Steampunk: Manimatron [Paperback]

Joe Kelly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2001

After awakening from centuries of slumber, Cole Blaquesmith is recruited to play the part of hero and lead the oppressed London Underdwellers in a revolution against the tyranny of the malevolent Lord Absinthe. A Graphic Novel. Original.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Wildstorm (March 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563897628
• ISBN-13: 978-1563897627
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.1 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #459,256 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 One of the Best, November 9, 2007

By 

S. Robert Katz (East Lansing, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Steampunk: Manimatron (Paperback)

frankly i was surprised that this series is rated so far at five stars from every reviewer. when it was being published, it was one of the most divisive comics i can remember. everyone either loved it or hated it, and considering that it was cancelled before the story was done, i would imagine the latter outweighed the former. anyhow, i would have bought ten copies of the series myself if it would have meant the series would continue to its natural end, and i suspect most of its fans felt the same way, because this comic really was something special.

the story is great, with a protagonist you really root for, and more importantly, feel for. the premise is intriguing and engaging. and the artwork and design are astonishing.

this book's greatest strength was also its greatest weakness. a lot of people were frustrated with how complicated the book is, both in story and art. nothing is really handed to the reader at all, certainly not early on. the slowly unravelling backstory and the chaotic artwork really emphasizes the environment. the reader has to work a bit, but that's part of the fun. also, being a graphic artist myself, perhaps i have an unfair edge when it comes to deciphering and navigating chris bachalo's panels, but i didn't find it to be much work at all.

to be fair, i think only people who really cared about this book would be bothered to write a review, so you probably won't hear from the camp that found this book impenetrable, but given the sheer quality of work, i always generally dismissed those people as lazy. these people cared about what they created and it shows.

the writing is layered and thoughtful. the art is energetic, with an incredible sense of environment. this book is infinitely better than most of the generic superhero comics floating around out there with nothing to say.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Heavy Novel of Comics, but Worth It!, March 8, 2003

By 

Samuel Musen (Worcester, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Steampunk: Manimatron (Paperback)

The artwork in this book has only one word to describe it: Stunning. Each page is rendered masterfully by the visionary that is Chris Bachalo. The story is amazing, but it is not as easy to read as your typical book. It takes time and thought to make sense of story because there is so much on each page. While this may hinder the simple reader's enjoyment, it makes the plot so much deeper and fuels a growing respect for the creators who deserve so much more respect in the industry than they currently receive.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars DENSE, May 4, 2010

By 

T. Jackson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Steampunk: Manimatron (Paperback)

I've had this trade paperback in my collection for a number of years now and thought it was probably past time that I cracked it open and gave it a go. I've been a fan of artist Chris Bacahlo's work since his run on `Generation X' in the 1990s and this volume collects the beginning of an original series he created with writer Joe Kelly, set in a futuristic, science-fiction inspired steampunk version of London. I found it really heavy going and impenetrable to start with: the art is incredibly dense, each page being crammed full of detail and minutiae and the action is not always very clear (historically one of Bachalo's major weaknesses as a story-teller in my view). That said the narrative becomes more cogent with each successive chapter and I found myself quite enjoying things from about the fourth issue (there are five collected here plus a prologue - `Catechism' - and what appears to be a rough teaser - `Idiosincratica'). I've got the second and final volume of this series too and I'll continue my reading there once I've taken a bit of a breather.