globosdepensamiento's review
4.0
New York, 1950s. In a post-war atmosphere that tries to remain hidden through appearances in order to forget past hardships, TVs can now be found in almost every household. Families gather around the warmth of the cathode tube, and those who cannot afford it approach their neighbors to enjoy whatever kind of audiovisual entertainment available.
As an evolution of radio serials, Americans enjoy all kinds of proto-TV series, albeit their very limited means, especially focused on science-fiction, such a buoyant genre in the film industry. Satellite Sam is one of them, the flagship of the LeMonde Television Network, whose main star, Carlyle White, has just been murdered in his apartment.
SEX! DEATH! LIVE TELEVISION!
All this and much more is SATELLITE SAM, by Fraction and Chaykin!
____________________________________
No presentation needed for the authors of the work at hand, as Howard V. Chaykin (born in 1950, precisely) is a living comics legend, more as an artist than as a writer, but famous for both aspects in his classic erotic hardboiled, Black Kiss, and the political satire with a sci-fi background, American Flagg!; and Matt Fritchman, aka. Matt Fraction, is well known today for his work at Marvel, with varied results, being Hawkeye (with David Aja) and The Invincible Iron Man (with Salvador Larroca) his most successful.
However, where Fraction is collecting highest praise is in the indie sector (or creator-owned, to be more accurate), starting with the cult favorite Casanova (with Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon) and reaching his latest hit, Sex Criminals (with Chip Zdarsky), one of the funniest comics I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading (and soon –stay tuned– reviewing). To this group belongs, obviously, Satellite Sam.
Despite its approach as a “mystery surrounding the authorship of a crime,” this is a period piece, so the main advantage this series can count on is precisely the setting of that period, something in what Chaykin has always shone, and Fraction has amply been amply documented (as seen in the Tumblr where he collected texts, somewhat risqué photographs, news and recordings of the time). Of course, all this is beautifully mirrored in the pages of the comic book, both in the detailed urban and interior backgrounds, as in the dress and forms of their characters.
In this first arc, in addition to presenting us the murder of Carlyle White and the investigation conducted by his own son, Michael, an alcoholic also working on the set of the “Satellite Sam” serial, we are witnesses to the living history of the USA and their television (despite the LeMonde Television Network being fictional). From behind the scenes of a television set of the time, to front row political skullduggery regarding favors and privileges over rival networks, all seasoned with the transition to the coaxial cable saying definite goodbye to radio waves.
A period piece, no doubt.
As I said, Howard Chaykin is used to recreate these period pieces and beautifully display traits of another era, making them feel genuine. Nevertheless, in this comic we find all of Chaykin’s tics, for better or for worse: brilliant close-ups of extremely expressive faces –but always reminiscent of previous works of the artist; appropriate page compositions –yet playing maybe too often with the repetition of images between panels; delightful combinations of period architecture and actual photographs to compose the backgrounds –sometimes overusing them to avoid drawing them; attention to detail in the drawn backgrounds and faces at short distances –but just scribbling some characters when they’re farther into the background.
As for the script, evidently, I’m not a reader versed in American history of the time; my notions of this era are only provided by films and it is clear that this must somehow affect the reading: no matter how good the writer, all the preparation and documentation conducted by him will be only partially reflected in the end result and often thrown at the reader’s face. Resorting to a paradigmatic example, even From Hell by Alan Moore requires several notes and a companion book to try and bring the reader to the overall picture of the work.
So, to the question “Does the writer do an adequate job for the reader to have an easy access to the material presented to him/her?”, the answer is “Yes and no”. In short, what happens to Satellite Sam is the same case with superhero comics: we can read any of them and fully understand the story, but we often find that are best enjoyed when the (damn) continuity is taken into account, since the set of stories experienced by these characters enrich the perception of the new one.
Here “continuity” would be History, literally, so uninitiated readers can hugely enjoy Satellite Sam, but maybe more if the scene is familiar in any way. Lacking that, rereading the comic will also help, given the choral nature that the series is gradually taking.
In conclusion, Satellite Sam is a provocative work in its packaging, with Howard Chaykin’s impressive ability to portray voluptuous women in their curvilinear erotic beauty (sex sells and Matt Fraction knows). Simple in its approach, with a tale that could’ve been taken from any pulp/noir novel of the time, but, above all, Satellite Sam is effective in its execution, giving us a remarkable entertainment that improves with every reading.
You will approach it for the scantily clad women…
…but you will stay for everything else.
[Originally published in Revering Comic Books]
thekarpuk's review
2.0
I've become a Matt Fraction fan over the past few years. His stories often have a massive ambition, but manage to stay grounded through solid characterization and snappy dialogue. On this book, however, I run into a problem.
The art style gives me a damn headache.
I do have a bit of a bias. My preferred comic book style runs closer to Sixth Gun, Saga, Invincible, or pretty much anything with clean, simplified lines. I like clarity in visual storytelling.
The old-school design of Satellite Sam has a constant busy quality, with overly tight panels, compositions, and line work that without color gives the impression of a sea of detail. The word bubble design doesn't help either, looking like their placement was more of an afterthought than a decision.
And oddly, the story doesn't seem to work in the aspects its aiming for. Seeing the world of early television from a insider perspective is compelling, but equal time is given to the sometimes lurid sex lives of the main characters, which I often found boring and lacking in the sort of characterization it was supposed to provide. The son of the dead actor, as an example, seems like he should be a window into this world, but he's mostly just a whiny drunk doing mediocre detective work for purposes that seem unrelatable.
