Customer Reviews

Notes for a War Story

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4 star:		(1)
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Its really hard to find a comic artist in the magnitude of the old masters in this pile of superhero and manga garbage of today but Gipi really gets close to the likes of Hugo Pratt, Moebius and the other gods imo. Not only he is as good but he lacks the superficialims and narcissism that some of these great artists had (Manara comes to mind). He doesnt draw just to make beautiful pictures but to make his characters and stories jump of the page.

His lines are simple and flow incredibly with the motion, feelings and mood of his characters. His watercolors blend magically and add depth and atmopshere in a natural way. Storytelling and pace is excellent and I do love his complex characters and imaginative and lively dialogue. A true genious.

I read this on the heals of watching "Children of God." In some ways there were similar themes of children turned to a life of guns, crime...war. This novel also brought to mind tales of my friends who experienced the war first hand in Bosnia and Croatia. And even of those who now have had to live with the war in Iraq on their turf. Gipi never stipulates place...because this could be anywhere. The style is unique. The story is gripping. A graphic novel which certainly stays with you long after you've set it down.

This is probably one of the most amazing comics I've ever read. The watercolors are gorgeous and the story is compelling. Gipi is truly a master of his craft.

...disturbing, brackish, and entirely convincing story of three teens trying to survive in a war zone without 'losing points' in each other's eyes. The translation is entirely convincing as idiomatic English. A note (not by the author) at the end of the story says that Gipi rendered the story in oils, but I don't believe it, it looks like pen and monochromatic watercolour (or just possibly ink) wash...as one of the previous reviewers has also noted. In any case, a perfect melding of form, style and content...one of the few graphic novels we can be confident will still be read a century from now.

This is the story of 3 young men in an unnamed war-torn country trying to survive the conflict. They meet a local gangster and begin working for him. The narrator is a middle class boy who's left his family to be with his friends, both of whom are orphans. One of the orphans called Little Killer becomes leader of their small group as they become gangsters themselves. Eventually they become involved as freedom fighters in the conflict but the narrator is separated from his two friends. He returns home to his family rather than fight. He never sees his two friends again.

The story is well told and the blasted, barren landscapes of endless country with a tunnel of smoke coming from it and the empty, damaged cities add a sense of doomed apocalypse to the story. The landscapes reminded me of "Waltz with Bashir" and Joe Sacco's work, but it tells a different story of survival away from the armed conflicts. It's a story of lost youth and misplaced optimism as the narrator realises there's no escaping the war. The images of headless men first in a dream then glimpsed in the returning prisoners who pull their coats up over their heads to avoid the international press, is a haunting one and very powerful. Gipi tells a tragic but gripping tale that's a fantastic graphic novel.

I picked this book up on a whim, and I'm incredibly happy I did! Notes for a War Story is easily one of the best graphic novels I've read, and such a contrast to stuff that people usually bring to the comic world. Its a fantastic story about 3 friends who are caught in a war torn country, and the relationship between the boys is incredibly lifelike and believable. I feel like often in comics, we get this over-exaggerated version of reality, but Gipi does a great job with his characters, making them feel like people you've probably met or known in your life. And the artwork is incredible. Gipi employs a deceptively simple look that hides an unbelievable amount of detail and emotion in every panel. His paints create a perfect atmosphere for this story, absolutely stunning.

In simple; pick this book up now!