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cassmensah5's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
crookedtreehouse's review
4.0
If you've ever wondered what Kill Bill would be like if it took place in Jamaica, The Bride was queer, and the violence was played out by gun wielding cops instead of samurai swords, Virgil is your answer. [a:Steve Orlando|7214373|Steve Orlando|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1490717931p2/7214373.jpg] has written a really intense story about a Jamaican police force discovering that one of their own officers was gay and setting out to destroy his life.
It's a good story but it's very neatly wrapped up through the eyes of someone who liked their protagonist too much to make the story believable. Which is fine, there aren't a lot of believable revenge stories out there, but I wanted this one to be more realistic.
[a:JD Faith]'s art is strong, and he set up some interesting page layouts that, sadly, were a bit swallowed in the trade.
Overall, I enjoyed this book enough to read it twice, and had forgotten the shortcomings between readings but remembered the high points. It's short and self-contained enough that I'd be happy to read it again at some point.
It's a good story but it's very neatly wrapped up through the eyes of someone who liked their protagonist too much to make the story believable. Which is fine, there aren't a lot of believable revenge stories out there, but I wanted this one to be more realistic.
[a:JD Faith]'s art is strong, and he set up some interesting page layouts that, sadly, were a bit swallowed in the trade.
Overall, I enjoyed this book enough to read it twice, and had forgotten the shortcomings between readings but remembered the high points. It's short and self-contained enough that I'd be happy to read it again at some point.
heytayashleigh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Homophobia
tikitoka's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
cmcrockford's review against another edition
4.0
Terrific art from J.D. Faith and some fierce ownage, though I'd like to hear smarter people than me talk about the queersploitation here.
perleerose's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
the colors in this book are just *chef’s kiss*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Police brutality, and Homophobia
carroq's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. That about sums up my feelings on this book. Virgil is the story of a gay police officer in Jamaica that gets outed, is beaten and left for dead, and goes on a killing spree.
This book does a great job of shining a light on how gays can be treated in society, whether intentionally or not. It's disturbing to see how quickly these characters turn on each other mostly because I could see it happening, although probably without the same level of violence shown in the book. For all that, I felt like the book was lacking in depth.
The illustrations are done well, but the color choices were odd. The vibrancy works for the locale and the subject matter. However, some images used colors that were so different from what the reader might expect that they seemed out of place. This book goes all out in so many ways. It might have been better served by toning something back.
This book does a great job of shining a light on how gays can be treated in society, whether intentionally or not. It's disturbing to see how quickly these characters turn on each other mostly because I could see it happening, although probably without the same level of violence shown in the book. For all that, I felt like the book was lacking in depth.
The illustrations are done well, but the color choices were odd. The vibrancy works for the locale and the subject matter. However, some images used colors that were so different from what the reader might expect that they seemed out of place. This book goes all out in so many ways. It might have been better served by toning something back.
esselleayy's review
3.0
Straight up violent revenge fantasy made interesting with its queersploitation twist. We aren't given much reason to care for the characters or to really know them because Virgil gets to the asskicking/bloodspilling immediately. You'll root for him anyway.
bluehairedlibrarian's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This is a paint-by-numbers of exploitation story, this time with a gay Black protagonist that has to go against his own when his fellow police officers murder his friends and kidnap his boyfriend for being queer. The set up is basic. The violence is basic. Why the police officers kidnap the boyfriend when they think Virgil is dead is a giant mystery that is never explained.
It wasn't until I discovered that this was an all-white creative team that things started feeling wrong. A similar story could have been told that did not involve strictly black-on-black violence told by white people. That makes me feel very uncomfortable.
It wasn't until I discovered that this was an all-white creative team that things started feeling wrong. A similar story could have been told that did not involve strictly black-on-black violence told by white people. That makes me feel very uncomfortable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Hate crime, and Homophobia