Monday, October 06, 2008

The Alcoholic Graphic Novel Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: The Alcoholic about which I write the following sentences: "Your tolerance for Jonathan Ames -- who's doing his first graphic novel writing here, after a pretty extensive career as a witty, but tepid, gonzo journalist and literary raconteur -- depends on how willing you are to embrace the contradictions within his narrator. I haven't read everything Ames has ever written, but I've read plenty of his short stories and his journalism, and he's always basically writing about himself -- or some version of himself -- getting into one weird situation after another. The contradictions come in when the narrator (in the case of 'The Alcoholic' a character not so subtly named 'Jonathan A.') makes cringe-worthy decisions even after establishing himself as an intelligent person otherwise. He'll say something smart, show a sense of self-awareness and introspection, and then sleep with completely the wrong person (or five of them, simultaneously). Or he'll get drunk, excessively so. It's like watching a flaming train collide with a bus full of orphans in slow motion. But with a sense of humor."

Read the entire review HERE.

No comments: