Customer Reviews

Flinch

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

 

 

I got to say I loved FLINCH. "Daemon Street Ghost trap" I wanted more - there is nothing better than a spooky drive up to a haunted house. "Speak of the Devil" is horrific - a perfect case of less storytelling is more... "The ride Home" was brutal, quirky and all about the Guiness . "White Dove III" is a quick - kick in the pants -space horror, Tom Taylor and Colin Wilson ARE a great comic duo. "Night" is every little kids nightmare. I gotta say FLINCH is a great compilation of modern day Edgar Allen Poe-esque mini's. It is also great to see an anthology of Australian comic book writers/creators/illustrators tackle horror. Congrats - Gestalt!

This anthology features some outstanding comics work from up-and-coming creators and reads like a slightly lower budget version of Flight or Popgun or any other anthology series currently doing the rounds. Bobby N's story 'Withheld' is the standout piece, setting the standard for the rest of the book. The inclusion of Tom Taylor and Colin Wilson's 'White Dove III' and Mel Tregonning's 'Night' make this worth the purchase price alone, and then there's that gorgeous cover by Shaun Tan as well!

I'm a fan of all things Shaun Tan and couldn't pass this up. Shaun did the cover art and contributed three pages inside as only Shaun can. The book is in black and white and features different art and writing styles. Some of them work better than others, but it is a great anthology and I loved being exposed to other Australian creators like Mel Tregonning. Her work feels much like early Shaun Tan, working in pencil with a wordless story that feels like a nightmare. I recommend this to any other Tan Fans out there!

Length:: 0:16 Mins

Flinch is a graphic novel anthology of dark stories, and the book is printed in black and white. I actually bought this thinking it's an art book -- big mistake.

The only story I liked was the first one about the prison inmate who was framed for murder. The storytelling is simple and while the ending isn't totally unexpected, it manages to close the whole story full circle. All the stories touch on something dark. There are stories on ghost catching, hunting for the giant squid, floating in space looking for new planets to inhabit, to name a few. Unfortunately, I have to say that the stories are disengaging rather than engaging.

And page 111 even has a low pixelated quality print.

Check out the official book website flinchbook. com for more information on the book. There are several page previews as well.

I would have given this book a miss had I visited their book website prior to buying.

The 2-star rating is my personal preference. This book is just not for me.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

ALTHOUGH IT'S A MULTIPLE-AUTHOR/ARTIST BOOK, for me the attraction was the work of illustrator (artist!)/writer Shaun Tan. That said, the other artists were fine; it's just that Tan more toward a Picasso quality. Just my subjective taste/judgement. The stories work, are well-done and engaging. Overall a nice selection.

The book would've been better, though, if better attributions were made. Like, who did what; nothing really connected the artists and their work. Some styles I like; but who did'em? I like, when I come upon work I like, I'd like to know who to look for in future graphic and literary (even in comics) pieces.

I flipped to the pages of this one in a store and immediately fell in love with the art, it's consistently great across all the stories, but when I got home and read it, BIG dissapointment, they all suck, completely lame.