Neil Gaiman, Alice Cooper and Michael Zulli
Now there's three names you wouldn't expect to write in the same sentence.
I haven't listened to Cooper's Album version of this, but from reading the book, I was transported back to Cooper's early days of Welcome to my Nightmare and School's Out... which were two of the very first 33rpm albums I'd ever owned.
So simply on a nostalgic note, this for me, was very pleasant to read.
Zulli's artwork is as always, some of the best.

Publicada originalmente aquí.

A mediados de los ’90, el escritor Neil Gaiman recibió una llamada de la discográfica Epic Records que llevaba a una estrella del rock y del espectáculo como era Alice Cooper. El representante del músico, Bob Pfeifer, un gran admirador de The Sandman (la obra que había encumbrado a Gaiman), le habló de la posibilidad de dar trasfondo al disco conceptual que el cantante estaba preparando. Gaiman, que siempre se ha apuntado a hacer de todo (cómics, novelas, libros infantiles, guiones de películas o episodios de Doctor Who) lo vio como una oportunidad, aunque era consciente de la escasa calidad de cómics como los protagonizados por la banda Kiss. Después de un breve encuentro con Vincent Damon Furnier (el nombre real de Alice Cooper), Gaiman aceptó el trabajo y, junto a Cooper creó The Last Temptation, uno de los últimos grandes discos del hombre tras Welcome to my Nightmare. Era lógico que The Last Tempation, aparte de un disco, se convirtiese también en un cómic con aire de ópera rock guionizado por el propio Gaiman.

La Última Tentación, más allá de la referencia bíblica de su título (popularizada por la película de Martin Scorsese), toma como principal influencia dos obras literarias del genio Ray Bradbury: La feria de las tinieblas (la aparición de una extraña feria en la novela es sustituida en este cómic por la llegada de un insólito teatro) y El árbol de las brujas (ambas historias tratan sobre el final de la infancia y Halloween). El protagonista de nuestra historia es Steve, un crío a punto de ser adolescente, que halla un teatro secreto que solo aparece en el crepúsculo. Es allí donde conoce al misterioso Histrión, una figura mefistofélica que recuerda al mismísimo Alice Cooper. El Histrión le propone asistir a la función, un gran guiñol donde todo es gratis, a cambio de que Steve se quede para siempre con ellos. Así, como un Niño Perdido, Steve no crecerá, no envejecerá, no morirá, no vivirá… ¿Aceptará Steve el precio?

Continúa en el blog.

3.5 Stars

I recently read on someone's blog that it's not good for reviewers to review books without a knowledge of the genre, the author, the series, etc to inform their opinion.

Hrmph.

While I can see why that would be beneficial, on one level at least, I mostly disagree with it overall. I think books can, and should, be judged on their own merit. I think that, if I pick up a book, it needs to stand on its own and not use my previous experience with the author's other books as a crutch. I think that books have a story to tell, and they should just tell it without me needing to know every other story like it before I can form an opinion on it.

I thought of that blog and the ridiculous message it was sending (that opinions of books are only "valid" in certain circumstances) after finishing this little graphic novel.

Why, you ask? Well I shall tell you!

I purchased this book sight unseen based solely on the fact that Neil Gaiman wrote it. I didn't even know it was a graphic novel until I opened it. I read this without having a single clue as to what it was about, because I never read the description. And, I read this entire story thinking that the antagonist looked an awful lot like Alice Cooper, only finding out that it was in fact supposed to resemble Cooper when I read the introduction... last. Well, next to last. I read the book description last.

According to that blogger, all of these things apparently make me a bad reviewer. Not that I really give two shits about what that blogger thinks, but it just made me chuckle thinking about how different people think the act of reading should be done.

I envision that blogger like this:


Anyway... So, yeah. I bought this book a while back knowing nothing about it other than Neil Gaiman wrote it. I guess in this case I meet ONE of the Her Highness The Blogger's decrees: I have read quite a bit of Gaiman's work. Not all of it yet, but enough. So in a way, this was predictable, both for it being a classic rejection of temptation tale, and for Neil Gaiman writing it.

But that's not to say I didn't like it. I have very shifty opinions on when 'predictable' is acceptable, and it mostly was here. I knew where it was going, but not necessarily how it would get there. And that's Neil's gift. The getting there is good.

I liked the little nuances of the story, the shiftiness of it, the "is this all in Steven's head, or...?" feel of the story. I liked the abrupt shift from the everyday to dreamlike surreality and back. I liked quite a bit about this story, even though I'm not usually one for "performance" fiction... Circuses, fairs, carnivals... not my thing. This was pushing the boundary being none of those things, but theater fiction doesn't really do it for me either. So I also liked that that wasn't really the entire focus here.

Definitely worth a read, and yet another proof that Neil Gaiman's pen could explode on paper and it'd be worth reading.

So, the short, bad reviewer version: "I liked it."

Una maravilla de principio a fin.
Sí se acompaña con el álbum de Alice Cooper mejor.
Reseña más extensa cuándo agarre la notebook.

Note: I published this review originally on the release date, on the Goodreads page of the former edition. I moved my review to the correct edition of the book which is why it shows as posted in 2021. :)

I received a free digital copy via NetGalley of the 20th anniversary edition which is released today. It included bonus material including letters between Neil Gaiman and Alice Cooper, drafts, and original sketches of the story. The digital format for this graphic novel made it a little difficult to read. I had to zoom in to read the text which pixelated the art, and it was difficult to flip back and forth to read panels that extended 2 pages.

Ask anyone who knows me what my favorite month is, and they will tell you it's October. I am a Halloween girl, through and through. I love the leaves changing color, the latex smell of rubber masks and costumes, the bags and bags of candy, and the endless marathon of horror movies and Halloween music.

