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atayebi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
An adventure with a satisfying ending.
Very meta regarding comics/graphic novels. Enjoyable and not overly long but did seem to drag in certain parts.
Definitely not a kids book and not very deep. Like watching a 2 hour movie vs. a season of hour long tv episodes.
Very meta regarding comics/graphic novels. Enjoyable and not overly long but did seem to drag in certain parts.
Definitely not a kids book and not very deep. Like watching a 2 hour movie vs. a season of hour long tv episodes.
saemiligr's review against another edition
4.0
What a charming little comic! Enjoyed it from page to page.
rebeccagrnwd's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
starnosedmole's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful, funny, inspiring, sincere. With Sam Zabel... Horrocks has rendered a graphic novel about the creative process that gets at artistic struggle with both humor and raw uncertainty. A must-read for anyone grappling with "What the hell am I doing with my life?"
Even some of its predictable elements don't detract from this book's merits. The coloring is also a delight and was clearly done with great care and thought.
Even some of its predictable elements don't detract from this book's merits. The coloring is also a delight and was clearly done with great care and thought.
asbelin's review against another edition
3.0
занимательно, но не очень-то интересно. и не особо отрефлексированы похотливые мейл-гейз-женщины.
ellabooray's review against another edition
4.0
Marauding Moas!
Sam Zabel And The Magic Pen is a healthy mix of Tintin-esque adventure and thoughtful reflection on fantasy/fantasies. A great read if you like your comics colourful,imaginative and meta.
Sam Zabel And The Magic Pen is a healthy mix of Tintin-esque adventure and thoughtful reflection on fantasy/fantasies. A great read if you like your comics colourful,imaginative and meta.
will_sargent's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this would be something a little darker and x rated than it turned out to be. It’s very clearly a way to draw fantasy and talk about imagination, but frankly this was done in promethea and in Scott McLeod’s stuff. I wanted to see what cartoonists don’t talk about: the power and idealization of comics and how much makes it in there that they don’t admit, and the different viewpoints there. I feel like simply pointing to a harem or hentai and saying “oh noes” isn’t even scratching the surface.
I felt like Alice and Miki were far more interesting than Sam here, because they are literally living in male fantasy and have to subvert or reject their assigned roles and we never really see a from scratch point of view of what they want.
I felt like Alice and Miki were far more interesting than Sam here, because they are literally living in male fantasy and have to subvert or reject their assigned roles and we never really see a from scratch point of view of what they want.
seawarrior's review against another edition
4.0
This was an engaging story with an important message, but I was unable to fully enjoy it for one reason in particular.
When creating stories that detail sexual abuse and exploitation, specifically ones told through a visual medium, there is a vague line I believe the author needs to consciously avoid crossing for their work to not read as aggressive and exploitative in itself. Unfortunately this line almost seemed to be leaped over, especially during one of the last chapters of the book. If sexual abuse depictions trigger you this is probably not something you could feel comfortable reading, which is a shame since the narrative did have many moments that existed to call out male cartoonists who create horrifyingly misogynistic and distorted works of fiction to satisfy their own 'private' fantasies.
That being said I still appreciate the sentiment of this work, and hope it opens a dialogue that will impact readers to grapple with their own fantasies and the way fiction inevitably influences the real world around them.
When creating stories that detail sexual abuse and exploitation, specifically ones told through a visual medium, there is a vague line I believe the author needs to consciously avoid crossing for their work to not read as aggressive and exploitative in itself. Unfortunately this line almost seemed to be leaped over, especially during one of the last chapters of the book. If sexual abuse depictions trigger you this is probably not something you could feel comfortable reading, which is a shame since the narrative did have many moments that existed to call out male cartoonists who create horrifyingly misogynistic and distorted works of fiction to satisfy their own 'private' fantasies.
That being said I still appreciate the sentiment of this work, and hope it opens a dialogue that will impact readers to grapple with their own fantasies and the way fiction inevitably influences the real world around them.