Its Neil Gaiman, and its Alice Cooper who I am not really a huge fan of. I read it and loved it but wanted at first to give it 4 stars because I tire of giving Mr Gaiman 5. But that isn't fair. This book deserves 5 stars.

It is wonderfully drawn. The writing is sublime and the script at the end of this edition shows just how much thought goes into every single panel and page.

Its a deceptively simple fairy tale but there are many subtexts and hidden meanings in it that it is also thought provoking. There are hidden depths to the story.

Brilliant.

Interesante colaboración entre tres importantes y grandes autores.
El argumento es simple y sin ambigüedades como bien dice Neil Gaiman en la introducción cuando fue contactado por Alice Cooper para realizar esta novela gráfica que sirve de compañía, y se aprecia aún más, con el álbum homónimo del mismo Alice Cooper.
Un joven adolescente que, molestado por sus compañeros de escuela y sin mucha idea sobre qué hacer con su vida, se le presenta el dilema moral de quedarse en el fabuloso y terrorífico Teatro de lo Real, dirigido por el mismo Alice Cooper en un papel mefistofélico, o llevar una vida aburrida y monótona llena de dolor e insatisfacción.
Similar a Coraline de Gaiman, pero sin llegar a su profundidad no solo estética sino filosófica, la obra cumple como entretenimiento, mas, he nodato una falla importante en el argumento: se muestra muy poco de la vida normal de Steven, el protagonista, por lo que en realidad no sabemos el por qué este trato diabólico le parece mal, y a su vez, el trato, no tiene una ilusión de recompensa lo suficientemente atrayente como para que el mismo Steven se plantee firmarlo.
Por lo tanto, no es tanto un dilema o una tentación, sino algo tan simple como la enseñanza a los jóvenes de tener cuidado de con quién tratan en la calle y qué son capaces de aceptar hacer al ser molestados por sus compañeros.
Nada profundo, pero entretenido.
Originalmente publicado en blanco y negro, ha sido relanzado en color lo cual suma en inmersión, pero tal vez, resta en expresividad pues, a mi gusto, los colores utilizados son bastante oscuros, por lo que las ilustraciones, por más bellas o interesantes que puedan ser, no resaltan demasiado.
Aún así, es interesante y entretenido para pasar al menos una hora leyéndolo cada tanto.

Gracias, Neil Gaiman, Alice Cooper y Michael Zulli, por realizar esta interesante novela gráfica.

L'ultima tentazione è il biglietto dorato che vi darà l'accesso ad uno degli spettacoli più decadenti e graffianti a cui avrete occasione di assistere. Nessuna legge, nessuna morale, solo uno spettacolo che deve continuare.

Consiglio questa lettura in concerto con l'ascolto dell'album omonimo di Alice Cooper; disponibile, tra le altre forme, su Spotify.

La última tentación ya llegó... No la dejes pasar.

A boy is tempted by Alice Cooper to join a demon show and give up his soul.
Love Alice Cooper, love Neil Gaiman (usually) but this was only ok. It was very slight and lacking in real development. Simplistic tale that needed more punch I couldn’t really get into the art, the deal bring proposed, anything really. Maybe I need to go back and re listen to the album it’s based on but overall a solid meh.

"All Hallows' Eve. Halloween. The first day of the death of the year. Folk beliefs about this day go back forever.On Halloween, they say, the gates of Hell swing wide, and the dead and the damned ride out from dusk until dawn. On Halloween, they say, the Dark spews out all the nightmares, all the pain, all the death; And the hurt and the hate take shape and form.That's when they can hurt you-- or so they say. On Halloween, Children, and those who are at heart children, celebrate the year's end with colored costumes, with masks and carven faces...His name is Steven, and he could be anyone. He could be you.."

The Last Temptation is the work of Neil Gaiman and Alice Cooper. Having been influenced by Alice Cooper's songs, Mr. Gaiman contacted Alice about a graphic novel. This is that novel.

