alexperc_92's review against another edition
4.0
I received an e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Quick, badass and sexy this comic is a mash up of criminals, a good dose of love-at-first sight and money. Lots of it.
Quick, badass and sexy this comic is a mash up of criminals, a good dose of love-at-first sight and money. Lots of it.
jfictitional's review against another edition
1.0
This happened to come into the bookstore near me and I thought - sex and violence, why not? Turns out this could have used a few other things.
I'm not going to get into the plot because, honestly, there's hardly any at all. It takes the "love at first sight" trope and mixes it with a cops-and-robbers story where the line between right and wrong - not to mention any semblance of realism or logic - isn't blurred so much as shot full of holes and dumped on the side of the road. That might have worked if the characters were explored with more depth, or the whole thing didn't feel like it was only interested in the "meet-cute," as it were (the "Passion" is a bit more twisted than you might expect, but it really just amounts to the two leads being hot for each other all the time, because fate or whatever).
There are one or two interesting character angles that explain how terribly, terribly right the couple are for one another, but none of it amounts to much, and they're offset by some silly attempts to make the plot more complex than it is. I finished this expecting more, especially with an ending that is far too trite and predictable to be at all satisfying. If in fact there aren't going to be any more issues, this is little more than a shallow, contrived crime thriller that tries to skate by on sex and violence. I've not read James Robinson before, but it sounds like he's done much better than this - not that I'm encouraged to seek any of his work out.
I'm not going to get into the plot because, honestly, there's hardly any at all. It takes the "love at first sight" trope and mixes it with a cops-and-robbers story where the line between right and wrong - not to mention any semblance of realism or logic - isn't blurred so much as shot full of holes and dumped on the side of the road. That might have worked if the characters were explored with more depth, or the whole thing didn't feel like it was only interested in the "meet-cute," as it were (the "Passion" is a bit more twisted than you might expect, but it really just amounts to the two leads being hot for each other all the time, because fate or whatever).
There are one or two interesting character angles that explain how terribly, terribly right the couple are for one another, but none of it amounts to much, and they're offset by some silly attempts to make the plot more complex than it is. I finished this expecting more, especially with an ending that is far too trite and predictable to be at all satisfying. If in fact there aren't going to be any more issues, this is little more than a shallow, contrived crime thriller that tries to skate by on sex and violence. I've not read James Robinson before, but it sounds like he's done much better than this - not that I'm encouraged to seek any of his work out.
geesammy's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
unsquare's review against another edition
2.0
Grand Passion doesn’t begin to live up to its title. Instead, it tells a small-scale story that ends up feeling a bit dull.
The main characters are a cop and a bank robber who (we’re told) fall in love at first sight. Really, though, they fall into bed together and then get caught up in a shootout.
Most of the story takes place in a handful of locations over a very short amount of time, and everything wraps up at the end in a neat little bow. Of course, the ending only gives one of the characters what they want. The other has to make do with pretending to be someone else for the rest of their life.
Not only do we not get to know these characters before their story ends, we’re asked to believe that they have such incredible sexual chemistry that they are willing to forgo a lot of baggage to be together. I didn’t believe it for one second.
To top it all off, an unseen character who speaks in a distracting country dialect narrates the entire story. The author lays it on so thick at times that I wasn’t always sure what the narrator was saying.
The art is decent enough, but the story is totally forgettable. Grand Passion is the sort of crime narrative that Ed Brubaker could pull off in his sleep, but the execution here is uninspired.
Full disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from Netgalley. This review originally appeared at Full of Words.
The main characters are a cop and a bank robber who (we’re told) fall in love at first sight. Really, though, they fall into bed together and then get caught up in a shootout.
Most of the story takes place in a handful of locations over a very short amount of time, and everything wraps up at the end in a neat little bow. Of course, the ending only gives one of the characters what they want. The other has to make do with pretending to be someone else for the rest of their life.
Not only do we not get to know these characters before their story ends, we’re asked to believe that they have such incredible sexual chemistry that they are willing to forgo a lot of baggage to be together. I didn’t believe it for one second.
To top it all off, an unseen character who speaks in a distracting country dialect narrates the entire story. The author lays it on so thick at times that I wasn’t always sure what the narrator was saying.
