Customer Reviews

Shadowland

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read this 'out of sequence' : after Boulevard and Alias. In my opinion it far surpasses them both. This is Deitch's DaVinci code.
This is the one that makes everything else fall into place. I put the book down and it all made sense, I could see all the minute connections, the loose ends were in fact major plot developments. The workings of the universe lay unfolded before me. I could see for miles. It was like looking through a window pane illuminated by white lightening: clear light!

Believe me, this is a masterpiece. I can't believe it's out of print. This is Deitch at the peak of his god-like powers. If you have and like the other titles mentioned above you MUST get this or your life will be a sad and utter failure.
It's great.

This was the first graphic novel I have read by Kim Deitch, and in the beginning I was unsure if I was missing parts of the serial "Shadowland." The storyline of this novel doesn't just jump around, it jumps inside of every facet of a story that at times seems disjointed and confusing, but is actually an enjoyable ride through American folklore and sci-fi fantasy.

The 'plot' of the novel is not important (but still entertaining), but the psychedelic, imaginative drawings are entertaining and Deitch's artistic style is original and very imitated.

What drew me to this graphic novel was the amazing pictures that had such fantastic details and were so skillfully drawn. Of course, I can also never resist a book on the circus/carnival. At first glance, the crowded and overwhelming number of pictures seemed perfect for the circus atmosphere that often time has multiple acts all running simultaneously. However, I felt that the plot and characters in this graphic novel left a lot to be desired.

Shadlowland includes ten different stories that are all set in either the circus or a carnival with the characters that are larger than life such as clowns, midgets, bearded ladies, voodoo witches the size of one's thumb and many more true "characters". The first story is about a sideshow high diving pig that has past his prime and must watch as he is replaced by a younger pig. Another story is told by the circus owner's wife, who is a midget, and the sketchy dealings that her husband (a clown who is always in makeup) makes in order to keep the circus afloat.

Deitch gives the reader an interesting cast of characters and tells each of their stories in vignettes. Still, this was not enough to keep my attention. Some of the story lines turned extremely sexually graphic which deterred me from reading them while others felt as if they had been done before. While the illustrations are what first won me over, I soon found myself overwhelmed by what was going on in the illustrations. The more time I spent hunched over the graphics, the more I forget what the plot was and had to go back to the beginning. Though each page truly embodied the atmosphere of a circus/carnival is also left the reader feeling as if there is not enough time in the world to absorb all of the pictures and their meanings. While this is not in my top list of graphic novels, I still think that it is worth the time to flip through and at least look at the illustrations.

This book demonstrates every unattractive quality imaginable. It seems to revel in its baseness.

The art is morally reprehensible, vulgar, insensitive; The writing is stupid and lacks even the semblance of a sense of humor.

If you have no taste, by all means, purchase it. If you prefer plot and art that propels the story, then stay as far away from Shadowland as possible.

Deitch is just like the carnival barkers he writes about in Shadowland: promising a lot, but delivering very little.