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Series: The Life After
Author: Joshua Hale Fialkov
Illustrator: Gabo
Genre: Graphic Novels, Religion and Philosophy
Publisher: Oni Press
Date: March 22, 2017
Length: 160 pages
Free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Jude's life is nothing special. It seems like every day is just a repeat of the last one, until one day, he meets a woman and can suddenly see into her past -- revealing that he is actually in Purgatory for suicides. Now that he's awake, he and the legendary Ernest Hemingway are on the path to change things in the afterlife for the better. Of course, that might not sit very well with the bigwigs down below or up above. Can just a few people change the course of billions of souls?
Goodreads Description
Trigger Warning: this book contains physical assault, still birth, people committing suicide
The best way to describe this comic is as if you took the medieval system of order for the afterlife, turned it into a bureaucracy, and had the guys from Office Space trying to take down the unjust system. The story was interesting, a bit depressing, occasionally funny, with a lot "What the ABSOLUTE F*** just happened?!" thrown in.
What I liked
The afterlife as a bureaucracy: It was an interesting disconnect between what most imagine the afterlife to be like and the "reality" in this book is - it's a giant holosuite run by bored and depressed corporate drones. Basically, the afterlife is Initech and you're stuck there for eternity.
The injustice inherent in the system: The Life After makes fun of the idea of purgatory and how unfair it is. I went to an all girls Catholic high school and I remember several of the points brought up in the story being questioned in class.
The injustice inherent in the system: The Life After makes fun of the idea of purgatory and how unfair it is. I went to an all girls Catholic high school and I remember several of the points brought up in the story being questioned in class.
Taking back your afterlife: The departed have a chance to take control of their present and future in a way that they could never do while living.
Ernest Hemingway: An awesome, flawed, blowhard - I really liked him. He kept our main character, Jude, on track and added much needed humor.
Demon assassin: Oops, I mean "contractor".
What I'm on the fence about
Depiction of God: Well, I'm not really bothered by it, but I think a lot of others might be. But since a parts of the book flashes between what a character remembers/ really sees vs. the illusions they're being fed, one could argue that God as a giant blob creature with lots of faces and gaping mouths is a reflection of what the Bureaucrat sees, and not necessarily a true form. It was mostly creepy.
What didn't work for me
Art: I am very particular about my illustrations, it's one of the reasons I stopped reading The Walking Dead. The novel was storyboarded well, the illustrations did a great job of telling the story, I just did not like the art style. It's totally a personal opinion. I especially did not like the close up of the baby who had died.
Rating: 3.0
This book is not for everyone and I did not like the illustration style at all. But it was an interesting take on the afterlife, it was well written, and Hemingway rocked.
Has anyone else read The After Life, if so, what did you think? Would you be willing to tray a graphic novel that tackles religious ideas? And am I the only one who struggles through a story if they don't like the illustrations? My husband teases me about this.
Office Space reference! :) The premise for this sounds really interesting. I haven't read any graphic novels (yet) but I can understand struggling if you don't like the art style. It's such a large part of the story.
ReplyDeleteIt's my greatest weakness when it comes to comics. I've had debates with friends and students about it. My kids can't believe I don't like the ONE PIECE manga, even my husband likes it, but I hate the art and just can't get into. I'm exhausted after reading an "ugly" comic with a good story because it was a constant struggle to stay involved.
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