Customer Reviews

Seaguy

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

 

 

When a soft drink named Xoo comes to life suddenly, where do you turn? To none other than Seaguy, the aquatic adventurer who's out to win the heart of the beautiful She-Beard, and who, along with Chubby, his fish pal that hates the water, unearth a secret eons old!

Sound confusing? It is. But its also a trip well worth taking. Grant Morrison (We3, Invisibles, New X-Men) pens, and I'm sure this will be a shock, a very amazing/confusing tale at the same time. Starting in a world where superheroes are no longer needed, and eventually ending up at the moon, Grant uses this story to poke at consumerism and the government virtually non-stop. Of course, if you're a fan of Morrison's none of this should come as a surprise to you. Along for the ride is Cameron Stewart, the fantastic artist who brings Seaguy's world to life. He gives the cast a solid superhero look, but one that just seems more vibrant than that found in most fare. A big help was the colouring, making Seaguy's world really pop.

Should you buy this book? As long as you're prepared for a mind-boggling ride you should strap yourself in and enjoy the adventure.

Grant Morrison's Seaguy is one of those few comic oddities that will keep readers faith in the medium. In a future world where super heroes are no longer needed, Seaguy and his best pal Chubby Da Choona find themselves in the middle of a real adventure when a food and drink element called Xoo takes a life of it's own. Zany and startingly original at the same time, Seaguy represents almost everything that makes Grant Morrison a modern day visionary in the comic world. Morrison's digs at mass consumerism and government control are more than apparent here as well, but as any reader of Morrison's various works know, this is of little surprise. The pencils of Cameron Stewart bring this utopian world to life, and frankly, Seaguy would not work the way it does if anyone else would have been on board. Seaguy isn't Morrison's best work, not even by a long shot (his runs on JLA and New X-Men, and not to mention Animal Man and the brilliant the Filth are literary and comic gems), but this book is a prime example of his originality and vision as a writer, and proof that there still is hope in the medium.

This is not a book that can be enjoyed by every reader, though, to be honest, very little of Grant Morrison's work is like that. He can tell amazing stories that make your head hurt, occasionally make you hallucinate and rethink how comic stories can be told while approaching every project with a totally new outlook but that outlook is not for everyone.

The first time I read the first issue I copied Chubby Da Choona and said, 'Da Fug?' I had to sit down and read it again to enjoy the subtle cartoonish nuances of the book. When the entire thing is taken as a whole then Morrison's bizarre vision really shines through. Love him or hate him, it's hard to say that he can't come up with stories that no one else would think of (whether or not you think that they work is another matter).

Cameron Stewart's art fits the tone of the book perfectly. Morrison has a knack for discovering the best traits of an artist and putting them to use. I think this is because he is one of the few comic book writers who realize that comic books are a visual medium and need to be written as such. Even his dialogue heavy pages are written visually. Stewart said that the next 3 parts of it have some of the most insane things he has ever seen and given Morrison that is saying a lot.

Its one part adventure serial, one part dystopian morality tale and one part Spongebob Squarepants camp. It adds up to one very interesting comic no matter how you add it up. The only major flaw of the book is that the ending is far too open and wraps up nothing, only setting up the next miniseries, which of course you immediately want to read. So in that respect the ending is a letdown in a uniquely Morrisonesque way.

Imagine Lawrence of Arabia playing Space Ghost with a fat tuna for a side kick instead of a pair of kids. Or any other Hana Barbara cartoon with an iron jawed ace in the lead.

Now watch how the world will never bring him down!

The sequel is coming soon. I'm quite happy to see Morrison's got more to say with this character, he's really a favorite of mine.

The story of Seaguy, written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Cameron Stewart, introduces a brilliant new hero (Seaguy, naturally) who yearns for love and adventure. His partner-in-arms is a flying cigar-smoking Tuna, aptly named Chubby Da Choona. Their quirky, surrealistic world is part fairy tale and part paranoid nightmare. The story and art mesh perfectly in creating a subversive childlike wonderland. The concept and approach are innovative and new, making this story of high adventure exciting and instantly memorable. Seaguy wears his heart on his sleeve, and his colorful, vibrant, and hyperintelligent surrealistic story will likely touch yours.

Grant Morrison has been one of the most creative and inventive writers working in the field of graphic storytelling for the past 20 years. I dare to suggest that Seaguy might be both his and Cameron Stewart's finest work. (This original work was published by Vertigo a few years ago; Morrison and Stewart are currently releasing a new Seaguy miniseries sequel.)

Imagine a world where social reality is "perfect"--there is no poverty, conflict, social unrest, or disorder, only harmony and contentment. Freedom and choice are defined in relation to entertainment, play, and consumption. Everyday life is peaceful and everyone is special. There is no struggle, no strife. The superhero types no longer exist simply because there is no longer any need for them. Sure, they're still around, but all they do now is go to the amusement parks like everyone else. Television is a central part of life. It functions to simultaneously enthrall, numb, and divert attention vis-à-vis cartoon worlds and mindless repetition. What appears on the nightly "news" is strictly limited because information is carefully managed. The boundaries of the expressible are very tightly drawn. People live in "comfort zones" surrounded by theme parks, but they are invariably lonely, alienated, and self-absorbed, thinking and acting as they are expected to.