I picked up this book on NetGalley because I love graphic novels and Neil Gaiman, and the setting is between All Hallow's Eve and Halloween. I devoured it in one sitting. The book has been out for years so there isn't much for me to say on it, except that it follows a young boy named Steven who is captivated by a ghostly theatre and its strange "director" (made in Alice Cooper's image). Neil Gaiman and Alice Cooper did an amazing job with the art and creep factor on this. As is usual with graphic novels, I wish there had been more depth as it felt rather quickly paced, but the story is wonderful and haunting and makes a good read for getting in the Halloween spirit.

I'm not really a bonus material kind of person, but if you are, I highly recommend getting the 20th Anniversary edition as it is packed to bursting with extra pages of background and behind-the-scenes development.

::grabs you by your lapels::

Read this.

I love to use the word "delicious" in reviews. I use it sparingly, but LIVE for the opportunity to say a book is delicious. Delicious, to me, means something worth savoring. If a meal is delicious, I want to take my time, tasting every bite, and saving some for later. And I'm sad when the meal is over.

Books are delicious in the exact same way, and Neil Gaiman is so very good at writing the tastiest. This book is so delicious.

I grew up knowing Alice Cooper's music, a benefit of having young parents. I was a child who watched horror movies entirely too young and was terrified Freddy Kreuger was going to appear and do unspeakable things to me, but I was never afraid of Alice Cooper. I loved the makeup, I loved the freak show aspect. I saw a concert video from the late 70's or early 80's with his whole shtick, and wanted to see him in concert very much.

I didn't even know Gaiman had collaborated with him on a comic (seriously, I am the worst best fan of his) until this edition popped up on Netgalley. And now I am kicking myself and making plans to order myself a copy.

The story is so short, but it packs such a punch. You don't see at all where it's going, and the ending is so much fun, the kind of ending that gives you a half smile, because while it's not a cliffhanger, it gives your brain so much to speculate on. And you aren't left demanding to know what happens next, because you're having too much fun thinking of what it could be.

It should go without saying that the artwork is amazing. This is the same illustrator who worked on Sandman, a comic I loved so much part of it is permanently inked onto my skin. But I will say the illustrations of Alice are MARVELOUS, and the appearance of the Alice makeup throughout the story made me need to stand up and turn the lights on at one point.

As for the extras at the end, I always wondered how you "write" a comic book that you aren't also illustrating. It's something that happens all the time, but are the writer and illustrator leaning over each other's shoulders the whole time? Or are notes/e-mails exchanged? "Draw that here. No, no, not that, draw this. And add a puppy in the corner."

So to see Neil's script was so much fun, and even though I'd literally just read the story seconds before, I read it all over again in script form. It could just be because I'm a giant nerd for writing, but I think it's the best extra I could imagine for a comic book.

Delicious.

I picked the book up on a whimsy. I like Gaiman, and this book looked different from the rest.

The introduction was among the most interesting parts for me, the prose that allowed Gaiman to tell how Last Temptation came about. Helping write a concept album for Alice Cooper sounded exciting and neat, and I imagine it is an opportunity that happens too often. Within the context of the album, the resulting graphic novel take form.

The tale is of Steven, a boy pressed with many fears and threats in his life, nothing amazing though, more on the level of a meek Joe Average. He is offered a place in the Theater of the Real by the Showman in exchange for his Potential. The Showman is very much the serpent, playing to Steven through the mouths of those around him, trying to tempt him to accept.

The story is pretty straight and simple. I believe it is the result of the collaboration. The story is a bit simpler in plot and character than I would ordinarily expect, but it is to the point and well told. The art is evocative and well done, bringing out the eeriness of the theme.

I would mostly recommend this to Gaiman and Cooper fans. There are definitely better books out there on this theme.

I liked this well enough, but definitely my least favorite Gaiman book.

Yazar Neil Gaiman, Sandman'in çizerlerinden Michael Zulli ve bir rock efsanesi Alice Cooper. Daha fazla ne demeli bilmiyorum. Tek noksanlığı kısa olması. Fakat eseri basan Marmara Çizgi bunun da önüne geçmiş, Gaiman ve Cooper'ın ilk mailleşmelerine, taslaklara, çizerin düşüncelerine ait baştan sona proje detaylarını metin olarak vermiş. Bence Gaiman, Sandman, rock ya da Cooper'ı seviyorsanız evde bulundurulması gereken bir eser.

A nice, short graphic novel to read during spooky season since it's set on Halloween night. The art was great and so was the concept but something was missing.

opinião em vídeo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB2rx...

I got my ARC from NetGalley.

This version of the graphic novel is not yet released. I have not read the original copy. To preface further, I am a Neil Gaiman fan, and while I like Alice Cooper I am not constantly amazed by him.

That being said, I personally did not enjoy "The Last Temptation." This is one of Gaiman's earlier works and it certainly shows. Perhaps it was because he co-authored it alongside Alice Cooper, but this reads more as a commercial piece which was written to accompany the musical album of the same title. There were a few scenes which quoted songs from the album, which I had to look up to understand such as the scene toward the end of Act I. The words weren't making any sense to me, so I realized they had to be lyrics from a song. They were.

I do believe, however, that Gaiman fans should give this a try. While I did not enjoy it, I can see some of Gaiman's common elements that may entertain his other fans yet. For anyone that is a fan of Alice Cooper, I think this is a must read as Cooper is inserted into this as the mysterious Showman. The artwork, while it isn't for me, is solid and I think many comic fans will enjoy the characters, scenery, and imagination that went into each panel.

All in all, the appeal for this graphic novel is varied, but I would recommend it to Gaiman and Cooper fans alike.