rebus's review against another edition
0.5
I'm a fairly big Grant Morrison fan and only recently a fan of Sean Murphy, so I finally gave this unappealing (to me) little volume a shot. I hate to say it, but it's just about as awful as I'd imagined.
Of course the stereotypical precocious and tortured artist would believe that every school is full of predictable and cliched people, even if Joe himself is just as predictable and cliched (worse, the artist types all come from the upper middle class, believe they are actually poor, and are often deriding the bullies who come from the lowest part of the underclass, even if said bullies are really just fighting back). He seems to have some strange love for his absent father, a sociopath who served in the military and seems to have died of his own stupidity. Let's please stop thanking these people for their 'service' to the corporations that steal most of the world's resources and murder our black and brown slaves, shall we?
Morrison and Murphy are perfect partners in this book because they suffer pretty extreme cases of white privilege (read: white supremacism) and believe they are the rare folks who pulled themselves up from their own bootstraps (Grant's work has become increasingly bad since his surreal heyday in the early 90s). Playtown is clearly a place where modern avatar kids of white privilege dwell, a small fantasy realm inside the vast loft that is part of the opulent home that his mother is (allegedly) about to lose. It's the backdrop for an epic quest, the most lame form of white privilege literature, second only to the concept of 'world building' in terms of the insipidness of modern culture, and it's easily the worst thing Morrison has ever penned, much of the plot stolen from the only great piece of fantasy I've ever read: the Thomas Covenant tales by Stephen R. Donaldson.
Yes, it's pretty pathetic that they turn a single hypoglycemic episode requiring a mere trip downstairs into an epic tale, replete with the plucky band of 'heroes' to aid the tale's hero. We might suggest that it exists only due to bad parenting and Joe's failure to make sure that he has sugary snacks at hand at all times (learning late in the tale that the 'bullies' had stolen his snacks was almost as maddening as trying to figure out how each part of the house is one of the fantasy realms in 'Playtown'). Any kid with a severe condition like this would have known they were rifling through his backpack and refilled it as soon as he got home, instead of immediately acting depressed and retreating to the fantasy realm of his loft.
Murphy has a few irritating technical tics, such as using actual words like 'drop' for action taking place visually, instead of the more onomatopoeiatic sound effects used by most artists. It was equally irritating that Morrison gave every villain harsh sounding names with the letter 'K' in them. The constant repeated trope about the 'mother of invention' was also grating, as I'd imagine Morrison never listened to Zappa.
The upshot is that if you're in hypoglycemic shock or nearing diabetic coma, don't fall prey to your hallucinatory psychosis and enter the fantasy world of your avatar. Just get a damn soda.
Utterly boring and full of white privilege, even if the art is up to Murphy's usual spectacular standard.
Of course the stereotypical precocious and tortured artist would believe that every school is full of predictable and cliched people, even if Joe himself is just as predictable and cliched (worse, the artist types all come from the upper middle class, believe they are actually poor, and are often deriding the bullies who come from the lowest part of the underclass, even if said bullies are really just fighting back). He seems to have some strange love for his absent father, a sociopath who served in the military and seems to have died of his own stupidity. Let's please stop thanking these people for their 'service' to the corporations that steal most of the world's resources and murder our black and brown slaves, shall we?
Morrison and Murphy are perfect partners in this book because they suffer pretty extreme cases of white privilege (read: white supremacism) and believe they are the rare folks who pulled themselves up from their own bootstraps (Grant's work has become increasingly bad since his surreal heyday in the early 90s). Playtown is clearly a place where modern avatar kids of white privilege dwell, a small fantasy realm inside the vast loft that is part of the opulent home that his mother is (allegedly) about to lose. It's the backdrop for an epic quest, the most lame form of white privilege literature, second only to the concept of 'world building' in terms of the insipidness of modern culture, and it's easily the worst thing Morrison has ever penned, much of the plot stolen from the only great piece of fantasy I've ever read: the Thomas Covenant tales by Stephen R. Donaldson.
Yes, it's pretty pathetic that they turn a single hypoglycemic episode requiring a mere trip downstairs into an epic tale, replete with the plucky band of 'heroes' to aid the tale's hero. We might suggest that it exists only due to bad parenting and Joe's failure to make sure that he has sugary snacks at hand at all times (learning late in the tale that the 'bullies' had stolen his snacks was almost as maddening as trying to figure out how each part of the house is one of the fantasy realms in 'Playtown'). Any kid with a severe condition like this would have known they were rifling through his backpack and refilled it as soon as he got home, instead of immediately acting depressed and retreating to the fantasy realm of his loft.
Murphy has a few irritating technical tics, such as using actual words like 'drop' for action taking place visually, instead of the more onomatopoeiatic sound effects used by most artists. It was equally irritating that Morrison gave every villain harsh sounding names with the letter 'K' in them. The constant repeated trope about the 'mother of invention' was also grating, as I'd imagine Morrison never listened to Zappa.
