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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2015 15:10:52 GMT -5
Has anyone read this massive volume yet? (It's almost 500 pages long). I am about halfway through it (250-300 pages in) after checking it out of the library, and I am mostly just blown away by McCloud's storytelling ability. I've been a big fan of McCloud's through his Understanding Comics and sequels and things like The New Adventures of Abraham Lincoln (Zot! is still sitting on my shelf waiting to be read), but this may be the best I have read from him in terms of pure storytelling and craft. It's a pretty straight forward story (with a touch of magic realism) about a young sculptor who has a falling out with his financial sponsor and gets blacklisted and whose life falls apart after that, until one day he meets Death who offers him a deal-the ability to shape anything with his hands for the sake of his art but he will only have 200 days to live to use it...(not so much a spoiler as that is what the dust jacket tells you...and the story goes from there. The characters he crafts are amazing and so real, they are or could be, people I have met, yet utterly captivating. McLoud's art while minimalist in its cartoony nature, is so expressive it grabs you and never lets you go. If you've read Understanding Comics and its follow ups, you know McCloud knows the craft and technique, but here he walks the walk too in a tour de force of storytelling. I am not sure how it will all end up, and I likely won't have a chance tp pick it back up again until after work tomorrow, but I am utterly engrossed in this book.  -M |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,871
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Post by shaxper on Jun 11, 2015 15:31:37 GMT -5
The only McCloud I've read is Zot! and Understanding Comics, so I'm curious to see how his writing has evolved since that time.
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Post by Trevor on Jun 11, 2015 16:21:38 GMT -5
The only McCloud I've read is Zot! and Understanding Comics, so I'm curious to see how his writing has evolved since that time. Me too; although he could have devolved in every aspect and still be worth more than most. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2015 0:29:03 GMT -5
I finally got a chance to sit down and finish the rest of The Sculptor. Without spoiling the ending...it's one of those books that the testament to the writer is that you are screaming at an empty room and cursing the creator's name up and down when the character's story reach their climax in the "McCloud, you bastard" vein. Few creators can achieve that in any medium, but McCloud again demonstrates he is not just a master craftsman but a master storyteller who can hit you where it hurts with his stories and you love him all the more for it. You don't want to leave these characters' lives when it is over, but you have no choice and that makes it bittersweet, but you are grateful you had the chance to experience what you did.
-M
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Post by dupersuper on Jun 23, 2015 0:09:40 GMT -5
I'll pick it up when I see it: gotta' love McCloud.
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Post by hondobrode on Jun 24, 2015 12:17:21 GMT -5
I've heard great things about it. Like you guys, I'm familiar with Zot ! (love it) and Understanding Comics and his tongue-in-cheek view of 80's superheroes  |
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Post by coke & comics on Jun 24, 2015 14:33:22 GMT -5
Can't find any info on when a softcover will be released. I am eager to read it, and was hoping a softcover would be out by now.
I may just buy the hardcover, even though I find softcovers so much easier to read.
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 7, 2015 3:00:21 GMT -5
I finally gave in and bought the damn hardcover, as there was still no evidence a softcover was coming.
I was completely enthralled. Read all 500 pages today. It was hard to put down. I've always been a big Scott McCloud fan. Zot! and Understanding Comics are both among my favorite comics. But I think he's made yet another masterpiece.
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Dec 7, 2015 10:12:17 GMT -5
Totaly missed that one. On the wantlist, very high!
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,871
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Post by shaxper on Dec 7, 2015 14:10:19 GMT -5
I think McCloud just wanted to be back on everyone's mind for this year's Twelve Days of Classic Comics Christmas  |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2015 15:14:24 GMT -5
I think McCloud just wanted to be back on everyone's mind for this year's Twelve Days of Classic Comics Christmas He was on my initial list...won't say if he made the short list afterwards until the time of the reveals. -M |
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Post by mikelmidnight on May 1, 2016 6:37:58 GMT -5
Much ambivalence about this book. McCloud's technique is impeccable, and I can not fault the scripting or the art in the least. On the other hand, there are many false notes which keep me from giving it an unalloyed positive review. The quirky girlfriend for the darkly creative male lead who seems to be solely to act as his muse, is a stale cliche. The protagonist's artistic integrity is part of the core of the piece, but his own art fails to impress. Finally, the more the story turned towards the fantastic, the more my attention started to wander, and by the end of the book when he's functioning at a level appropriate to a Marvel Comics supervillain, it was a chore to finish.
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2016 12:44:42 GMT -5
Much ambivalence about this book. McCloud's technique is impeccable, and I can not fault the scripting or the art in the least. On the other hand, there are many false notes which keep me from giving it an unalloyed positive review. The quirky girlfriend for the darkly creative male lead who seems to be solely to act as his muse, is a stale cliche. The protagonist's artistic integrity is part of the core of the piece, but his own art fails to impress. Finally, the more the story turned towards the fantastic, the more my attention started to wander, and by the end of the book when he's functioning at a level appropriate to a Marvel Comics supervillain, it was a chore to finish. You may think the girlfriend relationship is cliche, but it is modeled on his personal experience with meeting his wife and the impact she had on his career, not something he just decided to through in there because he thought it would work or wanted to use that theme, it was the inspiration for this work. Cliche or not, it was the core and genesis of this project for him and a very personal theme. -M |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 1, 2016 12:53:18 GMT -5
Of course I read all the Zot comics and was a big fan. Even bought and read his giant tabloid sized one shot Destroy which was a parody of super hero fights. All great stuff There's many copies at the library of the hardcover The Sculptor. I even checked it out once and kept renewing it but had to return it eventually because I never found the time to read it. I'll definitely resolve that problem this year  |
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