It's a disappointment, but I can console myself in the fact that Fraction always seems to have about 4 projects going at once, so there's probably something for anyone's tastes.
The art style gives me a damn headache.
I do have a bit of a bias. My preferred comic book style runs closer to Sixth Gun, Saga, Invincible, or pretty much anything with clean, simplified lines. I like clarity in visual storytelling.
The old-school design of Satellite Sam has a constant busy quality, with overly tight panels, compositions, and line work that without color gives the impression of a sea of detail. The word bubble design doesn't help either, looking like their placement was more of an afterthought than a decision.
And oddly, the story doesn't seem to work in the aspects its aiming for. Seeing the world of early television from a insider perspective is compelling, but equal time is given to the sometimes lurid sex lives of the main characters, which I often found boring and lacking in the sort of characterization it was supposed to provide. The son of the dead actor, as an example, seems like he should be a window into this world, but he's mostly just a whiny drunk doing mediocre detective work for purposes that seem unrelatable.
It's a disappointment, but I can console myself in the fact that Fraction always seems to have about 4 projects going at once, so there's probably something for anyone's tastes.
torywestside's review
1.0
I found the artwork in this book to be very confusing. It was very hard to tell the difference between most of the male characters, and while the black and white style gave an excellent noir feeling to the artwork, it really didn't help. The style of the word bubbles added to the confusion, I felt it often wasn't clear who was speaking at any given point in time, and bubbles appeared to be connected across panels at times when it was not appropriate.
I also didn't really understand the motivations of any of the characters until after I read the bios that were grouped at the end of the book, which originally were released with each individual issue of the comic. In a letter at the end of the book Fraction wrote that someone reading the story in a condensed format rather than monthly shouldn't need the bios to accompany each issue, but I felt like the writing and story were so nebulous that it would have been helpful. It wouldn't have made a difference aesthetically or in terms of page number, so I'm not really sure what the reasoning was there. I didn't fully understand what had happened in the book until after I read them.
The premise is excellent and interesting enough that I almost want to keep reading, but I just don't think I could slog my way through another volume. Just not a book for me.
I also didn't really understand the motivations of any of the characters until after I read the bios that were grouped at the end of the book, which originally were released with each individual issue of the comic. In a letter at the end of the book Fraction wrote that someone reading the story in a condensed format rather than monthly shouldn't need the bios to accompany each issue, but I felt like the writing and story were so nebulous that it would have been helpful. It wouldn't have made a difference aesthetically or in terms of page number, so I'm not really sure what the reasoning was there. I didn't fully understand what had happened in the book until after I read them.
The premise is excellent and interesting enough that I almost want to keep reading, but I just don't think I could slog my way through another volume. Just not a book for me.
lora_dolly's review
1.0
The storyline was probably more like 3 stars, but the art was like -5 so we'll call it 1 star. I could not tell the dudes apart at all, so I ended up being confused more often than not.
jonathanwlodarski's review
3.0
I'm not really sure what's going on? Also not a fan of the artwork?
2.5/5
2.5/5
mikekaz's review
3.0
I'm not sure why but this graphic novel didn't really do much for me. It was an enjoyable read but that's about it. It didn't suck; it just wasn't that positive. Considering everything, it really should have been great. Amazing art by Howard Chaykin. Solid writing by Matt Fraction. Subject matter that involves TV, sex, murder and a mystery that makes you think as opposed to being handed to you. However, I kept finding myself dreading reading it instead of looking forward to it. And unfortunately I'm happier to be done with the graphic novel than I was when reading it. I hate when this happens because I like other things that Fraction and Chaykin have worked on. This time though, ... And I can't quite put my finger on why. It just didn't do it for me.
lawrenwithaw's review
I'm not sure about this one. The men behind this book are obviously masters of the craft, but something falls flat here.
This is my first Chaykin book, but his experience shows. I love the amount of detail he puts into his work, but it felt cluttered at points. You can tell this was intentional by the amount of speech bubbles and the hurried atmosphere of the station, but I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters being thrown at me.
The other thing worth mentioning that shouldn't surprise you if you've seen any of the covers to this series is the portrayal of women. Fraction has shown the ability to write about female sexuality with great understanding in his book Sex Criminals, so when paired up with someone who draws smut as well as Chaykin, I was expecting some sort of commentary or spin on the subject and I received none. To be fair, this book was so tightly woven that there wasn't room for that sort of commentary. They may get around to it in the next book, but it doesn't look like that the direction they want to go.
The style, atmosphere, themes and setting are all very interesting to me and I wish I was able to go more in depth, but I very much feel like I'm reviewing the opening chapter of a story.
This is my first Chaykin book, but his experience shows. I love the amount of detail he puts into his work, but it felt cluttered at points. You can tell this was intentional by the amount of speech bubbles and the hurried atmosphere of the station, but I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters being thrown at me.
The other thing worth mentioning that shouldn't surprise you if you've seen any of the covers to this series is the portrayal of women. Fraction has shown the ability to write about female sexuality with great understanding in his book Sex Criminals, so when paired up with someone who draws smut as well as Chaykin, I was expecting some sort of commentary or spin on the subject and I received none. To be fair, this book was so tightly woven that there wasn't room for that sort of commentary. They may get around to it in the next book, but it doesn't look like that the direction they want to go.
The style, atmosphere, themes and setting are all very interesting to me and I wish I was able to go more in depth, but I very much feel like I'm reviewing the opening chapter of a story.
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