The upshot is that if you're in hypoglycemic shock or nearing diabetic coma, don't fall prey to your hallucinatory psychosis and enter the fantasy world of your avatar. Just get a damn soda.
Utterly boring and full of white privilege, even if the art is up to Murphy's usual spectacular standard.
shksprsis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
pumpkinpierecipe's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
5.0
snailinbar's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
cried like a very sad man bc of rats i miss my rats)
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Bullying, and Blood
shibosan's review against another edition
4.0
Очередная история ребенка - попаданца в сказочный мир, где он оказывается тем самым Избранным, который должен победить Страшное Зло, порабощающее волшебные земли. Но есть нюанс.
Попаданец - школьник-диабетик Джо, которого которого накрыло приступом гипогликемии, он один-одинешек (не считая ручной крысы Джека) беспомощный в пустом доме, где из-за грозы выбило пробки, и все приключения в другом мире - галлюцинации, вызванные болезнью. Или нет? И он действительно живет в двух мирах, и если не спасет сказочный мир, то Страшное Зло проникнет и в его родной мир? Одни из остающихся после прочтения вопросов, как и "почему никто за эти годы не перевернул фотографию"?
Сначала, прочитав синопсис, недовольно скривился - очередная экзотизация и фетишизация болезни, обычно так любят делать с ментальными заболеваниями. Но в процессе прочтения недовольство незаметно ушло, история очень неплоха, а арт Шона Мерфи делает ее еще лучше, ему отлично удалось передать эти порожденные детским воображением безумные пейзажи и панорамы. Повествование сумбурно перескакивает из одного мира в другой, очень уместно передавая горячечное состояние главного героя, персонажи попадают из одной передряги в другую, обрастая своим Братством Кольца по пути к завершению квеста. А мальчик-попаданец вынужден решать, что важнее - спасти себя в реальном мире или спасти всех в мире своих галлюцинаций.
Прочитал, что права на экранизацию были проданы. Интересно, что с ними сейчас.
ЗЫ. 3,5 плюс дополнительные полбалла за крысу в числе главных героев.
Попаданец - школьник-диабетик Джо, которого которого накрыло приступом гипогликемии, он один-одинешек (не считая ручной крысы Джека) беспомощный в пустом доме, где из-за грозы выбило пробки, и все приключения в другом мире - галлюцинации, вызванные болезнью. Или нет? И он действительно живет в двух мирах, и если не спасет сказочный мир, то Страшное Зло проникнет и в его родной мир? Одни из остающихся после прочтения вопросов, как и "почему никто за эти годы не перевернул фотографию"?
Сначала, прочитав синопсис, недовольно скривился - очередная экзотизация и фетишизация болезни, обычно так любят делать с ментальными заболеваниями. Но в процессе прочтения недовольство незаметно ушло, история очень неплоха, а арт Шона Мерфи делает ее еще лучше, ему отлично удалось передать эти порожденные детским воображением безумные пейзажи и панорамы. Повествование сумбурно перескакивает из одного мира в другой, очень уместно передавая горячечное состояние главного героя, персонажи попадают из одной передряги в другую, обрастая своим Братством Кольца по пути к завершению квеста. А мальчик-попаданец вынужден решать, что важнее - спасти себя в реальном мире или спасти всех в мире своих галлюцинаций.
Прочитал, что права на экранизацию были проданы. Интересно, что с ними сейчас.
ЗЫ. 3,5 плюс дополнительные полбалла за крысу в числе главных героев.
mferrante83's review against another edition
5.0
I think that Grant Morrison should really just have his own comic imprint. The man is a wellfont of ideas and stories that are either mind blowingly bizzare and often just plain cool. 2011 miniseries Joe the Barbarian is actually one of Morrison’s tamer ideas but still an elegant and moving story. Joe is a type 1 diabetic whose father died in Iraq and his mother is struggling to make ends meet and to make matters worse he is bullied at school and his class is going to a field trip to Arlington National Cemetery; a poignant reminder of his father’s death. Circumstance and bullying during this field trip lead to a hiccup in Joe’s habbits and by the time he is home finds himself slipping into a state of severe hypoglycemia. In this state Joe slips into a fantasy world made up of childhood hopes and memories where he is the expected savior. Or is it? The fantasy world of Joe’s mind is made up not only of his own memories but of his own hopes, fears, expectations, as well as the very real knowledge that death might be coming if he doesn’t get help soon. Joe the Barbarian is a wonderful story and Morrison’s writing along with Sean Murhpy’s ability to lend a touch of reality to surreal left me on the edge of my seat in a fear and apprehension for Joe’s life.
ethandm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.75
if_you_give_a_mouse_a_prozac's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dawnoftheread's review against another edition
4.0
http://www.unshelved.com/bookclub/2013-5-17#9781401237479
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
Well. Hmm. That was pretty crazy. Amazing art. Fantastical world with the Wizard of Oz everyday bleeding into the dream. Super over the top but very cool. So most of this doesn't make direct sense. But it makes a lot more sense then say The Incal. 3.5 of 5.