ostrava's review against another edition
5.0
A bit different than some of his usual stuff. I love how sketchy and inconclusive most stories are here. Maybe not his strongest work but Jason is one of the all time best for me. Has that spark, you know?
trapdoor's review against another edition
3.0
Jacqueline Lee Kennedy is a lizard person!
i loved the art design & the monsters.
i loved the art design & the monsters.
strawberryteeth's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
al_capwned's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Oh, no! Those short stories were so funny and absurd but the last one was so sad...
ikovski's review against another edition
3.0
Overall it was ok. More like 2.5 stars.
Stories or pictures includes Magritte, Godot, Reptilians, Nostradamus, Castro, Kennedy and Monroe... I couldn't realize the hitman was Frida Kahlo but this story reminded me Nirvana's song (so at the end I couldn't understand tf point). (There are other people and elements I'm not familiar with.) This is what I liked most about the book. The idea of telling in your own POV of pop culture, conspiracy theories is good, but still something is missing, stories was hard to fathom. They are too short to judge, maybe, but this shortness is the reason of not making sense.
Stories or pictures includes Magritte, Godot, Reptilians, Nostradamus, Castro, Kennedy and Monroe... I couldn't realize the hitman was Frida Kahlo but this story reminded me Nirvana's song (so at the end I couldn't understand tf point). (There are other people and elements I'm not familiar with.) This is what I liked most about the book. The idea of telling in your own POV of pop culture, conspiracy theories is good, but still something is missing, stories was hard to fathom. They are too short to judge, maybe, but this shortness is the reason of not making sense.
nycterisberna's review against another edition
4.0
Soy una gran fan del trabajo de Jason. Todos sus cómics hasta ahora resultan ser una clase de cómo manejar los silencios en el cómic, usar saltos temporales como si nada, hacer expresivas situaciones donde los personajes tienen los mismos gestos (o se parecen mucho) y lograr que situaciones absurdas usando personajes reales (en este caso Chet Baker o el Santo) sean emotivas.
punkstronomer's review against another edition
4.0
Como en Carver, las historias se construyen en partes iguales a partir de lo que se dice y lo que no se dice. Maestría absoluta del fuera de campo.
tmaluck's review against another edition
3.0
Mixed bag of short stories, but there's still plenty of cleverness on display and Jason fans should definitely check this out.
levitybooks's review against another edition
3.0
Jason's weakest collection: too inconsistent to be as good as 'Almost Silent', clearly worse than 'Low Moon', and far from the brilliance of 'What I Did'.
In comparison to his individually published stories, this is about as good as 'Athos in America' and 'The Last Musketeer', but far worse than others like 'Why Are You Doing This', 'Hey Wait', and 'The Left Bank Gang'...
The general weakness is that many of these stories are jokes based on references to modern history and pop culture that are underdeveloped, which he clearly knows how to do well given how good 'I Killed Adolf Hitler' is.
Here's a run down:
-------
If You Steal - 4/5
Best, as with more work this could have been a good single issue story. Too complex to be so condensed!
Karma Chameleon - 4/5
One of the funniest Jason comics I can remember.
Waiting for Bardot - 2/5
Missing the tension between those waiting as in Waiting for Godot, and the joke was too hurried.
Lorena Valazquez - 3/5
Funny message, but did we need that much fighting?!
New Face - 3/5
This absolutely feels like a B-side of If You Steal, taking an alternative approach to unreliable narration. It fails to connect emotionally though.
Moondance - n/a
Covers for graphic novels, serves as an intermission.
Night of the Vampire Hunter - 2/5
Having the heart in a doll is probably a reference I didn't get, but other than that nothing to see here.
Polly Wants A Cracker - 3/5
Adding a monobrow and making the bird a parrot didn't make Polly Wants a Cracker a meaningful or obvious reference to Frida Kahlo. The story was good anyway!
The Thrill is Gone - 2/5
Implying that this Chet Baker song is about when he got beaten up for heroin is interesting, but making him play the trumpet after it when in reality he couldn't play the trumpet any more didn't make sense. The story made no sense without the reference.
Ask Not - 2/5
Making the assassination of JFK by time travelling lizard people may have been interesting had it not been so long and relying so much on readers knowing events and people.
Nothing - 4/5
Third best in the collection, a harrowing simulation of late stage dementia, definitely should have been used for a bigger story!
---------
In comparison to his individually published stories, this is about as good as 'Athos in America' and 'The Last Musketeer', but far worse than others like 'Why Are You Doing This', 'Hey Wait', and 'The Left Bank Gang'...
The general weakness is that many of these stories are jokes based on references to modern history and pop culture that are underdeveloped, which he clearly knows how to do well given how good 'I Killed Adolf Hitler' is.
Here's a run down:
-------
If You Steal - 4/5
Best, as with more work this could have been a good single issue story. Too complex to be so condensed!
Karma Chameleon - 4/5
One of the funniest Jason comics I can remember.
Waiting for Bardot - 2/5
Missing the tension between those waiting as in Waiting for Godot, and the joke was too hurried.
Lorena Valazquez - 3/5
Funny message, but did we need that much fighting?!
New Face - 3/5
This absolutely feels like a B-side of If You Steal, taking an alternative approach to unreliable narration. It fails to connect emotionally though.
Moondance - n/a
Covers for graphic novels, serves as an intermission.
Night of the Vampire Hunter - 2/5
Having the heart in a doll is probably a reference I didn't get, but other than that nothing to see here.
Polly Wants A Cracker - 3/5
Adding a monobrow and making the bird a parrot didn't make Polly Wants a Cracker a meaningful or obvious reference to Frida Kahlo. The story was good anyway!
The Thrill is Gone - 2/5
Implying that this Chet Baker song is about when he got beaten up for heroin is interesting, but making him play the trumpet after it when in reality he couldn't play the trumpet any more didn't make sense. The story made no sense without the reference.
Ask Not - 2/5
Making the assassination of JFK by time travelling lizard people may have been interesting had it not been so long and relying so much on readers knowing events and people.
Nothing - 4/5
Third best in the collection, a harrowing simulation of late stage dementia, definitely should have been used for a bigger story!
---------
starnosedmole's review against another edition
3.0
The vignette modeled after Waiting for Godot was my favorite in this collection. Some stories were more cohesive than others, but Jason's wit and mastery of pacing still shine through.