The art is decent enough, but the story is totally forgettable. Grand Passion is the sort of crime narrative that Ed Brubaker could pull off in his sleep, but the execution here is uninspired.
Full disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from Netgalley. This review originally appeared at Full of Words.
toastx2's review against another edition
3.0
Grand Passion: A shitstorm of sex and bullets
Robinson/Feister's "Grand Passion" is a bit messy, sexy, confused, overbearing, insert ambiguous term here. I liked it/loved it, and while I cannot tell which is most accurate, it definitely landed on the positive end of the spectrum.
Grand Passion (James Robinson, Tom Feister)
120 pages
Dynamite Entertainment
ISBN-13: 978-1524103910
Successful bank robbers, Mabel and Steve are moving from disguise to disguise, bank to bank, state to state. They follow precise plans and processes, back up plans on backup plans all the way to the handgrenades on the car trunk. They seem invincible.
James "Mac" McNamara is a cop. After his wife's death, Mac transfers to the police force of small town nowheresville. He is not well accepted in the good ol boy network.
After a bank heist gunfight leaves a bullet from Mac's gun inside the head of Steve, Mabel makes a promise to exact revenge. The trouble is that during the gunfight that killed Mabel's partner, Mac fell instantly in love with her, and Mabel fell in love with him. Mabel is torn between her feelings of revenge and her desire to settle into the curve of his post-coital arms.
Coming back to town to murder Mac, Mabel is caught in the middle of a crooked police force lynching and has to team with the man she lives to survive. Blood, bullets, and the stink of sweaty sex are in the air, like a fragrant valentines bouquet.
This was a pretty solid read: six original single issues dropped into one graphic novel. The artwork was enjoyable and the story was definitely in an original vein I have not run across before. The break out of how the story is crafted is a real treat. There was a freshness to this 'good loves bad' noir scenario that was appreciated. Narration is performed by the same old man who narrated The Dukes of Hazard, which while nostalgic, I was glad was minimized.
Though not detractors from the story, there are some points which stuck out as less than genuine. No matter how enjoyable this work is, make sure you are wearing your suspension of disbelief goggles while you read this. The sexuality is overt and sometimes feels rushed/ham-fisted, like a high school wet dream. Some scenes feel timed wrong, like Mac and Mabel are in a space/time bubble and the rest of the world is on pause.
I find it fascinating that James is the author and James is Mac's first name.. Was this some form of fantasy brought to comic form? Or does he just like his own name? Nothing wrong with either scenario, just feels a little suspect.
--
Disclosure: Cheering up a naked Frenchman by painting a kitten on his belly with toenail polish is a fun pass time for some. For others, we prefer reading. This graphic novel was provided for review purposes by the publisher, the nature of how I received it did not impact my perception of the comic.
Robinson/Feister's "Grand Passion" is a bit messy, sexy, confused, overbearing, insert ambiguous term here. I liked it/loved it, and while I cannot tell which is most accurate, it definitely landed on the positive end of the spectrum.
Grand Passion (James Robinson, Tom Feister)
120 pages
Dynamite Entertainment
ISBN-13: 978-1524103910
Successful bank robbers, Mabel and Steve are moving from disguise to disguise, bank to bank, state to state. They follow precise plans and processes, back up plans on backup plans all the way to the handgrenades on the car trunk. They seem invincible.
James "Mac" McNamara is a cop. After his wife's death, Mac transfers to the police force of small town nowheresville. He is not well accepted in the good ol boy network.
After a bank heist gunfight leaves a bullet from Mac's gun inside the head of Steve, Mabel makes a promise to exact revenge. The trouble is that during the gunfight that killed Mabel's partner, Mac fell instantly in love with her, and Mabel fell in love with him. Mabel is torn between her feelings of revenge and her desire to settle into the curve of his post-coital arms.
Coming back to town to murder Mac, Mabel is caught in the middle of a crooked police force lynching and has to team with the man she lives to survive. Blood, bullets, and the stink of sweaty sex are in the air, like a fragrant valentines bouquet.
