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shane_tiernan's review against another edition
3.0
I read enough of this to get an idea of what was going on and then just flipped through it and drooled over the art. The concept is amazing and would make such an incredible movie or series, especially if the art was done by the same artist.
Unfortunately reading it is a little boring. It's like a storyboard more instead of a script. But it sounds like it never got picked up and funded. Does Mr. Morrison know about kickstarter.com? I feel like he could put this out and get enough cash to make something happen.
Unfortunately reading it is a little boring. It's like a storyboard more instead of a script. But it sounds like it never got picked up and funded. Does Mr. Morrison know about kickstarter.com? I feel like he could put this out and get enough cash to make something happen.
matt4hire's review against another edition
5.0
Singh's art is gorgeous, and reading Morrison's various ideas, even if the show never happens, is a treat. Good stuff.
trike's review against another edition
1.0
The Mahabharata is *the* epic of India. It is a rival to the siege of Troy, the story of Gilgamesh, the gods of Olympus, the Chinese Epic of Darkness, the Odyssey. Except longer and bigger, more epic-er, than all of those combined.
So how can a comic hope to encapsulate that big of a story? It can’t. And this version *really* can’t.
But size is only part of the problem here. The bigger issue is that there’s no clear delineation between the sides of this war. It’s one of those stories where the difference between the good guys and the bad guys is a measure of degree rather than of kind. To use the prime superhero examples of when I’m writing this, this isn’t a contest between the Avengers and Thanos, or even Captain America and Iron Man. It’s more like a battle between Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. Even then, these aren’t exact parallels.
This should be Game of Thrones-level of complexity and shades of gray, but it just comes across like an Indian version of Jack Kirby’s [b:New Gods|379894|New Gods|Jack Kirby|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1345156830s/379894.jpg|369700].
Morrison goes in for all the epic myths of this story, but he kinda-sorta also employs the idea that the 18-day war between these rival princes was based on a real event that featured things such as jet fighters and nuclear weapons. That notion can be traced back to Von Daniken’s [b:Chariots of The Gods|91202|Chariots of The Gods|Erich von Däniken|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348588430s/91202.jpg|2015387], which is filled cover to cover with total bullshit. People have since added to the germ of an idea and fabricated entire layers of fiction they’re passing off as fact. So Morrison is merging both the actual myth and the made-up modern nonsense, resulting in an incoherent mess.
There are also exchanges like this one:
Why would ancient Indian gods use clocks like ours? That makes no sense. Even if one wants to use the excuse of “translated into modern idiom”, there’s still no reason to use that type of specific phrasing.
If this were better written with distinguishable characters who have actual personalities, one might overlook such things. Instead it’s just nonsense piled onto nonsense. Basically it’s one long battle between superpowered demigods and monsters, which is incredibly boring without context or a side to root for.
Worst of all, this is only Day One of the 18 Days. Argh.
So how can a comic hope to encapsulate that big of a story? It can’t. And this version *really* can’t.
But size is only part of the problem here. The bigger issue is that there’s no clear delineation between the sides of this war. It’s one of those stories where the difference between the good guys and the bad guys is a measure of degree rather than of kind. To use the prime superhero examples of when I’m writing this, this isn’t a contest between the Avengers and Thanos, or even Captain America and Iron Man. It’s more like a battle between Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. Even then, these aren’t exact parallels.
This should be Game of Thrones-level of complexity and shades of gray, but it just comes across like an Indian version of Jack Kirby’s [b:New Gods|379894|New Gods|Jack Kirby|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1345156830s/379894.jpg|369700].
Morrison goes in for all the epic myths of this story, but he kinda-sorta also employs the idea that the 18-day war between these rival princes was based on a real event that featured things such as jet fighters and nuclear weapons. That notion can be traced back to Von Daniken’s [b:Chariots of The Gods|91202|Chariots of The Gods|Erich von Däniken|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348588430s/91202.jpg|2015387], which is filled cover to cover with total bullshit. People have since added to the germ of an idea and fabricated entire layers of fiction they’re passing off as fact. So Morrison is merging both the actual myth and the made-up modern nonsense, resulting in an incoherent mess.
