dame_samara's review
2.0
Content Warning: Abortion, Abusive Relationships, Castration, Female Genital Mutilation, Gun Violence, Referenced Drug Use and Overdose, Characters being Drugged, Kidnapping, References to Prostitution, Racism, Torture, Transphobia, and the one thing that is implied by the content warning Sexual Assault.
Heads up! This Book is also 1 of 2!
Let's start from the beginning, I think that they did themselves a disservice with the cover design, especially as it doesn't really represent the art style that is contained within the book. Which I guess is also a boon as this book is in no way marketed for anything other then a Mature Audience.
I liked the premise of this book, I haven't read A Picture of Dorian Gray, but lines in Net Galley's synopsis like "white men don’t always win, how the powerless can find justice, and about how a murderous demon and a law-abiding detective can be soul mates." had me hooked. what I took for granted was the "violent fantasy" part earlier in that same sentence.
This gave me the same feeling that watching clips from Saw does, violence for violence sake. Especially later in the book, upon my initial read through my brain unconsciously had me skim over a page, but I ended up going back having realized I didn't know what happened to that dude. I have REGRETS, that image will be haunting me at least for the rest of the day, quite possibly for the rest of my life. (Additional Content Warning for Possible Animal Abuse? Like what the fuck was that.)
I am all for Morally Gray characters, this crossed that line. It didn't even really feel cathartic in the way that revenge stories often do. And I have to wonder if some of that comes from the fact that this is a man writing a story about Women's Revenge.
Heads up! This Book is also 1 of 2!
Let's start from the beginning, I think that they did themselves a disservice with the cover design, especially as it doesn't really represent the art style that is contained within the book. Which I guess is also a boon as this book is in no way marketed for anything other then a Mature Audience.
I liked the premise of this book, I haven't read A Picture of Dorian Gray, but lines in Net Galley's synopsis like "white men don’t always win, how the powerless can find justice, and about how a murderous demon and a law-abiding detective can be soul mates." had me hooked. what I took for granted was the "violent fantasy" part earlier in that same sentence.
This gave me the same feeling that watching clips from Saw does, violence for violence sake. Especially later in the book, upon my initial read through my brain unconsciously had me skim over a page, but I ended up going back having realized I didn't know what happened to that dude. I have REGRETS, that image will be haunting me at least for the rest of the day, quite possibly for the rest of my life. (Additional Content Warning for Possible Animal Abuse? Like what the fuck was that.)
I am all for Morally Gray characters, this crossed that line. It didn't even really feel cathartic in the way that revenge stories often do. And I have to wonder if some of that comes from the fact that this is a man writing a story about Women's Revenge.
jordanisreading's review
3.0
I was sent an Advance Reader's Edition of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.
As someone who hasn't read many graphic novels before, this was a pleasant surprise for me! I enjoyed the retelling aspect of this story (Gray is a retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray, one of my favourite classics) and I loved the range of interesting characters.
This retelling has a strong feminist slant, with much of this first Volume focused on two women's antics of revenge. A supernatural revenge thriller, Gray takes the original story and reinvents it for the modern era of #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter. I enjoyed it greatly and recommend visiting the Kickstarter page to anyone who wants to read this too, or is interested in the audio version currently being produced.
As someone who hasn't read many graphic novels before, this was a pleasant surprise for me! I enjoyed the retelling aspect of this story (Gray is a retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray, one of my favourite classics) and I loved the range of interesting characters.
This retelling has a strong feminist slant, with much of this first Volume focused on two women's antics of revenge. A supernatural revenge thriller, Gray takes the original story and reinvents it for the modern era of #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter. I enjoyed it greatly and recommend visiting the Kickstarter page to anyone who wants to read this too, or is interested in the audio version currently being produced.
ash_hernick's review
2.0
No. Just... no.
I can't easily articulate everything that I disliked or found uncomfortable about this work, but there were definitely a lot of aspects that were either poorly executed or articulated in a very messy way. I can kind of understand where "Gray" was trying to go in its political commentary, but I think it tried to cover too many complex subjects in a short period of time, and instead of coming across as witty, groundbreaking, or at the very least educational, it just felt messy and occasionally offensive.
