Customer Reviews

Neil Young's Greendale

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Depending on who you talk to, the "Greendale" project is either Neil Young's Magnum Opus and the most important thing he has done since "Ohio," or it is the self-indulgent sentiments of a once-great man whose creative powers have long since faded. Love it or hate it, it cannot be denied that "Greendale" is unique and an entirely new challenge for Young.

First released in 2003, "Greendale" was conceived as a 10-song rock opera telling the saga of the environmental-awakening of Sun Green and her standing up to the evil corporation "PowerCo" and their Alaskan oil drilling, along with some anti-mass media and general corruption protests thrown in for good measure. The story grew in the telling, which began with a simple acoustic set by Young, enlarging to include his band Crazy Horse and finally to a full-blown stage show complete with props and actors miming out the actions in the background while the band played on. In 2004, Young re-made his story as what he called a feature film, but at 87-minutes and with no dialog it is essentially a series of grainy low-tech music videos.

Wanting to bring his story to an even wider audience, Young brought his ideas to DC Comics and asked if they would be interested in a collaboration. Young worked with writer Joshua Dysart (who was no stranger to working with singers, as he also scripted Avril Lavigne's Make 5 Wishes), and the two put together a new take on the story that had dashes of Dysart, great big helpings of Young, and some twists and turns that readers have come to expect from the DC Vertigo imprint.

The story revolves around Sun Green from the town of Greendale, California. The Green family are sort of the town oddballs, with an out-of-work father who dreams of becoming a fine artist and a musician mother who had a local hit song several years ago. Together they live and work on the Double E ranch, nearby Sun's Grandfather and Cousin Jed, a low-level pot dealer with a penchant for firearms.

When sun turns 18 Sun begins to have strange dreams of a green woman who tells Sun to "Be the Rain," and some of the secrets of the Green family women begin to come to light as Sun searches for answers. Women born into the Green family have a tendency to wander off into the woods and never return, and Sun begins to fear for her safety and sanity. Into this town come two strangers, the boy Earth Brown who is instantly attracted to Sun Green, and the Devil himself, in the form of a red-eyed cowboy who has come to do battle with the newly-awakened Sun.

The main departure from Young's original opera is the introduction of supernatural elements into the story of Sun Green, who was previously just the voice of youth activism but is now the inheritor of a lineage of Earth mothers who can tap into a sort of elemental strength. The Green woman, is apparently the actual Green Woman, she of the foliage face seen in Neo-paganism. The timelines of Young's story are re-arranged as well, with Sun's climbing of the Golden Eagle being the climax of the story rather than the middle-point, and taking place after meeting Earth Brown and not before.

Considering its odd history, "Greendale" actually turns out to be a decent comic, but not an exceptional one. Joshua Dysart does his best wringing a narrative out of Young's music, going so far as to include the song lyrics as character's dialog from time to time. The introduction of Neo-paganism and supernatural elements works well, and definitely gives the story more of a "Vertigo feel" rather than simply being a political harangue of corporate America. Cliff Chiang (Doctor 13) does a stand-out job on the artwork, and the always wonderful Dave Stewart (Hellboy) adds the color that a project called "Greendale" needs. Chiang went out of his way to preserve Young's character designs, although he ditched Sun's camouflage skirt and mid-rift exposing top for something more practical.

I think my biggest problem with "Greendale" is that it just feels really dated, using imagery and politics more reflective of the late 1990s than 2010. Comics has already been through the Neo-paganism thing, back when the film The Craft made a brief witchcraft boom, and gave birth to series like Garth Ennis' Goddess and Chris Bachalo's The Witching Hour. And while Young has a lot of feelings and emotions backing up his music, that same intensity just doesn't translate here, and two many of the characters fall flat, being mere plot-devices rather than living characters with depth and story.

Ultimately, I think "Greendale" is going to appeal to those people who are already fans of either the genre or Neil Young. If your politics lean to the left, and you aren't opposed to dancing around a Maypole or reciting the Wiccan Rede, then you might enjoy this as a story that confirms to your beliefs. Alternately, if you already own the "Greenwood" CD and are familiar with the story and concepts, I think Dysart and Chiang did a fantastic job transposing the work and it stands as a nice supplement to Young's rock opera.

