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helpfulsnowman's review against another edition
4.0
Guys, maybe Instagram isn't a good medium for text.
Anyway, I decided to jump on the sadwagon and read another comic biography of Andre. This one's good. The Box Brown one is also really good. I think most people don't need to read both, they cover a lot of the same territory. It's sort of like when two asteroid movies came out the same year. In fact, Box Brown's book came out mid-2014, this one in 2015, so in all likelihood they were being made at the same time.
Why did I read both? Because I got a new tablet computing device that's capable of reading comics from the library. Whoa. Damn right, whoa.
Now, before you get all excited, it's a cheapie. It was like $100. Which maybe isn't cheap for some people. Tell you what, if you're reading this on a gizmo that retailed for less than $100, I will personally apologize. Comment below.
Most of why I wanted this tablet was to read comics. Also partially to watch a Japanese television show that I've tried really hard to buy legitimately, but only found a few places, and I can't tell if there are English subtitles because I can't read the Japanese item description. It's possible to torrent this show, but I don't know how to do that, nor do I know how to do that without getting my internet taken away. Which might be kind of awesome at this point because I wouldn't be able to work, but less awesome because while I wasn't working I couldn't watch Project Runway seasons from 10 years ago.
Anyway, if someone can torrent this for me and give them to me on cd-rom, it would be much appreciated, but also probably illegal, so don't do it, and I'm definitely not asking people for that on a public forum here. Just saying that I would appreciate that sacrifice.
haia_929's review against another edition
4.0
I received a copy of this book from Lion Forge Comics on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Another graphic novel biography of Andre the Giant! Last year I reviewed Box Brown's Andre the Giant biography so it's kind of cool to get to read another biography of the man and to see where they sort of differ. I have to say they're definitely both worth reading and I enjoyed them both. Easton and Medri's biography has beautiful art, a really personal story, but a kind of toneless and false sounding narration. I think it was a wonderful look at his life, I just wasn't a fan of the narration.
The story is told through Andre's eyes, which was an interesting decision but I think ultimately the point of failure for this book. It all just came across false and unrealistic because it didn't seem like a true representation of events. It read a little like a wikipedia article at times, it was informative - much in the same way as Brown's book was - but it came across unrealistic because people don't talk like wikipedia articles. I think the book did a great deal to humanize a man who had so much media attention, which was absolutely fabulous, it just didn't feel like Andre narrating was a good decision.
The art in this book is absolutely beautiful. It's very detailed and really shows the changes in Andre's life so beautifully and clearly. I really enjoyed the art, and it was interesting to compare it to Brown's much more simple design. I think they both really captured something unique and beautiful in their artistic choices though.
I would highly recommend this book, I think it is worth a read and especially interesting to compare to Brown's book from last year. Definitely check it out!
lberestecki's review
3.0
Received from NetGalley.
joshrskinner's review
4.0
Well worth grabbing a copy!
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
villyidol's review against another edition
4.0
I was a fan of wrestling as a kid, even went to a WWF show with my dad and some of my friends, which is something you won’t get a lot of chances to do if you are living in Germany. But you do not have to be a fan of wrestling to enjoy this book. I myself haven’t been one for decades now.
This is a very humane, emotionally engaging story of a man that was suffering from acromegaly, got stared at wherever he went, was looking for a place where he would fit in, found said place, became a huge star and then struggled with both his fame and with chronic pain.
After a brief look at his not so easy childhood the book tracks his career from his beginnings and early successes in France, to his time in Japan and ultimately his huge success in North America, where he was the biggest star of the wrestling world at the time when wrestling itself became a huge thing. His forays into Hollywood are shown as well as the worlds of wrestling and boxing coming together. We learn about his relationship, friendship really, with his first manager and see the changes, not all of them good, that Vince McMahon Jr. brought to the world of wrestling when he took over the WWWF from his father. I learned quite a bit about the history of wrestling here.
Through all this we see André’s struggles both with alcohol and his body and the constant pain it was causing him. We see a giant with a big heart, although sadly one that was not big enough for his huge body.
Reading this made me quite emotional, and I almost shed a tear towards the end. The only thing I feel is missing here is a more in-depth look into his family-life. After the heartfelt foreword written by his daughter, I expected to see a little more of this. But then again, his daughter herself only saw him five times in her life. I would have liked to learn a little more about the reasons that made it so difficult for him to connect with his child and her mother. The reasons for their initial estrangement are given, but I reckon it must have weighed on his mind more than is shown here. Or maybe I’m misjudging him in that regard. I don’t know.