The absolute worst part of the entire book is when Gray has Detective Wutan stripped naked and tied down and Gray explains that she's not valued under the constitution, but he is because he's at least seen as "three-fifths of a man". This was awful - I can't tell if it's supposed to be a sarcastic comment reminding the reader of the three-fifths clause or if it's actually played completely straight as a statement of fact, but either way it feels messy and offensive. Invoking the Three-Fifths Compromise as a witty gotcha moment feels deeply tone-deaf for a book that is trying so hard to be completely "woke." There were quite a few moments that read similarly to this one, and they all left me with the same gross feeling.
Even ignoring all of this, "Gray" isn't even a good adaptation of Wilde's works. It sure isn't an apt adaptation of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and if it's supposed to emulate his other works it's too messy to make any meaningful sense.
It was frustrating because I was actually pretty excited for this book - the premise sounded both intriguing and promising, and I pre-ordered my copy. All that being said, the potential of the premise was wasted. Though I was trying to like this book the entire time I read it, the more I read, the more I hated this book.
Overall, this was an insulting mess. The art wasn't that good, either.
I can't easily articulate everything that I disliked or found uncomfortable about this work, but there were definitely a lot of aspects that were either poorly executed or articulated in a very messy way. I can kind of understand where "Gray" was trying to go in its political commentary, but I think it tried to cover too many complex subjects in a short period of time, and instead of coming across as witty, groundbreaking, or at the very least educational, it just felt messy and occasionally offensive.
The absolute worst part of the entire book is when Gray has Detective Wutan stripped naked and tied down and Gray explains that she's not valued under the constitution, but he is because he's at least seen as "three-fifths of a man". This was awful - I can't tell if it's supposed to be a sarcastic comment reminding the reader of the three-fifths clause or if it's actually played completely straight as a statement of fact, but either way it feels messy and offensive. Invoking the Three-Fifths Compromise as a witty gotcha moment feels deeply tone-deaf for a book that is trying so hard to be completely "woke." There were quite a few moments that read similarly to this one, and they all left me with the same gross feeling.
Even ignoring all of this, "Gray" isn't even a good adaptation of Wilde's works. It sure isn't an apt adaptation of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and if it's supposed to emulate his other works it's too messy to make any meaningful sense.
It was frustrating because I was actually pretty excited for this book - the premise sounded both intriguing and promising, and I pre-ordered my copy. All that being said, the potential of the premise was wasted. Though I was trying to like this book the entire time I read it, the more I read, the more I hated this book.
Overall, this was an insulting mess. The art wasn't that good, either.
gay_andromeyda's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Rape, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Transphobia
ashleyreadstoomuch's review
3.0
**Disclaimer: I received a free early access copy of Gray by Arvind Ethan David through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this opportunity.
Gray by Arvind Ethan David is a Dorian Gray retelling set in a modern era in a graphic novel format. It's set to be published on July 13th, 2021. I rated it three stars on Goodreads.
Here's the summary from Goodreads:
A contemporary reimaging of the classic Oscar Wilde novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray," Gray is a supernatural revenge thriller about an alluring but violent woman, Dorian Gray, who seeks vengeance on a cabal of powerful men who wronged her years ago; and of the straight-laced African American detective with a past of his own, who is tasked with stopping her.
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde's only novel and one of the classics of gothic literature, is the tale of the most beautiful man of his age, who sells his soul and his conscience in exchange for eternal youth, beauty and power - and who spends his life murdering, raping and corrupting. All the time in his attic, his picture degrades and rots.
GRAY takes that basic idea but flips its moral framework and gender archetypes: our DORIAN GRAY is a Millennial social media princess who drifts through the coolest cliques of NYC, breaking hearts and turning heads wherever she goes. But Dorian has secrets. For one thing, she's a violent criminal. For another, she's an immortal creature of magic, who commits violent burglaries and assaults some of New York's most powerful men.
30 years ago, whilst an innocent student, Dorian was sexually assaulted by these men. In that moment that she became something both more and less than human. 30 years later, but not a day older, she's ready for her revenge. Then Dorian meets Detective HANK WUTAN, the African-American NYPD detective assigned to stop these crimes, struggling with his own loyalties as a Black cop in the era of Defund the Police. Despite the fact that Dorian is his suspect number one, and he is effectively working for her abusers, they fall for each other, hard.
GRAY takes Wilde's classic novel and reinvents it as a tale of cathartic revenge for the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter era, a violent fantasy about how powerful, super-rich white men don't always win, how the powerless can find justice, and about how a murderous demon and a law-abiding detective can be soul mates.
