Customer Reviews

The Crow: Flesh & Blood

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As far as graphic novels go, The Crow - Flesh and Blood is nothing to rave about. The artwork is decent(sort of) and the story is pretty much what you'd expect from a Crow title. It wasn't that good though. It isn't nearly as deliciously bizarre or captivating as the original comics by James O'Barr. This graphic novel carries the J. O'Barr name, but don't be taken in - it has nothing to do with the original Crow comic books. This comic is a rehashing of the Crow story with a female protagonist and a list of pretty weak supporting characters. It has none of the original feel of the old Crow. If you're a die hard Crow fan and you need every little scarp of Crow you can find, then go ahead and get this one. It isn't totally disagreeable... But if you're a casual fan, this is one piece of Crow media that you can afford to pass up. You've been warned.

As a fan of comicbooks and movies, this was an obvious choice for me to read. Over the past summer, I was re-introduced to the Crow film series. After, I sought out a copy of the original Crow comic by James O'Barr and now I'm obsessed! (If you haven't read The Crow, go get it!) I love the concept of the crow. To sum it up:

"People once believed that when a person dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes, something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can't rest. Then sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring that soul back to make the wrong things right."

In all the movies, and the original comic by James O'Barr, the Crow has been a man. This is what makes the Crow Flesh and Blood unique; Iris Shaw is the first female Crow. Its a subtle but welcome change to the familiar formula.

The Crow Flesh and Blood has a decent storyline that I feel most people would enjoy. Iris Shaw is an officer killed in a bombing but is brought back to seek vengeance for herself... and someone else; her unborn baby! The only issue I have with it is the pacing. To me, it felt like certain parts should've been expanded, like during her revival scene. In it, the crow says "Iris-- wake up..." which Iris responds to with "You're telling me I'm a zombie...?" Some additional dialogue here would've been beneficial so its not such an awkward exchange. It doesn't help that the book is just 96 pages long so there's only so much room for exposition.

The art in Flesh and Blood above average to pretty great. Just keep in mind the book is in black and white. I personally have no problem with B&W if thats the original format, but I know some people dislike it. The book itself is a little different than expected. It is about an inch shorter and half-an-inch narrower than a standard comic. (the dimensions are correctly listed, I just didn't pay attention) It looks like another version of this book is available on Amazon that is full size, but only used copies are available and the cheapest copy is currently over twice as much as what I paid for my copy.

All in all, it may not have the emotional resonance of the original, but it is a quick, decent read with some good artwork. The Crow Flesh and Blood is a fine addition to your comic or Crow collection.

i loved the art. i love the idea of the female crow but i did not like the fact that she called herself a zombie.and the fact that she did not heal like the other crows but other than that the story was good. must have for a die hard fan

i bought this for a road trip. i like it and the art is great. one thing got me though. the chick who comes back as the crow, why did she come back? she wasnt even going to keep her baby, she didndt love it. but it was good

Very cool book. Pretty cool story line, most of the drawings are very cool. Others, it looked like they didn't know what else to put in and still be able to put in all the dialogue. Seemed that they were trying too hard to make her outfit look like the crow in the movie (minus the trench coat). Definately worth seeing to see a chick kicking butt!

veGAMan infErior

The Crow Flesh and Blood is a great story about love revenge and all things crow. The only drawback I found was the lack of the famous art of James O' Bar but the story more than makes up for it. All in all great.

The transaction was smooth, I got the book in only a few days, I was super excited, it was in good condition :)

with a little bit of editing and etc. this could have been an excellent sequel..