Evan DahmBesprekingen

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of the book!

This book was incredibly frustrating to read, but I think it's meant to be that way. Our poor main character just wants to do his job and deliver his package and things keep getting in the way. Some of what happens don't entirely make sense, but it's not supposed to. The house he enters into is in complete chaos because of a horrific party occurring inside. Our main character get beaten, pushed around, stabbed and he still pushes on because he has a job to do. The ending made me wonder if it was some kind of statement on not making your job the most important thing in your life.

I enjoyed this series from beginning to end with its themes and characters. Here, we have a bit of a time skip and the fallout after Alef colonized most of the world.

The only thing that stopped me short of 5 stars was the ending got slightly confusing. Did they meet God at the end? And I can’t take Sola’s adorable child acting so mature at the end. They didn’t place him at an age, but I was thinking 5 – 10ish years old. His little red dino-self was so cute! I'm glad Hunder saw the error of his ways. Still, the ending was mostly fitting.

These worlds that Dahm builds are so enthralling.

4.5

Wonderful. It’s simple but moving. I enjoyed the journey and Sola's determination a lot.

I enjoyed this creative imagining of the Christ story to some extent. The tale is very different from what is presented in the Bible, but it's grounded in similar events and theology. I was intrigued to see where the story was going to go. I also enjoyed the art. It's illustrated in bold, simple strokes and a very basic color palette, but I felt like it worked well for the story. Ultimately there were some interesting ideas, but it was too short and failed to fully captivate me.

Having one of your story's major secondary characters never speak and literally have no facial expressions, is that the sign of an ambitious or a crazy comic author...? This is, so far, a very slow-paced story with few words overall, and while the illustrations are great and the characters and setting interesting... Not a lot happens in this first book, honestly. Still curious to keep reading and see where it is going.

he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead.
-- Apostles' Creed (variant)

Various particulars of the Creed are disputed. I am persuaded the Creed was not written by the Apostles but as a refutation of Gnosticism and other heresies to the Early Church, centuries after the death of the Apostles. The first line quoted above, in fact, was widely elided from modern Christian recitation, whether in the Catholic, Anglican, Epistolic, or other Protestant Church. Not only is the Creed not a fixed entity, preserved unchanged from its beginning, like any example of language it evolves even today.

The Harrowing of Hell relays an account of those three days in Hell. Text is minimal and as obscure (or as transparent, if that is your reading of Biblical passages) as scripture. What text is used, seemingly quotes or closely paraphrases from Old Testament and apocryphal sources. Almost all text is dialogue, the few exceptions taking the form of inscriptions legible in the images, whether as backdrop to Pilate's tribunal, or the placard affixed to Jesus's crucifix. Section headings are labeled with the location in which events take place, e.g. "Galilee", "Bethsaida".

Throughout Dahm's adaptation, a clear statement is repeated by Jesus, indeed in the face of pointed efforts by various others to get him to change this statement, though he never wavers: "I do not tell you by what authority I do these things." [82-83, note the double-spread] Not: "I am keeping a secret!" But: "I make no claim, always it is another who makes any claim regarding my authority." In the end, Dahm's Jesus appears very alike another Socrates, a gadfly, forcing others to face their own decisions and behavior, with any discomfort not of Jesus's making, but their own.

The design is stark, black and white prevailing with spot color in red. Effective and suited to the story, though not as striking as Carroll's similar approach in her Through The Woods.

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A brief but very useful authorial note summarises the history of the Decensus Christi ad Inferos, and some of the critical literature which helped inspire Dahm's adaptation. I resonate with his comment: "I can't keep up with the dense intertextuality that inaugurated Christianity, but it has been productive to try." [126]

This book was so strange! The main character (she's on the cover) is super cute, but everything else was either weird or nonsensical. And there's not really a plot... Not one that makes sense, anyway.

1.5 stars

I get that this is about being afraid and still acting regardless of that fear. However, it just didn't resonate with me. Definitely a graphic novel aimed at kids.

its an interesting concept, but the execution is so weak and uninspired--it does nothing new, very little interesting even, and so offers only either confusion or more of the same hackneyed christian vibes

it tries to take inspiration from pre-nicean teaching, but relies exclusively on language from the king james translation instead of language from aramaic studies or greek studies

the imagery is not particularly inventive or interesting. vague roman ruins in a red cave and some clam-head demons is all

the writing dialogue is awkward, pretentious, and inconsistent; a rather pathetic rendering of the beautiful teachings of jesus. dahm could have at least pulled some more inspiring dialogues directly from the gospels

the critique presented of the post-nicean christianity represented by caesar, the king of glory, relies entirely on critiques of violence. but the author also seems to want to lean into interpretations of christ as an insurrectionist--in the context of josephus' "jewish war", this would b an explicitly violent position. and the really meaty critique of post-nicean christianity has to do w the sacralization of normative wordly powers, which the author hardly touches

the ending is wildly disappointing. dahm believes christ failed to liberate the souls in hell, contra the church fathers, but does nothing w this interpretation. the ending is empty and directionless--the resurrection is meant to b the most hopeful moment in all christian imagination, but for dahm it follows after a moment of ambiguous, unresolved despair without any complicated transition or transformation½

Dang, this is really good. There are some emotional, climatic points that just hit. I think this is set a few years after the first book. Here, Sola is questioning her identity since she as looked upon as this great savior, Alef want to colonize the world (read: sea), Hunder misses the sea and voyages again but wonders if he’s going down the wrong path.

