Customer Reviews

Cages (Signed and Numbered Edition)

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My first experiences with Dave McKean were as illustrator for the Sandman comic books, and the Vertigo tarot cards, eventually leading to my strongest appreciation for a contemporary artist. Imagine my surprise when I came across of a copy of Cages, complete with traditional McKean artwork, on my comic-shop shelf. I wasn't even aware McKean wrote graphic novels, let alone one of such size (it's 500 pages long). I knew from the minute I saw it that I had to buy it, and after saving my pennies and dimes, I finally got the chance. Not a moment of the time spent earning the money to buy this book was wasted.

In a style that fluctuates somewhat based upon the character being portrayed (although most of the story is told from the artist, Leo's, point of view), Cages tells a tale of three creative people together in an apartment building, set in some parallel-dimension London, or a similar city. Leo, the artist of paints, canvas, and sketches, moves in and meets John, a novelist, writer, and critic whose work Cages earned him the ire of a public that misunderstood his point. John must also contend with a pair of goons intent on making his life miserable, which Leo gets a chance to experience firsthand when he tries to save a young girl from their harassment. The third is Angel, a blues and jazz musician at a local bar, whose poetry-slam style lyrics and dangerously emotional playing style set him apart from the other musicians, both as an artist and a pariah.

Rounding it off is a mysterious woman who poses as Leo's model, a landlord on the verge of insanity, a woman with a foul-mouthed cockatoo, and a naked homeless man who fell out of the sky five years ago and has been delirious ever since. Round that off with a black cat who serves as a kind of Puck figure for God Himself, and McKean has laid the groundwork for a one-of-a-kind comic novel.

The story fluctuates from that which is grounded in reality (although that reality is certainly questionable) to a dreamlike semiconsciousness where poetry, advertising, and McKean's signature artistic style merge to create points of meditation for the story at large. The drawings are almost entirely black-on-white, although the book has shades of blue running through it, and some of McKean's more intricate works are in color. The story is introduced by a series of poems about God and artistic creation, and comes together as a cohesive whole if taken as more than the sum of its parts.

That being said, Cages is not for everyone. It is not a comic book. Its plot is small, and serves more as a vehicle to attempt to understand the process behind creativity and the reactions of people around the artists to that creative struggle. Cages requires a substantial investment in time to read, contemplate, read again, meditate, go back and read some more, appreciate, and so forth. For anyone up to that kind of challenge, or anyone who likes McKean's art, or anyone who is looking for a different take on the artistic process and how it is viewed by people outside of the artist, Cages is one of the most rewarding books available. My only complaint (and it has nothing to do with the content) is that the black ink easily picks up fingerprints, so if you aren't careful, you could leave smudges everywhere. It's too nice a book to ruin.

Final Grade: A; ALMOST an A+

There are really no words I can write to do this one justice. It's one of the single most moving experiences I've ever had reading anything, never mind comic books. McKean's line art is breathtaking, and the painted interludes and photo montages are every bit as fascinating, disturbing, and touching as anything he's done with Neil Gaiman or Grant Morrison. The story is about a tenement and its various occupants, but it's also about inspiration and love, and the things that drive us to create. Go read it.

Comic books have come a long way since the inception ofSuperman. And, believe it or not, Archie and Jughead are no longerconsidered "cutting edge." Comics have blossomed. Why, there are even murmurs that, at it's best, it might even be considered a valid medium. Stranger still, there are those who will swear that it can be comparable to high art. For the incredulous, I offer Dave McKean's extraordinary comics opus, Cages. While winning a truckload of awards for his illustration work, he was quietly creating what can only be called a comics masterpiece. At the risk of sounding like Bertrand Russell, Cages tugs at the fabric behind reality, never wholly taking leave of what it is to be human. What's so admirable about this is that McKean does so with a light touch. Peppered with a dry humor that will make you laugh 'till you cry, and mixed with equal parts mystery, philosophy, art, love (not the drippy storybook stuff...the real thing), absurdity, pain, and magic, Cages takes comics waaaaaay beyond Jughead. The art, like the writing is exceptional. Most is done in plain, raw (dare I say "immediate?") ink drawings with a subtle touch of blue-gray for color. Simple? yes. But EXTREMELY emotive. And watch out...when he does dive into glorious four-color, his truckload of awards suddenly makes a lot of sense. This is clearly the work of a man who grasps the medium in which he works; the art and story work in perfect synergy. Cages is the story of a young artist in the same way that Citizen Kane is the story of some rich guy. Masterpieces can never be summed up in a word. Find out for yourself what it's all about. Find out for yourself where comics can take you. Make no mistake. This is art.

