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thesaltiestlibrarian's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
When it comes to graphic novels, I'm a hard sell. For a few reasons, but the most important being I have to love the art. I admit, a lot of "comic book" style art in American graphic novels really just...I'm sorry, it's ugly. It's not unique, the lines piss me off, and I hate the way expressions are drawn. Okay? Okay. There.
Often the best art I've seen is in either "younger" bracketed graphic novels or something that gets a lot of attention because of its stand-out style (i.e. Persepolis). So imagine my surprise when I cracked this bad boy open and instantly was taken with the art.
Look. That's what makes a graphic novel, right? The story can be "meh" and if the art is mind-blowing, it gets a bit of a pass. Admittedly the hardest thing about a graphic novel is telling a cohesive story. You really only have so much room to do so. With BLISS, we have a decent balance between a horror-magical realism setting and a story that, if rushed, makes sense. Did I mention the art?
Because the art is incredible. It would be no hard task to convince me to hang framed panels from this in my room. Facial expressions are perfect. The individual people are easy to identify and are realistic enough to be convincing, but stylized enough to work for the story. Backgrounds and lighting and perspectives? Just...UGH, it's perfect.
So why four stars and not five? The story is a bit wobbly near the end. Things happen that aren't exactly explained, and the ending rushed up way too quickly for its own good. If it had been given more breathing room and allowed to expand, allowed to develop and resolve at a natural clip, BLISS would easily have been a 5-star immediate buy for me.
As it is, though, it's still well worth the ride.
When it comes to graphic novels, I'm a hard sell. For a few reasons, but the most important being I have to love the art. I admit, a lot of "comic book" style art in American graphic novels really just...I'm sorry, it's ugly. It's not unique, the lines piss me off, and I hate the way expressions are drawn. Okay? Okay. There.
Often the best art I've seen is in either "younger" bracketed graphic novels or something that gets a lot of attention because of its stand-out style (i.e. Persepolis). So imagine my surprise when I cracked this bad boy open and instantly was taken with the art.
Look. That's what makes a graphic novel, right? The story can be "meh" and if the art is mind-blowing, it gets a bit of a pass. Admittedly the hardest thing about a graphic novel is telling a cohesive story. You really only have so much room to do so. With BLISS, we have a decent balance between a horror-magical realism setting and a story that, if rushed, makes sense. Did I mention the art?
Because the art is incredible. It would be no hard task to convince me to hang framed panels from this in my room. Facial expressions are perfect. The individual people are easy to identify and are realistic enough to be convincing, but stylized enough to work for the story. Backgrounds and lighting and perspectives? Just...UGH, it's perfect.
So why four stars and not five? The story is a bit wobbly near the end. Things happen that aren't exactly explained, and the ending rushed up way too quickly for its own good. If it had been given more breathing room and allowed to expand, allowed to develop and resolve at a natural clip, BLISS would easily have been a 5-star immediate buy for me.
As it is, though, it's still well worth the ride.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Grief, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Racism and Pregnancy
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