Customer Reviews

Hotel Harbour View (Hotel Harbor View)

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

 

 

The key to "Hotel Harbor View" is that it is about emptiness, not fulfillment. The story is a masterwork of despair and death, and tries to comprehend whether or not death is anything more than a moment. Is the act of dying important, or merely the final page?

"Hotel Harbor View" is not for everyone. It's definitely more adult manga (i.e. Japanese comics) with both nudity and violence, but it's time the American audience start understanding comics aren't just for kids.

If you're looking for noir-ish fiction that evokes those hopeless stories of the 1940's, this is a great piece of work to get.

The book is a step ahead of most comics out today. There are two stories - both focused on a single person trying to come to terms with life in incredible cities: Hong Kong and Paris. There is danger, love, mystery and loss - like listening to Billie Holliday while drinking a strong whiskey straight. The scenes are beautifully constructed - sharp black & white - that bring you into the characters of both cities. The innovation in storytelling is amazing - angle choices and panel layouts are simple and surprising.

Any fan of 100 Bullets, Transmetropolitan, Alias or Hellblazer will get a kick out of this.

Very good hard-boiled manga (adults only), very different from Taniguchi's "A Distant Neighborhood (Vol 1 & 2)" and "The Walking Man"; too short though.

the first thing i think i should mention about this is that it is a very adult title. i don't mean that to say it is explicit, but it is something that i think is made for someone to understand on a very adult level. and while there is sex, and there is violence, it's merely a device and not a theme.

to paraphrase Jean-Pierre Melville as best as i can, crime fiction has a great backdrop for emotion. everything can be exaggerated, and everything can be what it wants. crime drama can be used to tell stories about friendship, love, betrayal, deceit; any human emotion can be examined while under this backdrop because the world of crime fiction has no rules.

this book says something very special about love and loneliness that i feel few comics (anywhere in the world) are able to say. and while it isn't as full-throttle-action oriented as a lot of other manga to choose from, this book is no slouch when it comes to portraying dramatic action sequences. Taniguchi san is a consummate draftsman, and this book has, in my opinion, some of the finest sequences and single panels he's ever done.

while this is a fairly quick read, Hotel Harbor View has a way of staying with you for a while. so let the pacing of this book do the work for you and enjoy; work like this is hard to find.

This has a very noir feel, without much characterization built up we get a strong sense of the emotions behind the actions. I wish it wasn't so short, but it must be for a reason. Give it a try!

This is without a doubt some of the best art work I have ever seen in a graphic novel. The detail is unbelievable. The 2 stories are fast paced and have a common theme. The results in both stories are the same. This really puts the "graphic" in the graphic novel.