Kill. Die. Repeat. Repeat.
Wednesday, 7 May 2014 00:45![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dr_phil_physicsAnother day. Another Amazon package. Another pre-ordered new release.
This one was an impulse purchase. I am not a comic aficionado, though like video games and D&D I know enough to be conversant and enjoy some of the inspired movies. I draw a line between comics and graphic novels -- I own a few of the latter, including two Batmans and The Crow. I found the movie version of The Crow to be the best film interpretation of a graphic novel I have ever seen. Oh, and Maus.
But I know Nick Mamatas from online. And I have been excited about his current job to bring some Japanese SF to America. So having already pre-ordered the novel, this was an easy sell.
All You Need Is Kill [Graphic Novel] / Based On The Novel by Hiroshima Sakurazaka, Adapted by Nick Mamatas, Art by Lee Ferguson.
San Francisco: Haikasoru, (2004) 2014.
Didn't I just write this review? No, you're not in a time loop. It was just a week ago that I got the movie tie-in paperback and enjoyed it very much. So... how's the graphic novel?
It's gorgeous. I saw a comparison shot of the artwork with the Japanese manga, and I have to say I like this one better. The colors are rich and dark. The feeling of motion, practically dancing with their armor -- it's far thinner and graceful than it has any right to be in real life, but that's the artistic vision.
The story is cleanly edited down, almost spare, but many key scenes and lines are included. I read the novel a week ago. It would be a very different experience to swap the order. And the same between the original story and the movie which comes out June 6th. Of course, Keiji Kiriya is Japanese here -- I have no idea if they are going to try to spin Tom Cruise as Japanese or not. Still, Keiji isn't drawn aggressively Japanese. So if you want to paste Cruise in your mind, this graphic novel won't cause a cerebral hemorrhage.
It's a slim volume, but it's beautiful.
Recommended -- as a companion to the novel
Dr. Phil
PS -- Of course Nick is now talking about how he's a military science fiction author. Er-rrr, it's nice work, but it's an adaptation from a translation. Not quite the same thing as coming up with it from your own mind. (grin) Though of course Nick might point out he got paid for it. (double-grin) So he wins that round...
This one was an impulse purchase. I am not a comic aficionado, though like video games and D&D I know enough to be conversant and enjoy some of the inspired movies. I draw a line between comics and graphic novels -- I own a few of the latter, including two Batmans and The Crow. I found the movie version of The Crow to be the best film interpretation of a graphic novel I have ever seen. Oh, and Maus.
But I know Nick Mamatas from online. And I have been excited about his current job to bring some Japanese SF to America. So having already pre-ordered the novel, this was an easy sell.
All You Need Is Kill [Graphic Novel] / Based On The Novel by Hiroshima Sakurazaka, Adapted by Nick Mamatas, Art by Lee Ferguson.
San Francisco: Haikasoru, (2004) 2014.
Didn't I just write this review? No, you're not in a time loop. It was just a week ago that I got the movie tie-in paperback and enjoyed it very much. So... how's the graphic novel?
It's gorgeous. I saw a comparison shot of the artwork with the Japanese manga, and I have to say I like this one better. The colors are rich and dark. The feeling of motion, practically dancing with their armor -- it's far thinner and graceful than it has any right to be in real life, but that's the artistic vision.
The story is cleanly edited down, almost spare, but many key scenes and lines are included. I read the novel a week ago. It would be a very different experience to swap the order. And the same between the original story and the movie which comes out June 6th. Of course, Keiji Kiriya is Japanese here -- I have no idea if they are going to try to spin Tom Cruise as Japanese or not. Still, Keiji isn't drawn aggressively Japanese. So if you want to paste Cruise in your mind, this graphic novel won't cause a cerebral hemorrhage.
It's a slim volume, but it's beautiful.
Recommended -- as a companion to the novel
Dr. Phil
PS -- Of course Nick is now talking about how he's a military science fiction author. Er-rrr, it's nice work, but it's an adaptation from a translation. Not quite the same thing as coming up with it from your own mind. (grin) Though of course Nick might point out he got paid for it. (double-grin) So he wins that round...