The story opens with Seaguy playing a game of chess with Death on the boardwalk. Shortly thereafter, Seaguy happens to see a beautiful bearded woman, She-Beard, with whom he instantly falls in love. Overcome with feelings of longing and realizing that his existence has been devoid of both love and real meaning, Seaguy sets out to find adventure in the hopes of somehow setting himself apart from the pack, hoping this will make She-Beard see him, take notice of him. Important discoveries quickly ensue. Somehow everything is being subtly and covertly controlled behind the scenes, much like in the classic TV show The Prisoner. XOO, the type of food offered by the grocery stores, while quite cheap to produce, hence extremely profitable, is actually a form of sentient life. And Mickey Eye, the seemingly friendly face of prosperity and social order, is also panoptic--everywhere, all the time, much like Big Brother.

Seaguy is charming, sweet, funny, and romantic. It is also original, new, fresh, and instantly cool. Cameron Stewart's artwork is outstanding. Vibrant, crisp, and beautiful, the art perfectly suits the story, which may be read on multiple levels: as a straight-up superhero story or as subversive social and political commentary. Morrison has described Seaguy as a surreal and whimsical story "about the `big brothering' of society, omnipresent surveillance and global disinformation. It's about the dumbing down of culture, the creation of capitalist `comfort zones' in the midst of social decay, about a world tranquilized and satisfied and quite unaware of the dark glue that holds it all together." Like Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, Seaguy is a captivating, subversive social satire. Among the themes addressed here are surveillance, pacification, social engineering, power, social control, and cultural decay. These thematic elements are wedded into an emotionally resonant story of love and adventure on the high seas, which features, among other things, an octopus shepherd and a mummy on the moon. So if you expect wildly inventive and creative from Grant Morrison, you'll not be disappointed by Seaguy. Stewart's mastery of craft is evidenced in every panel he draws; his character designs and layouts are brilliant. Peter Doherty's colors throughout are exemplary, as is Todd Klein's deft lettering.

Seaguy is an exciting and radically different take on superheroes. You owe it to yourself to experience this lovely and thought-provoking masterpiece, which has been something of a sleeper hit since its initial publication.

-- Jeffery Klaehn

Grant Morrison is definitely Lightning Rod Lad in the world of contemporary comics, garnering countless "love him or loathe him" responses to his work. Me? I'm right there in the first camp, thank you very much -- and it's due to creations like Seaguy.

If you crammed Kafka, consumerism, "The Prisoner," Disney, Surrealism, the Absurdists, and superheroes into a blender, then poured it into a Traditional Quest-shaped mold, this wonderful mini-series would be the result. Sparkling with delightfully ridiculous yet disturbing ideas, it depicts a hero in a world no longer in need of heroes, because everything has been commodified & regulated & blanderized into gooey mush. Everybody's supposed to be content, satisfied, happy -- or else!

But of course a world stripped of meaning & depth is one of utter alienation. Seaguy and his pal Chubby Da Choona embark on a journey that reveals a little of what's lurking behind the sugar-sweet curtain ... and it's not a happy discovery, to say the least. Just as the colorful seaside resort facade of The Village concealed corridors of ruthless power, psychological torture, and an unsleeping mania for control, so too does Seaguy's world-as-theme-park conceal pitiless guardians of the status quo.

While the rather bleak open ending left us wanting more, it wasn't clear until recently that Morrison would be able to write the second & third acts of this loopy but ominous tale. That makes this first volume all the more worth reading!

Some may say that this is all old hat, that it's been done before, that everybody already knows how much corporate interests & cultural superficiality rule this world & colonize our minds. That's one of the points, I think. All of this is hidden in plain sight, so to speak, turned into glib & ironic commentary on itself, so that we can feel smug & superior about being in the know without being able to do anything about it. They sell happiness, they sell emptiness, and they'll happily sell rebellious hipster posing as well. "You know we're manipulating you, you know that we know you know, and isn't it all so chicly absurd?"

Meanwhile, Seaguy struggles against forces he doesn't understand, forces he can barely comprehend ... just as we do. For the thoughtful comics reader with both a satiric sense of humor & a genuine horror at the vapid state of the consuming consumerist world, this is a must!

Grant Morrison is a creator like no other. All of his work is just pure imagination of the highest order. Seaguy is no different. Seaguy tells the story of a young man and his talking, floating tuna, Chubby Da Choona, as they become bored with life in their idealized world and search for adventure. Something sinister lurks at the edges of the story and is revealed at the end, setting up forthcoming volumes (which ARE finally coming!). Seaguy is a touching look at friendship and the human need for freedom and excitement and is one of Morrison's most enjoyable books to date. Some find it confusing, but that's just part of the fun.

This is EXTREMELY bizarre. I repeat : This is EXTREMELY bizarre. A dodgy looking nerd hero wants to do good deeds. No one else wants him too, no one cares. Fish men, talking fish, conspiracies, other planets, betrayals, dead things, and whatever else you care to think of. Oh, and the girl is not interested, either. Very hard to describe.

I'm a fan of Grant Morrison and this was a pretty cool story.
There was a lot of neat sci-fi stuff and it had a anti-hollywood ending.
The characters were beyond bizarre and there were some good jabs towards the establishment.
But, the only thing that really blew we away was the two page splash, best art in the whole story.
I would have liked to have read that story.