This was a pretty solid read: six original single issues dropped into one graphic novel. The artwork was enjoyable and the story was definitely in an original vein I have not run across before. The break out of how the story is crafted is a real treat. There was a freshness to this 'good loves bad' noir scenario that was appreciated. Narration is performed by the same old man who narrated The Dukes of Hazard, which while nostalgic, I was glad was minimized.
Though not detractors from the story, there are some points which stuck out as less than genuine. No matter how enjoyable this work is, make sure you are wearing your suspension of disbelief goggles while you read this. The sexuality is overt and sometimes feels rushed/ham-fisted, like a high school wet dream. Some scenes feel timed wrong, like Mac and Mabel are in a space/time bubble and the rest of the world is on pause.
I find it fascinating that James is the author and James is Mac's first name.. Was this some form of fantasy brought to comic form? Or does he just like his own name? Nothing wrong with either scenario, just feels a little suspect.
--
Disclosure: Cheering up a naked Frenchman by painting a kitten on his belly with toenail polish is a fun pass time for some. For others, we prefer reading. This graphic novel was provided for review purposes by the publisher, the nature of how I received it did not impact my perception of the comic.
alexandra_92's review against another edition
4.0
I received an e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Quick, badass and sexy this comic is a mash up of criminals, a good dose of love-at-first sight and money. Lots of it.
Quick, badass and sexy this comic is a mash up of criminals, a good dose of love-at-first sight and money. Lots of it.
yoda32's review against another edition
2.0
*received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*
Honestly I HATED this. Review soon.:)
Honestly I HATED this. Review soon.:)
lavalentinois's review
2.0
https://bookprejudice.wordpress.com/2017/07/16/james-robinson-grand-passion-review/
Grand Passion by James Robinson is an action, romance graphic novel following the love-at-the-first-sight of Mabel and Mac. They were polar opposites at the beginning of the graphic novel - he a well-behaved cop and she a half of a thieving duet.
I was not impressed with this graphic novel. I find it quite shallow and not well performed. The illustrations are average at most, nothing special or breathtaking about those. The characters are quite one-sided and not at all branched out. We know nothing about the main characters besides their undying love for one another before they even meet each other and how tough they both are. Yuck. I want to know what drives them, what they think about in the shower when the most bizarre thoughts hit them. I want to know what made them as tough as they claim to be and what could break their facades.
Taking everything in concern I can only say this - this graphic novel is average if not less. It had a hard time holding my attention since the plot was so basic. But the only thing I had a real problem with in this graphic novel was the insta-love. Why?
I warn you, there might be some spoilers in the remainder of the paragraph, but since it was publicised on the back cover I do not think I will reveal anything really spoilery.
The whole graphic novel is basically built around the love-at-the-first-sight, which I find quite weird. It was extremely unrealistic and I did not even understand the concept of thinking behind the idea of creating the love plotline the main plotline. I cringed every time the main two characters spoke of their feeling for one another since the dialogue was so badly written. Nothing could simply compensate for those things in my eyes.
I was sent this graphic novel in exchange for a review.
Grand Passion by James Robinson is an action, romance graphic novel following the love-at-the-first-sight of Mabel and Mac. They were polar opposites at the beginning of the graphic novel - he a well-behaved cop and she a half of a thieving duet.
I was not impressed with this graphic novel. I find it quite shallow and not well performed. The illustrations are average at most, nothing special or breathtaking about those. The characters are quite one-sided and not at all branched out. We know nothing about the main characters besides their undying love for one another before they even meet each other and how tough they both are. Yuck. I want to know what drives them, what they think about in the shower when the most bizarre thoughts hit them. I want to know what made them as tough as they claim to be and what could break their facades.
Taking everything in concern I can only say this - this graphic novel is average if not less. It had a hard time holding my attention since the plot was so basic. But the only thing I had a real problem with in this graphic novel was the insta-love. Why?
I warn you, there might be some spoilers in the remainder of the paragraph, but since it was publicised on the back cover I do not think I will reveal anything really spoilery.
The whole graphic novel is basically built around the love-at-the-first-sight, which I find quite weird. It was extremely unrealistic and I did not even understand the concept of thinking behind the idea of creating the love plotline the main plotline. I cringed every time the main two characters spoke of their feeling for one another since the dialogue was so badly written. Nothing could simply compensate for those things in my eyes.
I was sent this graphic novel in exchange for a review.
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