A review by mferrante83
Joe the Barbarian by Grant Morrison

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.