Beautifully illustrated, we are treated to the story of a young boy named Steven. On a dare, he enters the Grand Guignol-a mysterious theatre where the usher/manager/owner is a character that looks much like Alice Cooper himself (though the character is no where named). What follows is Steven's look into the "Theatre of the Real" and the potential pitfalls that may await him in the future. Once the "show" is done he will be asked to make a choice.

More than that I will not say, as this is an excellent story. It has a Gothic horror feel to it. The gorgeous artwork and Mr. Gaiman's wonderful prose (the lines uttered by the "entity" that is the Alice Cooper lookalike are haunting) merge to create a truly creepy and dark world. How much of this is a dream? How much of this is real? What does the head of the carnival really want? All of these mysteries form the basis for a great story.

If you enjoy a good macabre tale, haunting and prophetic prose-all of it set to a beautiful art style that truly complements this creepy tale of temptation. Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a good horror tale or just enjoys the work of Mr. Gaiman. Here he is at some of his imaginative finest.

Меня совсем не смутило, что Гейман написал этот графический роман в трех частях конкретно для альбома Элиса Купера. Я про эту книжку и слышать не слышала, пока недавно на одном ресурсе глаз не зацепился за обложку (МакКин!). Мне подумалось, что Гейман вряд ли меня разочарует, и во время затянувшейся сэндменовской паузы вполне можно заценить эту плюшку.

Идеи тут довольно просты, но визуально воплощены прекрасно. Взросление и становление главгероя по имени Стивен на фоне соблазнения змеем-искусителем по прозвищу Showman. Этот ня��ка с лицом Элиса Купера предлагает пацану сделку, напирая на то, что близится взрослая жизнь и будущее Стивену светит банальное: тусклое, бессмысленное угасание под гнетом ответственности подобно многим поколениям до него. И все бы хорошо, но альтернативу Купер предлагает сомнительную – присоединиться к театру и труппе давно мертвых беззаботных и бессмертных мальчиков.
После фантасмагоричного шоу, в котором Купер смог блеснуть своим театрализованным ужастиком, любой здравомыслящий человек на месте Стивена развернулся и убежал бы, насто��ько все это стремно и пугающе. Но протагонист не так прост, и вместо попыток избежать встречи он сам ищет способ вернуться в театр – правда, на этот раз уже будучи подкованным относительно истории этого места. Конец отличный, не потому что предлагает что-то новое, а потому что по канону.

Дополнительные материалы порадовали вслед за самой историей. Правда, въехала я в нее только к концу первой части, когда включила наконец одноименный альбом Элиса Купера ;)

annikeh.net

36 Stars!!! What a stunner! Neil Gaiman outshines even his usual perfection, and kudos also to Alice Cooper, Michael Zulli, Dave McKean. This is not only a "collectible," it's an artistically gorgeous and literary fascinating, a book readers will want to return to again and again and again--a.classic and a role model.

An Alice Cooper themed book? Intriguing...but ultimately fell rather short of the mark for me. Was not a fan.

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I picked up this brief little graphic novel solely because it had Neil Gaiman's name on it. I had just finished Sandman, and was going through withdrawals. The Last Temptation is a bit reminiscent of Ray Bradbury's classic "Something Wicked This Way Comes". The art is spectacular, and the story is fun. It may not be as deep as some of Gaiman's other works, but it surely stands on it's own. Great for a quick afternoon read.

Brilliant!

I remember buying The Last Temptation shortly when it came out. Concept albums date back to Ziggie Stardust and probably much earlier. Every album has a theme but the story rarely gets flushed out in a secondary medium.

So for someone who loved this album and could hear the story in those weird loud dregs of 90s music where most of the good stuff was found at 1 dollar cd sales and Alice, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana were some of the few worth listening to; this was amazing.

If you are familiar with the album you can listen along although Blood Brother is the only one that really gets a Comic Book Music Video if you like.

But the different songs and visuals are very obvious. In some ways its appropriate that Lost in America which was the radio hit and has the least bearing on the rest of the album is barely a page. But its there because every song is important.

It's also available on Kindle Unlimited if you want to read it.

A very eerie sort of companion piece to the Alice Cooper album of the same name, with allusions to albums past. Beautiful illustrations.