Customer Reviews

Supermarket

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

 

 

I was expecting a more incitefull stab at global consumerism, but it turned out to be more of a bizzare, disjointed Romeo and Juliete cyberpunk gangster story, but not quite as cool as that sounds. The artwork was well done in a pop style that uses a wide variety of solid color pairings with stunning effect, but the story had lots of holes in it.

I enjoyed this right up until the last bit - when the story became far too rushed and ended with a quick, pat, and really rushed feeling anticlimactic ending.

The story is quite fun - an amalgamation of East and West pop culture with Yakuza gangs fighting the Swedish porn industry over a half Japanese/half Swedish spoiled bratty suburban teen.

There are several quirky and unexpected plot twists in there but at times the story and art (beautiful as it is) can be very hard to follow. I had to go back and reread several times to understand what was happening in the story. Honestly, I think the fault there lies more with the author than the artist. The transitioning was just weak and it felt like artist and author weren't communicating well.

Surprisingly, for a story set in the future, it feels very 1990s derivative of internet porn and Fast and the Furious. But it is still a fun, if quick, read with interesting art.

My title says it all: The art found in Supermarket is fantastic. The detail in the cityscapes is amazing and the lead character is well designed.
However, as other reviewers have said, the story is quite weak. While it has a good start, it simply isn't allowed enough time to develop. Nearly half the book is spent establishing the characters, the world, and the plot - and it's all well-and-good. But the second half of the book quickly wraps things up before they had barely begun. What could have been an epic and fun (though not-so-original) story is turned into something that feels more like a summary of a graphic novel, rather than a complete graphic novel.
That said, the "Cashmoney Edition" pictured here is definitely the edition to get. The included artworks offered at the back of this edition, while few, are a great addition.
Overall, it's a fun, quick read that's light on story and heavy on art.

In a not too distant future economics rule the world. The haves and the have nots are bigger than ever before. Buying is a way of showing power. And the economy is governed by the Yakuza and Porno Swede crime families. One day Pella Suzuki is caught in the middle of the warring factions as they hunt for the fortune Pella is heir too. Pella must navigate her way through the City and avoid both factions who are coming for her. At the same time she must solve the clues to why her parents were murdered and the secrets they've left for her to discover.

The first thing that you notice when you open this book is the absolutely fantastic artwork by Kristian Donaldson. It's a a heavily manga influenced/pop art/modern feel to it that is quite unique. Kristian's art work fits the story perfectly conveying a futuristic/hedonistic type world where everything seems to move at sharp angles to each other. The colors really help set the mood of the story, darkening in the most tense moments, but mostly having a pale sketchy type feel. The story draws from elements of "Rome & Juliet" and "Bladerunner" to create a unique entertaining story that holds your attention and makes you want to know more.

Overall an excellent edition to anyone's bookshelf.

Yes, this book is awesome. Great writing, art, and colors--LOVE the colors. Interesting paper stock (feels good in your hands) and convenient size. Overall a great product that you won't be sorry for purchasing.

I read this last month and the first thing that came to my mind when I first flipped through it's pages was that the art was gorgeous. I've always been a fan of Kristian's cover art but I've never seen her interiors and, I must say, this is a pleasant surprise for me. The art is attractive and very modern looking, which sells the book's premise as a modern near-future urban story. IDW made the right choice by getting Kristian on this book.

The story was good as well. It's about a young lady named Pella who works for a (surprise, surprise) supermarket. She's a typical, normal young lady who took up that job in the supermarket simply to get a feel of having a real job. Things were pretty routine til one day she comes back to her house and finds her parents murdered. Furthermore she finds out that her parents were formerly from the Yakuza and Pormo Swede crime families (and that they are very, very wealthy). The story kicks off from there with Pella working her way out of that predicament.

It borrows many themes from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juiliet, the rival crime families playing a major part in the story. There's also many moments where the story shifts from the main plot to Pella's own thoughts and feelings. On the whole it feels very different from the other Brian Wood stories I've read till now.

I strongly believe that this book is about rivalries and about the economy and about finances, and the roles these factors play out in society, which is interesting. It's like Brian took elements from Channel Zero and mixed it with the sprawling adventures of the Couriers. It's really fun to read a book like that.

The ending is one of those things where you need time to figure out but you get after awhile. Pretty satisfying.

Good read, add it to your library. Supermarket is the kind of comic book that makes reading comic books cool and respectable.

Imagery leaps off the page, with a skittles palette and spike-haired people. Everything has an edge, and you might get cut.

Imagine that the Capulets and Montagues were crime families, and that Romeo and Juliet lived to raise a daughter. That's Pella, filled with sixteen-going-on-forty ennui about her parents' and her own conspicuously consumptive existence.

Then, one day, she comes home to find her parents murdered and a codeword message waiting for her. Then, it turns out that the code has been broken, her safe house isn't safe, and even her electronic existence evaporates as she watches. She also finds out that her parents weren't who she thought, and neither is she, and neither is the cold-blooded killer who throws her a lifeline.

It's a hyperchromatic teen power fantasy about being The One, with grabbing graphics and a few nice extras at the end. If you like action comics without capes, tights, or nudity (except maybe a little), or if you want to see where narrative imagery is going, dig in.

-- wiredweird

This was pretty good, but would have been a lot better had any further issues come out. I hate getting interested in characters and story only to have an author/artist drop a series and leave the readers without a clue as to where they story is going.

My first introduction to the work of Kristian Donaldson was Forsaken over at Image, which was still some amazing work from early in his career. However, Supermarket was an opus for Kristian in terms of his use of brush work and interpretation of colors. There are few people in the industry that can utilize color combinations alone to create an atmosphere or even support emotions the way that Kristian does.

This is the book that really made me a fan of Kristian Donaldson, and I suggest anyone who is a fan of Brian Wood that this is a must have, and anyone who loves art and has never seen the work of Kristian, do yourself a favor and pick this up!

Lighter than most of Wood's work. The story is very fast paced. Stuff happens and more stuff happens. It's very cool without that kind of trying too hard feeling you get from some works. The art is beautiful, but it is really priced too high.