I will admit that I haven't read The Picture of Dorian Gray, however, I am a sucker for a retelling. I was intrigued by the premise of this graphic novel, and it seemed like it was going to do a lot. I was really exciting about all of what it was promising.
It was a really interesting story. I did enjoy the way that the art was drawn and the way there were details layered and revealed slowly and subtly. It was a little confusing at first as to what was going to happen and what exactly was going on. However, it did pretty quickly become clear in some aspects, though not in others.
This was clearly on it's way to being a series, and so while it had huge promises in the summary on Goodreads, it didn't really live up to all of those because it's the first in the series. There's nothing really wrong with that, but the Goodreads summary/page was misleading because it doesn't indicate that it's going to be a series. I wanted more to happen, and was left disappointed with the cliff hanger ending.
I liked the main detective character, and I was intrigued by the character of Dorian Gray. However, there wasn't enough time to build up their characterization. I just really wanted more.
That being said, I will definitely want to continue with the series. I like the premise a lot and I really want to see how the mystery turns out.
If you're at all intrigued, definitely check it out. However, remember that it's the first in a series and there will be more to come with it.
Gray by Arvind Ethan David is a Dorian Gray retelling set in a modern era in a graphic novel format. It's set to be published on July 13th, 2021. I rated it three stars on Goodreads.
Here's the summary from Goodreads:
A contemporary reimaging of the classic Oscar Wilde novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray," Gray is a supernatural revenge thriller about an alluring but violent woman, Dorian Gray, who seeks vengeance on a cabal of powerful men who wronged her years ago; and of the straight-laced African American detective with a past of his own, who is tasked with stopping her.
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde's only novel and one of the classics of gothic literature, is the tale of the most beautiful man of his age, who sells his soul and his conscience in exchange for eternal youth, beauty and power - and who spends his life murdering, raping and corrupting. All the time in his attic, his picture degrades and rots.
GRAY takes that basic idea but flips its moral framework and gender archetypes: our DORIAN GRAY is a Millennial social media princess who drifts through the coolest cliques of NYC, breaking hearts and turning heads wherever she goes. But Dorian has secrets. For one thing, she's a violent criminal. For another, she's an immortal creature of magic, who commits violent burglaries and assaults some of New York's most powerful men.
30 years ago, whilst an innocent student, Dorian was sexually assaulted by these men. In that moment that she became something both more and less than human. 30 years later, but not a day older, she's ready for her revenge. Then Dorian meets Detective HANK WUTAN, the African-American NYPD detective assigned to stop these crimes, struggling with his own loyalties as a Black cop in the era of Defund the Police. Despite the fact that Dorian is his suspect number one, and he is effectively working for her abusers, they fall for each other, hard.
GRAY takes Wilde's classic novel and reinvents it as a tale of cathartic revenge for the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter era, a violent fantasy about how powerful, super-rich white men don't always win, how the powerless can find justice, and about how a murderous demon and a law-abiding detective can be soul mates.
I will admit that I haven't read The Picture of Dorian Gray, however, I am a sucker for a retelling. I was intrigued by the premise of this graphic novel, and it seemed like it was going to do a lot. I was really exciting about all of what it was promising.
It was a really interesting story. I did enjoy the way that the art was drawn and the way there were details layered and revealed slowly and subtly. It was a little confusing at first as to what was going to happen and what exactly was going on. However, it did pretty quickly become clear in some aspects, though not in others.
This was clearly on it's way to being a series, and so while it had huge promises in the summary on Goodreads, it didn't really live up to all of those because it's the first in the series. There's nothing really wrong with that, but the Goodreads summary/page was misleading because it doesn't indicate that it's going to be a series. I wanted more to happen, and was left disappointed with the cliff hanger ending.
I liked the main detective character, and I was intrigued by the character of Dorian Gray. However, there wasn't enough time to build up their characterization. I just really wanted more.
That being said, I will definitely want to continue with the series. I like the premise a lot and I really want to see how the mystery turns out.
If you're at all intrigued, definitely check it out. However, remember that it's the first in a series and there will be more to come with it.
colleen_quinn's review
3.0
3 stars. Thank you Netgalley for the arc. I don't really have a lot of opinions on this one. I loved the art style. The story was hard to follow (I haven't read Dorian Gray). There will be a sequel, doubt I will read it.
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