I loved all the characters and coloring. The Ghosts were an excellent part of the story. They really carried things. I can’t wait for the next book.

If you live as long as I have, you will see that there is more to this world than we see at first. For centuries, I thought I was working for that perfect, solid god we are told of as children. But there is some deception there. There is some mystery between all of these perfect, solid things... ...and that is my god. My god is what I don't know. - T.O.E.

I did not love this, but I liked it really quite a lot. And really, the only reason I didn't love it is that it didn't go the distance that it had the strength for. But for a thing that was as much a an unplanned exploration by the author, it went a nice ways. It gave me a lovely heartache when Rice Boy discovered his origin and when T.O.E. (The One Electronic) found his fate. It was a journey worth taking, and if you do not ask it more than it offers, you may find that you love it much more than I did. I will certainly be giving Dahm's later efforts a try.

A fairly straightforward rendition of Jesus' time in Hell following the Crucifixion with an eye to his pacifism and anti-authoritarian nature, adapted from scripture and apocrypha.

I read a more interesting graphic novel of the Harrowing of Hell a couple years back: Judas by Jeff Loveness.

An otherwise quite compelling vision of the Descent unfortunately marred by an explanatory postscript with unnecessary, distracting self-interpretation (not to mention typos).

If you haven't heard of this book, go read the webcomic NOW. Evan Dahm has created such an ethereal, melancholy world. Plus, quests for meaning, fate, and the best assortment of amazing and terrifying creatures you'll find anywhere. If Dahm and Guillermo Del Toro teamed up, magical horrible things would happen.

So here we follow the story of Rice Boy, a simple creature who collects fruit and has a friend named Rosemary, until a tall robot named T.O.E. (that's The One Electronic) comes along and changes his little existence. Rice Boy is told that he's the new fulfiller, the one who will make the centuries old prophecy true - only all the past fulfillers have turned out to be fakes, so it's hard for Rice Boy to take T.O.E. seriously, and T.O.E. himself has been having doubts about his divine mission. Of course, Rice Boy decides to at least go on a journey, and we get to follow him as the prophecy unfolds (or not).

Someone left this book out on a table at the library and I'm so glad I was tidying up because I'd forgotten how much I love Evan Dahm. [b:Rice Boy|6115136|Rice Boy|Evan Dahm|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1232402666s/6115136.jpg|6293208] is still one of my favourite things ever, and I was following Vattu on the website until I lost track of what was happening and decided to come back to it when more was finished, and then forgot, because I forget everything. So thanks, stranger who decided not to check out this book although you really should have because it's really cool!

First and obviously, Dahm's illustrations are so so so good, that's just a fact that will be true forever. I wrote two so's at first and went back to add a third because I love them that much. The landscapes are so beautiful and real, the characters are equally adorable and terrifying, and I am endlessly fascinated by how well he can get them to express emotions with just their eyes.

Second...the story isn't over yet but I love Vattu and her place in this tale. Nothing is ever going to be the same for her or her people, but I can't wait to see how the world continues to change and what will become of the grand colonial powers and the civilizations they raze.

I'm not sure I've seen such world building before, and so implicit. I knew *nothing* about it going in, which is an amazing way of going into something so expertly done like this. Don't read anything about it, don't look at the online comic, just dive all the way in and luxuriate in it.

Wonderful. It’s simple but moving. I enjoyed the journey and Sola's determination a lot.

Set in the world of Overside, a multi-species world filled with conflict, I read this along with the prequel Order of Tales, set 400 years earlier. I've no evidence of this, but the One Electronic is either the inspiration for Prince Robot in Saga or their both drawing on a reference I don't know.

Graphic novel of Sola who everyone thinks is cursed. She starts out the monster who cursed her. She meets some helpers along the way who team up to help. Readers will want to follow along with Sola’s journey and they will understand that each team member is important and that they need to believe in each other. Illustrations are simple and don’t overpower the story

Rice Boy has that indie/hipster feel without the pretentiousness and all the imaginative fantasy you want.

The one qualm I do have is almost every character calls a member of their species brother (I guess it's akin to sista/brotha), so it's confusing to know which characters are really related or just being friendly. I mean who's out here tonguing down dudes they call brother?

Yeah. That's really not important. Anyway, I felt like I was on a journey with Rice Boy. Every discovery he made, I made. All the plot twists kept me on my toes too. I recommend it!

The interesting and fun beginning to the saga, it keeps you hooked. Definitely worth reading all of, please read it and write a better review!

The epic finish to this fantastic and emotional adventure... I have no words. You should read it if you like adventure, and if you have emotions, and can stand to read a comic. Please read this.