I want to digest this one a little more before I review it, but briefly: I've never done acid, but I imagine this is what an acid trip would be like, I want to digest this one a little more before I review it, but briefly: I've never done acid, but I imagine this is what an acid trip would be like, maybe? Surreal doesn't quite cover this story or style, and sometimes the existentialness of it all felt really forced and not as clever as it was making itself out to be. That said, it was oddly fascinating, the art & coloring (though trippy) was gorgeous, and the characters were pretty engaging, and I find myself looking forward to more from the series....more
Listened to this over the course of one very long (and one very short) gardening session, and it was kinda perfect to keep me going through the boringListened to this over the course of one very long (and one very short) gardening session, and it was kinda perfect to keep me going through the boring, sweaty, laborious bits. Review as part of my "trio of weird" here. (I will say, though, I don't know if I would have liked this as much if I had read it and devoted my whole attention to it, rather than having Stephen Fry telling it to me in my ears. I think I still would have enjoyed it, but maybe not as much, and certainly wouldn't have gone through it as quickly.)...more
3.5-4 There are things I really liked, and things I really didn't, but would still recommend. This is a strange, very unique graphic novel, and what i3.5-4 There are things I really liked, and things I really didn't, but would still recommend. This is a strange, very unique graphic novel, and what it lacks in showiness, it makes up for in uniqueness....more
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It's not news to anyone who's hung around my blog/vlog for any length of time that I love the work of Ben Hatke. (Also not news to anyone w
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It's not news to anyone who's hung around my blog/vlog for any length of time that I love the work of Ben Hatke. (Also not news to anyone who read that intro, so. . .) I've talked about this many, many times, and pushed his books on many, many people, both online and IRL. So of course, I'm always looking forward to whatever's coming up next, confident in the belief that whatever it is is sure to brighten my shelves. And Little Robot is no exception to that rule.
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Little Robot follows in the tradition of plucky young female protagonists and their oddball companions, set by Julia's House for Lost Creatures
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and the Zita the Spacegirl
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series. Unlike Hatke's previous books, Little Robot is nearly wordless (and of the words that make it to the page, most of them are in robot, so...), though its no less full of story as a result.
If there's anything Hatke excels at, it's injecting as much personality as possible into every frame, every character, every inanimate object -- and yes, I mean that literally. More than once, this man has made me have feels about rocks, literal rocks with eyeballs, and monsters, and what may have been a giant coil of hair or wire or something, I don't even know, but it, too. And yes, robots.
Hatke is an excellent anthropomorphosizererer, skillfully drawing the reader into caring about even the smallest and most unimposing of creatures/creations, with an immediacy that is impressive. You can't help but fall for our little unnamed adventurer and her newfound robot companion, and once you've decided to care about them, well, you may as well care about the pile of broken machinery in the junkyard, too, right? And that perky little fixer robot-bug-thingy, he's quite adorable now, isn't he? Hatke draws you into their magical little world so seemlessly that it seems obvious that you'd love these things. Of course you want to join our lonely little adventurer girl, let her lead you on explorations and discoveries, and bring smiles to each others faces.
Lest you think Hatke's books are just cute, but inconsequential, they most certainly are not. The robots and their nameless human girl may draw you in with their sweetness, but there's depth there, too. There's a loneliness and sense of longing to the story that grounds it and makes it stick with you. I think at the core of all of Hatke's stories, there's a thread of "finding your people," even if those "people" aren't people. They're all about finding your place, your companion(s), your way in the world. Hatke's characters stumble upon each other by chance and it's as if a missing piece has been found; they fit together perfectly. It's charming and sweet and funny and real, and I think you can see why I end up singing his praises so often... And this time around, I was getting double-feels because it reminded me of another nearly-wordless, unlikely robot companion story, Robot Dreams
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, that is just one of the bestweirdestawesomest things I've ever read. So this is in excellent company.
And of course, of course, the art is gorgeous. So what's not to like?
3.5 Liked, but didn't love this one. It was very cute and had a nice quirky streak, and the art was great, but it just felt like something was missing3.5 Liked, but didn't love this one. It was very cute and had a nice quirky streak, and the art was great, but it just felt like something was missing. Might give it a reread sometime, though, to see if I get on with it better, and will probably give the next volume a try....more
I'll give a more in-depth review when I have a chance, but quickly, I just want to say:
When I initially flipped through this on arrival, I thought I wI'll give a more in-depth review when I have a chance, but quickly, I just want to say:
When I initially flipped through this on arrival, I thought I was going to be disappointed. It wasn't nearly as snarky and/or vulgar as I was expecting it to be... (though, maybe since Zest Books is geared at a YA audience, the fault was in myself for expecting or wanting heaps of vulgar snark. *Shrug*) But once I actually read through and sort of adjusted my expectations, I started noticing a different, most subtle approach to the humor, and I have to say, it really worked. I think those buying this for a smart-ass coffee table book might be a bit let down, but really, only a bit. It's very fun and cheeky, but the surprising thing is that it actually seems like a silly-but-well-intentioned primer meant to honestly teach people how not to be dicks. Real world good advice here, folks.
But regardless, still makes a nice discussion-worthy coffee table book. ;)...more
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