However, if you are just a curious comics fan than "Greendale" is likely to disappoint. There is just not enough story here, and too many of the political statements come off as trite and undeveloped.

Neil Young fans will enjoy this the most...

A lot has been said about the story told in this graphic novel by other reviewers already. As someone not familiar with the album/movie this is based from, I did some research and have found that while based off the source material mentioned, this graphic novel does not follow the exact same story and is more of an adaptation from the original Greendale (Bonus DVD).

Having said that, I can tell I enjoyed reading this book. The characters are likable, the story about supernatural elements controlled by Sun Green as well as the Neil Young look-alike bad guy are quite entertaining. I agree though with those who feel this book is politically biased (story is told during the Bush years so you can imagine), but that does not seem to affect in the end the main story of the Green women, whose lives were as intriguing as fascinating.

The art is simply beautiful and so is the coloring.

I assume this would a more enjoyable ride if I were familiar with the source material. I have read some of the lyrics from the album are inserted in the graphic novel in the form of dialogue for example, something Neil Young fans will definitely enjoy, as this graphic novel is mostly targeted to them.

For those of us not familiar with the original album/movie, it is an entertaining story that fits quite well in the Vertigo line from DC comics.

I am not familiar with Neil Young's GREENDALE, the album, although I own a number of his albums from his days with Buffalo Springfield to CHROME DREAMS II. I approach this graphic novel on its own merits.

NEIL YOUNG'S GREENDALE offers a mystic, visionary experience of Sun Green in the first decade of this century, when the United States faces a number of challenges ranging from terrorist threats, environmental risks, and social schisms. Sun Green's understanding of family is shaken by the decline of her grandfather in his dimentia, her veteran cousin's inability to return to the way of life he enjoyed prior to his service, and the mysterious disappearances of women in her family. Sun comes to terms with these issues in this work.

Those familar with Joshua Dysart's writing for DC/Vertigo's UNKNOWN SOLDIER will find the same high consistency in his writing here. Cliff Chiang's art proves his great skill again--the characters' facial expressions and their postures reveal depth of feeling. And, as a fan, I have to say that Todd Klein's lettering (hand lettering!) meets his high standard once again--I have appreciated his work for years (just get a look at SANDMAN), and I am glad to see some more of it.

Some of the finer creators in the Vertigo stable have put together this project, and their combined talents make this book worthwhile.

While the drum beat to war may linger in the rear view mirror, the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico reveals the potential apocalyptic nature of natural resources. As far back as he 1960s Neil Young saw the ravages we impose on the environment; it has chapped him ever since. At every turn of his career he has endeavored to make a stand for Mother Earth, peace and harmony, with mixed results. The 2003 CD "Greendale", with the accompanying movie in 2004, made a compelling case for reassessment of the Bush Doctrine, environmental disregard, and imperial hubris deluxe, the apparent dictate of the cultural climate. At the time it was met with derision. A couple of comics came back to revive the story, now that it has played out so convincingly for many.

Joshua Dysart and Cliff Chiang wrote and illustrated " Neil Young's Greendale", a comic book based on the Cd and film. Sun Green, the protagonist ( a comic strip with a protagonist? You bet!), longs to cure the ills of the world, including war, rape of the land, and various sundry other philanthropic projects. Even more, she seems gifted to challenge anything she deems harmful, as well as nurturing anything that's productive. The Green family has a checkered past; entanglements that broke hearts, women lost too soon, secrets that grandpa can't even discuss anymore because of the Alzheimer's. His second wife knows the Green women have some wild powers... powers that go beyond the mere mortal.

As Sun looks for ways to make the world a better place she meets a stranger, "Earth Brown", who revolutionizes her vision of empowerment. He and his friends have a battle cry : "Let's activate the activists!" the remainder of the book chronicles the activation of Sun, as an environmentalist, peace maker, and female bearer of the Green family name. The results are quite surprising, the adventure a journey to behold.

This ain't Archie and the Gang.... but it's one heck of a comic strip ride.

I have to admit, I've never listened to the Greendale album, but this graphic novel makes me curious to listen to it.