Dave McKean, Cages (ComicsLit, 2002)

I finished Cages over the space of a weekend. I still have no idea what's really going on behind the scenes in this book. All I know is that it is a profoundly powerful experience, and not to be missed.

The story centers on Leo, an artist who (he tells his landlady, and others, early on in the book) found himself at an impasse in life and needed a change. Well, he certainly gets on here. His building is full of odd lots: a reclusive writer on the floor below him (one of whose novels provides the title for McKean's book), a philosophy-spouting jazz musician on the floor above, and a landlady who loves talking to pigeons. There are some other minor characters floating about, but those are the bunch you'll get to know best. There's also a cat who wanders around the building at will.

How you decide to read this is pretty much up to you (as long as you read it. You will go read it immediately, won't you?). You can read it for the story itself, which is unfortunately a bit disjointed, and if you don't read a little deeper you'll find yourself holding some loose threads at the end that beg for a closer reading. You'll likely find yourself more satisfied with it if you read a few layers down, tracing the patterns of the lives of the characters and figuring out who's who and what everyone's representing. (McKean should be giving you just enough in the book's final chapter to get most of it figured out without exhaustive analysis.) There is also, and I didn't go this far, the opportunity to completely submerge yourself in the book's symbolism, figuring out the archetypes for every character in the book (mull on this: given the revelations about the cat in the end, what is one to make of the landlady and her endless talking to pigeons?). One could spend a great deal of time thinking about Cages, and it demands a great deal of thought.

The only problem with this novel (and, graphic or no, this is one of the finest examples of the novel I have read this year in any form) is that it seems as if the surface layer suffered a bit in the final analysis. Things aren't quite as neatly wrapped as the should be to make this a perfect piece on every level (as they are in, say, Wendy Walker's The Secret Service or Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian). Still, that's an extremely minor point in the general scheme of things. I cannot recommend Cages highly enough. This will easily be finding a lot on my 25-Best list this year. **** ½

There's a painter who just moved into this house rent by an elderly lady, a Miss "What?", and who is looking for the perfect motive and/or inspiration for his new painting.

Next to him lives a writer named Jonathan Rush (a remainder of Rushdie?), who once wrote a controversial 500 pages novel called "Cages" (see?), a "Hammer-of-God" like epic, in which the autor came across several existencial questions about the human condition (later we learn that it was only HIS condition he was trying to express), and which forced him and his wife to hide from the outside world.

Another tenant is a jazz musician called Angel, who's playing the piano and the horn and philosophes in long terms about life + death in a Jazz club called "Katakumbe" (just watch that audience!).

And then there's an Old Lady (a widow as it may seem) who shares her flat/life only with her parrot (it is ironic: The parrot is the only character in the book who is able to break out of his cage, but only literally: He starts yelling and screaming at the old lady, calling her a "stu_id b_tch"!), contemplating about the loss of her long gone husband (or isn't he?), and looking for her ratatouille (!) receipt.

A beautiful woman who lives next to the painter's apartement, is she his (new) muse?

There are two uncanny fellows who hide their faces under dark masks, sort of blackmailing the writer and his wife, and harassing little girls in dark street corners.

And there's a black cat, some sort of God's very own descendant (or God's own finger), pulling the strings of the lifes of all of them.

The nature of god (more: the creation of the universe), the complexity/imposibility of human relationships and/or life out of balance, everything flows together in this book...

....and everyone lives in his own cage and NO ONE is able to break out:
The painter - he's unable to express his art (i.e. his whole life) through his paintings. The woman he met, she's not only trapped in a cage, but in a wood of her own!

The writer - he never meant it like that (or was he just right? Later he has to commit himself; and who says that even the two "dark" figures are not trapped in their own cage?).

The old lady whose husband passed away long time ago, just won't accept it and still hangs on to the past. She's also traumatised because of an incident she had as a child when she got lost in a dark forest (is it a forest of the mind, as the painter puts it or is this just a connection to the woods of the painter's woman?).

