Reviews

Life With Mr. Dangerous by Paul Hornschemeier

khanyamanqoba's review

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sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Slice of life comics are some of my favorite but I found this one deadly boring to read. Some great insight here and there but it felt pointless to read and confusing at some points, especially with the incorporation of the TV characters

clairelorraine's review

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2.0

I usually eat these kinds of sad sack 20-something graphic novels up, but for some reason, I didn't really feel much of anything. I wasn't bored, though. I just didn't get anything out of it. Like a not-great Daniel Clowes.

emkoshka's review

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2.0

Hmmm, this felt like an illustrated version of Shopgirl, a book I found equally bleak and uncomfortable for its depiction of a twentysomething-year-old woman's anomie and existential angst. The added element was a bit of weird daydreaming. Things improved towards the end, but I was left feeling that Patton Oswalt's testimony on the back cover was apt: 'You will cringe'.

subtle_sarcasm's review

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4.0

I had an hour to spare in Paris and spent it randomly walking into a public library, where I picked up and read this engaging and wryly funny graphic novel. It was an hour very well spent.

bashbashbashbash's review

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3.0

"Life with Mr. Dangerous" is full of keen observations of personal tics, and its careful characterization of the protagonist, Amy, are realistic and lovingly observed (Amy may loathe herself, but Hornscheimer writes her as lovable, not despicable). The story itself is a relatively simple and sweet story of frustration and uncertainty. I also appreciated the fact that Amy was a dimensional working class protagonist (for once!).

Although I don't usually enjoy slice of life stories or graphic novels, I found Life with Mr. Dangerous especially well-observed/written/drawn. Just because slice of life isn't my kind of thing doesn't mean that I can't tell when someone's done the hell out of it.

overdueshrew's review

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4.0

This comic reminded me a lot of the tv show, "Girls."

satyridae's review

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2.0

Slacker girl with dead-end job lives alone with cat and television. I get the existential angst, but merciful heavens, it's deadly to read. More deadly to live, no doubt. But wow, what a depressing, sad, hopeless little book this is. Even the ending doesn't redeem it.

wictory's review

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3.0

I liked the artwork, in fact, I picked up the book solely based on the cover art. It was beautifully drawn and well-written, but the story is about Amy, whose job, relationships and TV watching habits are depressing is... pretty depressing.

Three stars for effectively capturing so many expressions of discomfort, regret, unhappiness and boredom. But probably not a book I'll read again.

davramlocke's review

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2.0

I could appreciate a few things in Life With Mr. Dangerous. I like the quirky, titular tv show. I thought Amy's interactions with people were interesting, despite the odd choices she continually makes. I think the book is well written, in a simple style, but simple in a good way.

Unfortunately the character of Amy is in no way someone that I could be sympathetic to. She struck me as pathetic and small and her unwillingness to take even the smallest risk annoyed me the entire time. There's some heart to this graphic novel, to be sure, I'm just not sure I cared by the time it actually came about.