GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW: Joe the Barbarian
Title: Joe the Barbarian
Author: Grant Morrison
Illustrator: Sean Murphy
Eleven-year-old Joe doesn't have the easiest life. He's diabetic, he's bullied at school, his mom doesn't really get him, and his father has recently died at war. Things get more complicated when he arrives home one day, and starts to hallucinate due to low blood sugar. He no longer sees his bedroom around him, but a fantasy world where his pet rat is a brave warrior, and Joe is known as the mythical “dying boy” who is meant to defeat a great evil. Joe struggles to keep a grip on a reality, but the more he pulls away, the more real the fantasy seems.
Joe the Barbarian is an eight issue comic book series written by comic book giant Grant Morrison, and illustrated by the talented Sean Murphy. I decided to pick it up after reading positive reviews around the internet. Although I didn't fall in love with it as wholeheartedly as some readers, I must admit that Joe the Barbarian is really something special. A lot of this has to do with Sean Murphy's artwork, which is both detailed and imaginative. I love the fact that he does just as good of a job as capturing the real world as he does the fantasy world. I enjoyed the way the author dealt with the two worlds present in the story, and the fact that by the end they both feel equally real to the reader, despite the fact that one is just a hallucination. We care about the young boy who's bullied and struggles with his diabetes, just as much as we care for the fantasy world he creates in his head.
One thing I liked about Joe the Barbarian is how well it sets up the stage for the main storyline. After getting to know a little bit about Joe and his life, we watch him arrive home and walk through his apartment. We're able to see (in gorgeous detail) every room and how he interacts with it. This is great foreshadowing for when we eventually enter Joe's hallucination, as it greatly resembles his real living space, from his action figure collection to the actual layout of the apartment. Events in the real world (such as turning on the tub faucet) impact the fantasy world, making the two constantly linked, which is really cool. Admittedly, when the reader is first introduced to the world of Joe's hallucination, it can be a little overwhelming. Morrison really just throws you into the story. As a result, I had a hard time getting into it. Fortunately, once I got a couple issues in, I found that I became more emotionally invested in Joe's journey, and very concerned for his fate. Part of me really liked the fact that story was so short and self contained, but another part of me wished that it had been a little longer. Perhaps it's because, as someone who mainly reads novels, I expect my epic fantasies to be big and fat, but I would have liked to see the story fleshed out a little more and some of the characters (especially Joe's traveling companions) developed more.
Final Thoughts: If you're in the mood for an imaginative fantasy comic filled with wonderful illustrations, you might want to try Joe the Barbarian. Although getting into it was a little tricky, and I wished the author would have fleshed things out a bit more, I was ultimately satisfied with Joe's story and remained emotionally invested in his plight until the final page. Four Stars
Next I will be reviewing Forbidden by Kelley Armstrong
Author: Grant Morrison
Illustrator: Sean Murphy
Eleven-year-old Joe doesn't have the easiest life. He's diabetic, he's bullied at school, his mom doesn't really get him, and his father has recently died at war. Things get more complicated when he arrives home one day, and starts to hallucinate due to low blood sugar. He no longer sees his bedroom around him, but a fantasy world where his pet rat is a brave warrior, and Joe is known as the mythical “dying boy” who is meant to defeat a great evil. Joe struggles to keep a grip on a reality, but the more he pulls away, the more real the fantasy seems.
Joe the Barbarian is an eight issue comic book series written by comic book giant Grant Morrison, and illustrated by the talented Sean Murphy. I decided to pick it up after reading positive reviews around the internet. Although I didn't fall in love with it as wholeheartedly as some readers, I must admit that Joe the Barbarian is really something special. A lot of this has to do with Sean Murphy's artwork, which is both detailed and imaginative. I love the fact that he does just as good of a job as capturing the real world as he does the fantasy world. I enjoyed the way the author dealt with the two worlds present in the story, and the fact that by the end they both feel equally real to the reader, despite the fact that one is just a hallucination. We care about the young boy who's bullied and struggles with his diabetes, just as much as we care for the fantasy world he creates in his head.
One thing I liked about Joe the Barbarian is how well it sets up the stage for the main storyline. After getting to know a little bit about Joe and his life, we watch him arrive home and walk through his apartment. We're able to see (in gorgeous detail) every room and how he interacts with it. This is great foreshadowing for when we eventually enter Joe's hallucination, as it greatly resembles his real living space, from his action figure collection to the actual layout of the apartment. Events in the real world (such as turning on the tub faucet) impact the fantasy world, making the two constantly linked, which is really cool. Admittedly, when the reader is first introduced to the world of Joe's hallucination, it can be a little overwhelming. Morrison really just throws you into the story. As a result, I had a hard time getting into it. Fortunately, once I got a couple issues in, I found that I became more emotionally invested in Joe's journey, and very concerned for his fate. Part of me really liked the fact that story was so short and self contained, but another part of me wished that it had been a little longer. Perhaps it's because, as someone who mainly reads novels, I expect my epic fantasies to be big and fat, but I would have liked to see the story fleshed out a little more and some of the characters (especially Joe's traveling companions) developed more.
Final Thoughts: If you're in the mood for an imaginative fantasy comic filled with wonderful illustrations, you might want to try Joe the Barbarian. Although getting into it was a little tricky, and I wished the author would have fleshed things out a bit more, I was ultimately satisfied with Joe's story and remained emotionally invested in his plight until the final page. Four Stars
Next I will be reviewing Forbidden by Kelley Armstrong