A review by adubrow
Dear Creature by Jonathan Case
3.0
(Originally posted @ CSI:Librarian.)
2.5 Stars - There is no denying that this graphic novel is full of quirky moments that are equal parts charming and just plain odd. At the same time I feel like a lot of the elements of Dear Creature added cleverness and took away oppourtunities for solid characterization.
As much as I wanted to, it was all but impossible for me to like Grue. Usually I don’t mind monstrous main protagonists that devour ordinary people or those who spout Shakeapearen-esque phrases, but Grue was a sloppy eater to put it mildly and his iambic pentameter got old quickly. I liked how much he loved finding Shakespeare’s plays in bottles. I loved the Cyrano de Bergerac/Shakespeare meets Grendel/Caliban vibe. All of that seemed great in terms of a starting place, but Grue never grew. He just remained delightfully deranged and completely unaware of what consequences any of his actions had. None of his decisions carried a lot of emotional weight or range either, whether it was deciding to give up eating people or to court a very troubled Guiletta.
That isn’t to say that I didn’t like the graphic novel or didn’t get the references to Shakespeare, but I didn’t have as enjoyable a time as I would have wished. I definitely preferred the snappy remarks from his crab companions and “An Invertebrate’s Guide to Iambic Pentameter” to Grue’s seemingly random hyper spur of the moment life changes. I really enjoyed the black and white illustrations. I loved the sherriff’s storyline as he worked to do right even if it meant turning in his badge and pissing everyone else off. But I just felt like the main storyline never struck the right chord with me.
In conclusion, a decent read, but one that is ultimately saddled with a main character with too much quirk and too little attention span.
2.5 Stars - There is no denying that this graphic novel is full of quirky moments that are equal parts charming and just plain odd. At the same time I feel like a lot of the elements of Dear Creature added cleverness and took away oppourtunities for solid characterization.
As much as I wanted to, it was all but impossible for me to like Grue. Usually I don’t mind monstrous main protagonists that devour ordinary people or those who spout Shakeapearen-esque phrases, but Grue was a sloppy eater to put it mildly and his iambic pentameter got old quickly. I liked how much he loved finding Shakespeare’s plays in bottles. I loved the Cyrano de Bergerac/Shakespeare meets Grendel/Caliban vibe. All of that seemed great in terms of a starting place, but Grue never grew. He just remained delightfully deranged and completely unaware of what consequences any of his actions had. None of his decisions carried a lot of emotional weight or range either, whether it was deciding to give up eating people or to court a very troubled Guiletta.
That isn’t to say that I didn’t like the graphic novel or didn’t get the references to Shakespeare, but I didn’t have as enjoyable a time as I would have wished. I definitely preferred the snappy remarks from his crab companions and “An Invertebrate’s Guide to Iambic Pentameter” to Grue’s seemingly random hyper spur of the moment life changes. I really enjoyed the black and white illustrations. I loved the sherriff’s storyline as he worked to do right even if it meant turning in his badge and pissing everyone else off. But I just felt like the main storyline never struck the right chord with me.
In conclusion, a decent read, but one that is ultimately saddled with a main character with too much quirk and too little attention span.