Even Angel (nomen est omen), the Jazz musician, remains unable to escape his life and break out of the cage he's trapped in. Although he might do so for a short time when he leaves the "Katakumbe" bar (where even the barkeeper couldn't make up his mind!). But then on his way home, he starts his routine on Jazz scales, finally letting them take over his mind. And.....there's...so much more.......

.......Its ideas, themes, metaphors et.al. are masterfully handled throughout the entire book, while the narrative style jumps back and forth in time, switches from one character's POV to the next without ever loosing grip......

......"Cages" is about art, fear, hope/loss of hope, creation, the creative process in general, about love, lust & despair, strenght and weakness. Masterfully crafted, with an incredible eye for detail (and with heavy doses of surrealism!).
It is about the meanings, signs and wonders of life (not religion, but in a religious way), and all their magic appeals and how we tend to forget/oversee/erase them.

Merely it's about the struggle of the human race in an endless game invented by a higher intelligence....

....but in the end there's a glimpse of light shining through, giving us new hope, because every man and every woman is a star!

I passed this large 500pg graphic novel in my bookstore many times before i decided to 'staisfy my curiosity'. So i bought it. Upon opening the cover, I was awestruck at the pages in front of me. The book is simply (in my opinion) one of the finest examples of visual story-telling (in the comicbook sense) that I have ever seen. It's a book I can point to and say, "There, THATS how far you can go with the medium!".

Dave McKean is not one of my favourite writers or artists, but this is one of the best 'books' i have ever held in my hands. The story is interesting, layered & strange. This book is not a 'snack'. It's a big 'meal', that you'll put in the freezer & reheat again to consume over & over. The visuals are not 'text-book' comic style illustrations, but rather 'artistic'. It's stylised. The book is a piece of art. The quality of the book itself (Cover, inside pages & size) - is something you rarely (if ever) see on shelves. This book is not cheap, but once you open the pages, you wouldn't care if you paid twice the price. It's that good.

The often used cliche, "If you only buy one graphic novel a year, make it this one" is perfectly valid for this book.

.

Dave McKean gotta be one of the most original artists of this decade & Cages is (some of) the evidence. Apart from being a brilliant comic book artist, with a style that is TRULY his own, he proves in Cages that his creative talents go even beyond that : Beautiful photos, amazing paintings... You really gotta see it yrself. I recommend this graphic novel to EVERYBODY, & I especially recommend it to (the very narrowminded) people who doesn't believe that comics/graphic stories can reach the same hights as books, films & other artforms. Cages is just one of the masterpieces proving them wrong. The story is brilliant too. It proves that McKean is as good a writer as an artist/illustrator, even though he mainly IS an artist. (not that a writer CAN'T be an artist... I mean... eh) The story is quite complex too, so I won't go into details. I can't recommend Cages enough - ................- It's worth every penny!......

This is a breakthrough work that redefines its medium. Do not be mistaken, this is truely Art. I only pray that it is reprinted so more people can exprience the power and emotion of this remarkable graphic novel.

You see, once upon a time I bought this book, I knew McKean's work for years before, I have read every book in which he participates and this book was an incredible surprise -again-. Not only he combines every media he has used in his career, the metaphors make you reflect about existence in its infinite vastity. The book initiates with various myths about creation, fantastic mythos!, so emotive. There is a story about a musician who loses a friend and in a performance makes people cry because he could transmit his feelings to them. That is something every artist of any media in this world wold want to do, that people could feel their hearts and believe me, Dave McKean achieves this goal every time. I gave this book to a friend because she wanted it too and because I was ready to buy the slipcased hardcover but still I don't find it, don't commit the same mistake and get this book as soon you can.

All i have to say is that Dave McKean is quite possibly the most amazingly talented artist to date. Yeah, i know i'll be shuned in the "art" community for putting him on such a high pedestal but in all reality, who else can be such and amazing illustrator and graphic designer? No-one but Dave McKean.

This novel is 500 pages of illustrations and graphic design and has a great story line that is also humorous. THIS IS AMAZING! a serious "must have" for all of you comic entheusists and graphic design buffs. Dave McKean pushes the 'multi-media' envelope with his outstanding talents.

Ps: Did i mention he is also and incredible Photographer as well?