I really liked this graphic novel, moreso than "Watchmen" anyways. I think that's because this one was much more political in nature, so tapped into something that interest me in general when reading books. It also hit that post-apocalyptic nerve, which runs strong in me. But I think the main reason I liked this one so much is that it was dark without being gruesome or graphically violent or grotesque in any way. There was violence to be sure, but anything violent was drawn artistically, to give you the essence of what had happened without giving you all of the blood and gore involved. I personally don't need that drawn out for me in excruciating detail; I have a vivid enough imagination as it is. So the style of the art with its regard to violence appealed to me much moreso than the graphic nature of, say, "Watchmen".
That said, there were a few places where the style of the art was detrimental. Mostly this was because of the darkness of some of the panels. This meant that fine details sometimes were bled out, making it hard to follow the action or what was happening. This only occured in a few places and didn't happen often enough to make me stop reading or put the book down, obviously, so this is a minor critique overall.
My only other comment is that the final chapter, I felt, could have been organized in a slightly different manner to make it more powerful. But that's the writer in me saying, "Oh, this is how I'd do it," and my sense of "powerful" might not be the same as for everyone else. Obviously it wasn't the same as that of the author and artist here.
Overall though, a very powerful graphic novel in my opinion, with some fantastic interplay between words and art and a great story to tell. Definitely recommended.
That said, there were a few places where the style of the art was detrimental. Mostly this was because of the darkness of some of the panels. This meant that fine details sometimes were bled out, making it hard to follow the action or what was happening. This only occured in a few places and didn't happen often enough to make me stop reading or put the book down, obviously, so this is a minor critique overall.
My only other comment is that the final chapter, I felt, could have been organized in a slightly different manner to make it more powerful. But that's the writer in me saying, "Oh, this is how I'd do it," and my sense of "powerful" might not be the same as for everyone else. Obviously it wasn't the same as that of the author and artist here.
Overall though, a very powerful graphic novel in my opinion, with some fantastic interplay between words and art and a great story to tell. Definitely recommended.