to the beginning of Donna Tartt's Secret History. However, why that is escapes me at the moment ....
While the world the reader was introduced to in the first volume continues to grow and expand, so does the filler (5 consecutive pages of single line e-mails, really???)
There's a definite growing concern that this may be an overly stylized take on the ancient tale of Mammon. Greed is not a new topic of discussion.
Gordon Gecko and Patrick Bateman were both absorbed into our culture hive minds over 20 years ago, needless to say the many religions and folk tales (faust included) that decry Greed and the fate of those human beings that whose lives revolve around the accumulation of wealth.
There's still lots of potential here but it needs some tightening.
For some reason I do feel comparisons could be made to the beginning of Donna Tartt's Secret History. However, why that is escapes me at the moment ....
crookedtreehouse's review
3.0
I'm a massive fan of Jonathan Hickman. While many comic book writers introduce you to some characters in peril, and then you watch them get out of it, Hickman is more likely to throw a wall of text and symbols at you, weave a plot that you need an outline to understand, hands you said outline, and then presumes you will follow the story to its end. When it works: The Nightly News, The Fantastic Four, The Avengers/New Avengers, Transhuman, and East Of West (so far), it's some of the best comicing you can hope for. And when he misses the mark: God Is Dead, Red Mass From Mars, and The Manhattan Projects, it's usually at least interesting for a while.
For me, it's too early to tell whether or not this is going to be any good. It's a super-convoluted story about the generations of families who run Wall Street through magic and sacrifice. There are family trees and time lines to help you follow how people are related to each other and their station in the magical hierarchy. At times, it doesn't feel like enough. But some times it feels like it doesn't matter.
At it's heart, this is your story of corporate greed and backstabbing amped up to 37 out of 10. It's culty. It's dire. And its art is gritty, which is a word I usually only use to describe terrible '90s DC comics, but here it works. It doesn't look like any other Hickman book, despite its similar iconography.
I'd recommend this for someone looking for a dense comic that you have to read and reread to fully appreciate. I just can't promise it will pay off in the end. But I felt that way about Hickman's Fantastic Four run, and was happy to discover that everything wrapped up neatly and satisfactorily.
For me, it's too early to tell whether or not this is going to be any good. It's a super-convoluted story about the generations of families who run Wall Street through magic and sacrifice. There are family trees and time lines to help you follow how people are related to each other and their station in the magical hierarchy. At times, it doesn't feel like enough. But some times it feels like it doesn't matter.
At it's heart, this is your story of corporate greed and backstabbing amped up to 37 out of 10. It's culty. It's dire. And its art is gritty, which is a word I usually only use to describe terrible '90s DC comics, but here it works. It doesn't look like any other Hickman book, despite its similar iconography.
I'd recommend this for someone looking for a dense comic that you have to read and reread to fully appreciate. I just can't promise it will pay off in the end. But I felt that way about Hickman's Fantastic Four run, and was happy to discover that everything wrapped up neatly and satisfactorily.
usethesidedoor's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
srgower's review
4.0
Interesting read. A bit disjointed at times and hard to follow but now I want to see what's after chapter 4.