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Stigmata (2011)

by Lorenzo Mattotti(Favorite Author)

3.64 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1606994093 (ISBN13: 9781606994092)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Fantagraphics

review 1: What it does, it does extremely well. What I mean here is the ability to take the reader by the arms and pull them into this black pit of despair we find the protagonist to be living in. We connect with his dreary life and feel his suffering and torment as if the wounds have appeared upon our own skin. What contributes to this engaging feeling must be the scribbly dark art style used. Swirls of noir entangle each page, reminding us that darkness and shadow is always lingering within life itself. However, this books plot is somewhat linear, and some things are left unexplained. The beginning of this book is definitely the strong point, however towards the end I feel the engagement starts to wear off, and I was left with a bit of disappointment in how the author decided to w... morerap things up.
review 2: Mattotti and Piersanti start with a strange but holy premise -- what if a ne'er-do-well drunk and thug suddenly found himself afflicted with stigmata on his hands? What would happen? Now add art that blends the scratchy style of Eddie Campbell with the rounded faces of Peter Bagge. Our protagonist goes through a spiritual journey from denial to cynicism to madness to acceptance to peace. The book doesn't try to answer any big questions, and it doesn't preach. It doesn't explain, and offers only the smallest bits of magic. That said, it didn't wow me either -- the writing isn't really compelling, and the scratchy art doesn't stand out--except that the scratchy style and the choice to stay black and white means the blood from the wounds seems to be on everything, staining the world around the main character. Worth reading, but probably not buying. less

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