Hicksville (Paperback)

by Dylan Horrocks (Author) "FROM UP HERE, ALL YOU CAN SEE IS MOTION....." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Exceptional... Well-written and beautifully drawn." -- Chester Brown, author of Yummy Fur

"New Zealand's recent cultural revival, which has brought us Keri Hulme's THE BONE PEOPLE in literature, and Jane Campion's THE PIANO in film, now has an ambassador in comics: Dylan Horrocks." -- The Comics Journal --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Hicksville encompasses a dozen different styles; happily, Horrocks proves equally adept at finely etched antipodean landscapes, superhero battles, and gag cartoons." --Details

"Dylan Horrocks is clever, funny, and very, very good at making comic books. His characters grab you and haunt you and even make you worry for them. Buy this guy's comics. He knows what he's doing." --Frank Miller

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1896597181
• ISBN-13: 978-1896597188
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,109,712 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treat at an unhurried pace., June 9, 2004

By	Dennis Baum (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hicksville (Paperback)

I consider myself a graphic novel snob. And I just don't have the time or energy for poorly executed work. Lone Wolf & Cub, Usagi Yojimbo, Maus, Watchmen, the Swamp Thing books, Top 10, Nausicaa, Transmetropolitan, these are the collections you'll find displayed proudly in my living room. Not only is Hicksville in that collection, but it's quickly catching up to Watchmen as the story I've most often loaned out to non-comics readers.

Hicksville is self contained, consistent, and human. I never got into the whole DC/Marvel thing, but Horrocks' enthusiasm for comics history draws you in. And while he plays with that history, he weaves in compelling stories about people which are subtle and adult. Yes "adult", but not in any gratuitous way. Here, it is in the way that we have all experienced life as we get older. Relationships are confusing and sad. Wounds take time to heal. Quests for answers don't always (ever?) work out as we had hoped.

At first I was worried the art was too simple and sketchy. I quickly realized that I had underestimated his style. The frames have a smooth, even flow that carry you with an unhurried pace through the story. As the various threads begin to weave together, the drawings take on much of the burden of storytelling. And frames which don't need any words, don't have any.

You might go back to the beginning the first time you get half way through so you can savor the art and the story before all is revealed. Don't feel bad, his unassuming style (both in drawing and in storytelling) just lowered your guard.

I believe this is a great work.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, melancholy, moving -- beautiful., October 13, 1998

By	Sebbo "cardinal_sebbo" (Somerville, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hicksville (Paperback)

As an enthusiast of the comics medium, I'm very excited about this book. Hicksville shows a maturity and grace that has finally gotten beyond the pulp conventions of comics' first fifty or so years, and the anxiously antinomian hipness of the last twenty. Horrocks has deep affection for all those periods, but the voice he uses is entirely his own. In Hicksville, we have a true graphic novel, delving into character and atmosphere, rather than relentless, explosive action. Horrocks' cartoony, accessable art style never seems forced or draws attention to itself. Unlike other similarly-ambitious comics artists of his generation, such as Seth or Adrian Tomine, Horrocks never comes across as arty or forced. The plot -- with its concern with the history, art, and business of comics -- may be initally offputting for the non-comics-literate reader, but anyone who perseveres (and uses the glossary in the back) will find Horrocks' enthusiasm infectious rather than offputting.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Navel Gazing, September 17, 2002

By	A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Hicksville (Paperback)

As an outsider to the world of comics (well, I grew up on Tintin and Asterix, and love Adrian Tomine's stuff, as well as Joe Sacco), I found this book to be a bit of an exercise in navel-gazing somewhat comparable to when a novelist writes a novel about writing or the publishing industry. The book's plot revolves around the history of comics and the industry's evolution into, well, an industry. One that stifles "art" and creativity in the name of serving up the latest installment (and movie) of the spandex-clad superheroes.

This somewhat whiny message is woven into the tale of a journalist trying to learn about the background of the industry's current superstar, a quest which takes him to a semi-magical small town in New Zealand, where everyone reads and appreciates comics. Horrock's exhibits a remarkable dexterity of storytelling in sustaining the story while interspersing all manner of digressions, subplots, and asides which may or may not be real. But while this is abstractly impressive, unless one is really into the whole world of comics, it's not likely to captivate. The art is not really to my taste, I prefer more consistency and realism, but it does suit the story perfectly. As always with D&Q, the book is beautifully produced, I just wish it had been more interesting to us non-insiders.