Therefore, 4 stars.
Thanks, Paul, for bringing this to my attention. And thanks, mom, for gifting it to me for my birthday.
almo's review against another edition
4.0
~Netgalley Synopsis (because it's better than the Goodreads one)~
"He was one of the greatest performers in sports entertainment history, but his legions of fans around the globe barely know the man behind the legend of Andre the Giant -- until now!
Jean Ferre. Monster Eiffel Tower. Fezzik. These were alter egos for the internationally acclaimed pro wrestling superstar known as Andre the Giant, who thrilled audiences worldwide with his unmatched charisma and remarkable athleticism. Despite his astonishing popularity, few really knew the man behind the curtain -- the man born in the French countryside named Andre Roussimoff. Showing signs of gigantism at an early age, Andre decided to use his size to his advantage and entered the wild world of professional wrestling. From his first day in the squared circle, those close to him knew that a legend was born.
This lavishly illustrated authorized biography of Andre the Giant charts his entire life from the earliest days on his family's farm to his blockbuster feuds with the biggest wrestling stars of all time, exploring the dark side of fame and fortune along the way."
~My thoughts~
This is one of the rare interesting non-fiction graphic novels I happened to stumble upon. Somewhere around Christmas, I finally watched The Princess Bride, after having it on DVD for about 8 years now. An episode of The Goldbergs gave me the signal that it was time.
After seeing the movie (which is great by the way) I was interested in getting to know more about André the Giant, so I read a couple of articles on the internet and watched a few Youtube videos. The general opinion that I seemed to come across was that André was a giant asshole with a poor sense for personal hygiene. So when I saw this book, I felt like this would be a great opportunity to learn more of the true story. It did not disappoint.
The novel starts off with a foreword from André's daughter, Robin Christensen Roussimoff. It drew me right in. The foreword ends with:
"I hope when people read this graphic novel, they will get answers not only to who Andre the Giant was as an entertainer, but who Andre Roussimoff was as a person."
I think it very well did.
A lot of the novel involves André's wrestling career and lots of names and facts were dropped on the reader. This could be a bad thing if you're really not into the wrestling scene. However, I'm not into wrestling at all and I found it truly fascinating to learn about it. Who knew there was so much theatrics involved! I didn't. I learned that the Japanese wrestling scene added a lot to the Western one. I learned how Wrestlemania and Hulk Hogan grew to be as famous as they are now. Very interesting! I'm pretty sure the combination of all these info dumps in a graphic novel is what does the trick. I highly doubt I would've enjoyed it this much while simply reading about it in a regular novel.
Another thing which makes it all so vivid (as opposed to boring) is that the author chose to tell the story from André's point of view, which makes it a very personal experience. His thoughts are a red line throughout the book.
"Even at that young age, there was a part of me that was monstrous. Not in temperament, but in how others saw me."
It's really touching to see him reminisce about his past.
Incorporated pieces of a letter his daughter wrote to him gave it an extra layer of emotions. Even though I already knew he passed away at the young age of 46, alone in a hotel room in Paris after having attended his father's funeral, I still almost had to shed a tear when the novel ended with André stepping in his bed.
The graphics style in itself isn't something I'd usually go nuts about, but for the purpose of telling this story, it was perfect. Colourful, but not too colourful to draw away the attention of what's going on.
After having read this book, I look at André now as a friendly giant, but definitely not a stupid one. His gigantism, acromegaly, strive for happiness and lack of moderation are what make his life a sad story, but never a truly depressing one due to the enthusiasm for his work, both as an actor and professional wrestler.
I'm giving this 4.5 brownies because it left such an impression on me that I won't likely forget about anymore.
I'm ending this post with a clip of a famous match between André and Hulk Hogan. Eventually, André gave up his spot to Hogan by intentionally losing matches. When I occasionally saw wrestling matches on TV, I'd flip the channel, going "Ugh, gross." But after reading this book, I can see the entertainment of it. It's all a big show instead of just some brutal fighting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7Zh07XQfpE
An ARC of this book was provided by Lion Forge via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
ampersammich's review
5.0
What a wonderful way to tell the story of a man who was actually larger than life. I had no idea he had a daughter or that he remained such a huge part of wrestling late into his life. The art style and writing was fantastic. A must read for anyone curious about the man who played Fezzik, even if you are not into wrestling.
lindseymarkel's review
3.0
That said, reading Closer to Heaven piqued my interest and now I want to know and read more about Andre.