There are also exchanges like this one:
Why would ancient Indian gods use clocks like ours? That makes no sense. Even if one wants to use the excuse of “translated into modern idiom”, there’s still no reason to use that type of specific phrasing.
If this were better written with distinguishable characters who have actual personalities, one might overlook such things. Instead it’s just nonsense piled onto nonsense. Basically it’s one long battle between superpowered demigods and monsters, which is incredibly boring without context or a side to root for.
Worst of all, this is only Day One of the 18 Days. Argh.
gpv's review against another edition
4.0
Grant Morrison's take on Mahabharata is not for sticklers. It messes up the time line, brings in flying machines referred to as 'vimanas', has Tron-like bows for Arjun and Karna, has techno-atomic maces for Duryodhana and Bheema, named Shatterstar and Worldbreaker respectively, and has the characters use futuristic gadgets such as binoculars straight from a sci-fi movie. And, I am no expert on Mahabharata, but it might also alter a few things from the original version. But, at its core, it remains true to the epic fantasy. And, it's damn fun to read.
Having read a few Grant Morrison books, I feel that his stories are quite edgy, even if he's doing something formulaic (All Star Superman, for instance). He's not afraid to break a few rules, and not afraid to demand a bit of patience from the reader.
He does the same here. For example, Dritharashtra showing certain irreverence towards Bheeshma that was hitherto unseen.
The narration technique used by Grant Morrison is interesting, the focus being on the battle, with the backstory of each character explored as the battle progresses. This first book contains but the tip of the iceberg that is the Mahabharata. It will be interesting to see how he handles such a humongous epic in the limited scope afforded by short comic series.
The artwork by Jeevan J. Kang it's terrific, and is consistent with the tone of the storyline.
With superhero/fantasy lore coming in the spotlight in recent years, this is a good time to bring forth India's contribution to the fantasy genre. And, the way Grant Morrison has started this looks like a worthy addition to many adaptations of Mahabharata.
Having read a few Grant Morrison books, I feel that his stories are quite edgy, even if he's doing something formulaic (All Star Superman, for instance). He's not afraid to break a few rules, and not afraid to demand a bit of patience from the reader.
He does the same here. For example, Dritharashtra showing certain irreverence towards Bheeshma that was hitherto unseen.
The narration technique used by Grant Morrison is interesting, the focus being on the battle, with the backstory of each character explored as the battle progresses. This first book contains but the tip of the iceberg that is the Mahabharata. It will be interesting to see how he handles such a humongous epic in the limited scope afforded by short comic series.
The artwork by Jeevan J. Kang it's terrific, and is consistent with the tone of the storyline.
With superhero/fantasy lore coming in the spotlight in recent years, this is a good time to bring forth India's contribution to the fantasy genre. And, the way Grant Morrison has started this looks like a worthy addition to many adaptations of Mahabharata.
gpv's review against another edition
3.0
There is a certainly a drop in the quality of writing, but the story building is great and is still a treat to read. Looking forward to the next volume.
karthikm_86's review against another edition
2.0
just as it is tough for Indians to write in a compact way devoid of all heavy words, it is tough for outsiders to get the concepts of Indian epics correct! Too much epic-ness in everthings ruins this otherwise well-illustrated book. I had hoped Grant Morrison would bring in a fresh prespective to Mahabharatha (like Shekhar Kapur did with Ramayana 3392 A.D.), but I felt let down - he hung onto the cliched westerner's vocabulary of describing the weapons and the warriors wielding them. And moreover, for a book focused on the 18 days of battle, there is quite less description of action and action sequences.
kittyg's review
2.0
Read this as part of #GettingGrpahic and it wasn't really for me. Although there are some striking pages with full body rendering and colourful pops of art the story leaves the reader lost a lot of the time. It's a sort of story where you are thrown into the action and you have to try to figure out what is really going on without much backstory and with a lot of 'kill kill kill' 'stab stab stab' going on.
Overall, just an ok read for me, I wouldn't continue the series sadly. 2*s
Overall, just an ok read for me, I wouldn't continue the series sadly. 2*s
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