Greendale covers a brief span in the life of Sun Green, starting with glimpses of her as a child. The meat of the of the book takes place over a few days, with Sun beginning to ask questions about her family's past. She's caught the notice of a mysterious & sinister man who seems to have some sort of supernatural powers. Sun has to figure out what exactly is going on as well as try to find her own place in the world as every she previously knew begins to shatter around her.

The artwork is easily the best part of this graphic novel. It is beautifully done & there's nice detail to everything. I really enjoyed pouring over the artwork in this book & reread it a few times just because the artwork was that nicely done.

Unfortunately, the weak point is the storyline. It really could have been fleshed out better- the graphic novel just seems to flash over some topics, spending little time on them when more definition would have been nice. It isn't difficult to figure out what's going on, but I really think that if the book had been better done it would have been a more satisfying read. Don't get me wrong, this is a nice read. It just isn't a great one.

Fans of Neil Young might like this because of the album, but I don't know if it will appeal to all graphic novel readers. It just doesn't bring anything new to the medium.

If you are a fan of Neil Young's Greendale then you need to pick this book up. It compliments the movie/CD very nicely. The illustrations are especially good. And the story gives a little more back ground information on the whole concept. I condsider Greendale one of Mr. Young's better projects and highly recommend this for any and all that feel the same way.

I'm a huge Neil Young fan being a fellow Canadian but I was shocked to see that Greendale had been turned into a graphic novel. A graphic novel seems like something that Neil Young would never do. I know he didn't write it but he had to approve it.

I wasn't nuts about Greendale as an album. It was a cool idea I just thought that it wasn't really as good as Neil's older stuff. This graphic novel has given me a new perspective on the album as a whole.

The book ties in closely to the album so you really need to hear the album to get enjoyment out of the book. The book pays homage to Neil's beliefs that most of us know all too well. Some of it really works, some parts drag on, much like the album.

I'd recommend Greendale to fans of Neil Young only. Graphic novel fans won't get as much out of this unless they've heard the album. It's a very interesting concept that translated into a pretty cool book.

I got this because my husband likes Neil Young. He enjoyed reading this book. If you enjoy comic books and like Neil Young, I would suggest this. Even if you don't like comic books, Neil Young fans will probably like the book anyway. It's not quite what I expected, but I don't know much about the work this was adapted from. I enjoyed reading it too though.

Having never listened to Neil Young's album Greendale, I went into this graphic novel not knowing what to expect.

The story centers around a young girl named Sun Green, living in a California town called Greendale. We are told she has uncanny abilities to climb any surface, herd animals, make predictions about animals, among other things. We flash forward to her at age 18, in high school. She starts having dreams about the women in her family line, who have a tendency to wander off into the woods, never to return.

We learn there is a proposed Alaskan oil drilling and a California energy crisis which upset Sun deeply, but in the pages that follow, she never really seemed to take any steps to do anything about either issue. During her time of discontent, Sun meets a mysterious man in a red suit who has an air of destruction and death around him.

Here's where the novel started to fall apart for me. We don't know much about the mysterious stranger in the red suit who torments Sun and the people she cares about. I was prepared to see her facing off against him, with something akin to the battle in The Stand By Stephen King - since this character was very similar to Randall Flagg. However, this didn't happen.

Most of this novel is spent finding out more about the women in Sun's family through a series of flashbacks and stories from surviving family members, and while Sun finally does take a stand, it's not the one I expected at all.

Neil Young has always been outspoken about environmental issues, and it shines through in the characters of his graphic novel. For me personally, the novel felt very dated. If this came out in the 1970's or the 1980's, perhaps it would have had a stronger following amongst comic readers.

The novel is suggested for mature readers, which it earns with references to sex, drug use, cursing, and violence. The artwork wasn't anything to write home about, the characters didn't have a lot of detail drawn into them. More emphasis was put on dialogue, which there is a lot of.

If you're a Neil Young fan, this is probably already in your collection. It just wasn't for me.

Ok, you don't need to write a "book review" academic stylee...

The fact is, not only was the music outstanding, but this book goes a long way in understanding the 'big picture"...

lighten up people...artwork, all simply fantastic....

and if you haven't visited the Greendale website, do so...

this all begins to tie together....by the way, the girl is simply gorgeous in the video too (see yahoo )

its a "living" document...and I hope with more chapters to come....I would gladly collect the whole series should we be lucky enough to get one...

Freaking lighten up....