Snakes and Ladders [Paperback]

Alan Moore (Author), Eddie Campbell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2001

Snakes and Ladders is about English revolutionary Cromwell, who was dug up three years after his death in order to be executed. To further shock you, we learn that Pre-Raphaelite beauty Lizzie Siddal was also exhumed so that Rossetti could retrieve his manuscript book of poems, given to her in her death as a token of his eternal love.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Eddie Campbell Comics (June 1, 2001)
• ISBN-10: 0957789653
• ISBN-13: 978-0957789654
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,861,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Caveat Recommendation, February 10, 2003

By 

misterfurioso (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Snakes and Ladders (Paperback)

This book isn't for everyone, but if you're not everyone (and you could be anyone, natch) then it may fascinate. As the prior reviewer noted, this is a meditation on "magic" and art, via an exploration and "invocation" of the life of writer Arthur Machen, a quite amazing man who, amongst many prose achievments, wrote THE GREAT GOD PAN and several horror tales which influenced Lovecraft. The very idea of "imagination" is both the canvas and the brush which Moore uses to explore Machen, life, death and creativity. To those looking for another WATCHMEN, this might be an abstruse, impenetrable read, but for anyone interested in Machen and/or visionary writers (in the literal, William Blakean sense) will find much to impress. This comic is an adapation of a performance piece by Moore, which is available from RE: search records. I must confess to not fully "getting" the comic upon my hasty first read, but hearing Moore speak the words added a new level of illumination, not that buying the CD is in any way a necessity. Moore's continuing exploration of his ideas about imagination, creativity, writing and their logical extension "magic" (the comic reveals what this is) are fascinating, thought provoking and delightfully lucid.

6 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Well, that's just about enough of this sort of thing., April 16, 2002

By 

miles@riverside (Indio, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Snakes and Ladders (Paperback)

This pamphlet is a type of sequel to THE BIRTH CAUL. It's not a sequel in the sense that it follows on the events of THE BIRTH CAUL (were there any events in THE BIRTH CAUL?). Rather, it's a sequel in that it's by the same creators, has the same length, is written and drawn in the same style, and uses the same expository tone of voice that THE BIRTH CAUL uses. Like its predecessor, this one has no actual story, but functions as a type of artistic "statement".

The earlier work had some interesting points, but I went into this one frowning and came out frowning. Something about the nature of art and how it's related to magic. According to the credits page, SNAKES AND LADDERS was originally presented live to the Society of the Golden Dawn, so parts of the book may have something to do with the philosophy of that particular, um, fellowship of believers, but I couldn't get enough out of it to figure out what's what.

It might be more interesting to people who haven't already read THE BIRTH CAUL, but I got tired of it pretty quickly. I'm not sure if Moore and Campbell intend to make a series out of these things, but if so, this is as far as I'm going. Well, maybe.