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shanaqui's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Memoria is a gritty crime story in graphic novel form, from a team of four. It's pretty short, with a structure that makes it clear some dark stuff is coming later on, and it won't be a terribly happy ending -- it's just not quite clear how unhappy the ending will be. It relies on a couple of coincidences, though to be honest it wasn't clear to me how much those were engineered by a particular character in order to bring the truth out.
The story wasn't too surprising to me: it felt like watching a cop show, like I was watching actors run through the usual stereotyped parts. Tough talk, roughing up a witness, the department's gonna dump a case on the fuckups in order to have them take the fall, etc, etc.
In the end I was just curious enough to finish, and I think my rating reflects the fact that it just isn't a genre I enjoy (I'm a fan of classic crime/mystery, which is usually a lot less gritty). The art suited it, even if I didn't love it, and I did appreciate it being a standalone and crafted to work as such.
The story wasn't too surprising to me: it felt like watching a cop show, like I was watching actors run through the usual stereotyped parts. Tough talk, roughing up a witness, the department's gonna dump a case on the fuckups in order to have them take the fall, etc, etc.
In the end I was just curious enough to finish, and I think my rating reflects the fact that it just isn't a genre I enjoy (I'm a fan of classic crime/mystery, which is usually a lot less gritty). The art suited it, even if I didn't love it, and I did appreciate it being a standalone and crafted to work as such.
ruminations_reverie's review
4.0
This was my first time reading a true-crime style graphic novel and it DID NOT disappoint. It is gritty in both story and art style. The characters, while a bit cliché were well done and the story was fantastic. It is very similar in tone, and truthfully in story, to the film Seven. The characters are very much a like and the story is equally dark and foreboding.
This is a standalone, which you don't see much in the graphic novel medium and I really enjoyed that aspect as well. It was nice to have a complete story and a satisfying ending. It wasn't revolutionary, but I will keep Pires name top of mine for future reads.
This is a standalone, which you don't see much in the graphic novel medium and I really enjoyed that aspect as well. It was nice to have a complete story and a satisfying ending. It wasn't revolutionary, but I will keep Pires name top of mine for future reads.
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