Cover Image: Look

Look

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

A light sci-fi tale of Arite the robot, and his friend, Owen the vulture as they venture on their own. The art is cute and simple but so are the characters. The story itself repeats the same plot points and doesn't feel like it goes anywhere, but is a cute chapter book for a younger audience.

Was this review helpful?

Look is a short black-and-white graphic novel about a robot named Arty, his bird robot friend Owen, and his urge to discover his purpose in "life." He spends his days wandering the desert, following the same routine, and not really knowing why. Arty decides to go past the desert to discover what else is out in the world. This was a sweet story that would be good for middle-grade children and has elements of The Lorax when talking about deforestation, as well as a message about finding meaning and joy in your life. However, the last section of the novel felt very sudden and abrupt, as there was no transition from where Arty was to where he ended up. I would have liked there to be a more clear transition that followed the pacing of the rest of the story.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

Was this review helpful?

'Look' by Jon Nielsen is a graphic novel about a couple unusual travelers in a desert at some indeterminate point in the future.

Artie is a robot on a mission. He travels the desert with his vulture friend Owen. Occasionally, they check in with other animals living in the desert. Artie questions what he is doing. This leads him to get checked out, and his fellow robots try to have him wiped and reprogrammed. He and Owen escape and head for the mountains. Along the way, there are other surprises that I dare not share.

I liked this story of a bleak future, but one with friends. There is no indication what happened to most, if not all, of the people, and what Artie is looking for. The art is in black and white, and I liked it's simplicity.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from NBM Publishing, Papercutz, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Was this review helpful?

This book tells the story of Artie, a robot, and his friend, Owen the vulture.

The art is cute, simple and clean.

The characters are adorable, however, they lack complexity.

The story itself felt repetitive and certain plot points weren't explained as well as they should have been.

Rating: 3 stars

Was this review helpful?

This graphic novel is about Artie, a small robot programmed to do only one thing. One day, he gets tired of doing the same chore everyday and, with his bird friend Owen, he sets off to an adventure. He finds other robots and the encounter isn't as good as he'd thought.
The art of this book is beautiful. It is simple and clean but I would have preferred it if it was colored.
It is amazing how the artist gave emotions to the robots using just the little ball they had as an eye.
The characters are fine, Artie and Owen are cute but that's all.
The plot was good but sometimes predictable.
I think this is a graphic novel for younger readers so, if you like that sort of thing, you should try Look. It was enjoyable for me.

Was this review helpful?

Artie, the cute robot from the cover, Wall-Es his way through life when he starts wondering why he does what he does. What follows is a strange mix of boring and just not so good, that left me wondering 'why did I read this?'.

Let's start with the good things. The art was not special but it was nice. Artie's really cute, and has a nice interaction with his friend Owen, the Vulture. That's about it.

The story was filled with a lot of interchangeable/forgettable characters and scenes with clunky expositions. I was not a fan. Which is a shame, because I had good expectations for this one!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Was this review helpful?

I thought this would be similar to Wall-E or somenthing like that, but the story was not well constructed and it was dragging at times. The beginning was great and I wanted more like that, but the rest kept going downhill. It was a good idea and the message is nice but it just wasn't enough for me.

Was this review helpful?

A light sci-fi tale of a robot who quits doing his job after they've been abandoned by humans and decides to tread his own path. Along with his buzzard friend Owen, Artie meets many animals and robots on their journey.

Was this review helpful?

I picked this up thinking it was going to be reminiscent of Pixar's Wall-e and instead found a robot who interacts with many characters. However, like Wall-e, this story is about questioning the status quo. Our fearless hero travels outside his world to meet other robots and ends up making a difference.

Was this review helpful?

I was into this book up until the final third. It wasn't phenomena but I was intrigued. The art style is rather cartoony but that doesn't make it all jokes and silliness. It feels like there is more going on beneath the surface. I was afraid it was going to be a total Wall-E knock off. It feels influenced by the movie but is more complex in some ways.. We've got a more complicated world. but that's actually part of my problem. It's a complex world but we get only a cursory introduction. Why are there root birds? What's the deal with the city? What was Artie looking for in the desert? Those questions are never answered.

Was this review helpful?

I'm always in search of a great graphic novel to add to my collection, but unfortunately, this is not one that I will add. In all honesty, I requested the title because it reminded me of Wall-E, one of my favorite movies, but then it turned out o be a little too much like it. The illustrations are pretty great though.

Was this review helpful?

This is a cute but strange tale about a world seemingly populated only by robotic creatures of various sizes and types. Arties attempts to discover the true reason behind his endless task of traversing the desert. There seems to be a vast conspiracy hinted at for the cause of it. However, no clear answer or reason ever seems to be arrived at.

Despite this obvious flaw in the narrative, it was a cute book, fairly entertaining, with clean and concise graphics. The best part of the entire work is the exploration of the friendship between Artie and Owen and how it came to be. The end sees nothing much resolved, but the two friends once again happy in each other's company.

Was this review helpful?

The artwork is very cute but the story is all over the place. It would most appeal to tweens but the concepts would probably be over their heads, and they would likely find it a bit boring.

Was this review helpful?

This is a very well-meaning comic and it might even be a great read for beginning kids, but I felt I've read this a thousand times already.
It's Wall-E + The Wizard of Oz. It's witty and simple but really not relevant enough. It also could have been told in way fewer pages.
But there are some good things about it. I love the theme: you are not what you do. If you are only that, well you might just be a senseless robot in a senseless existence. You can CHOOSE your existence and you can also trip and fall on something more fulfilling. But I could’ve also gotten the message in a short comic. The author can clearly write and I hope he keeps doing it, but this just doesn’t feel like a polished product.

Was this review helpful?

A cute little story with lovely drawings. I felt the story itself came across a little too expected and "seen it before", but it was an enjoyable, quick read.

Was this review helpful?

Beautifully drawn but I was not able to get into the story.

Was this review helpful?

I received a ARC from Netgalley in exchange of a honest review.

I DNF at 39%.

When I saw Look I wondered if it was like the Mars Rover Comic that made me cry: https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/spirit.png

The Rover comic took up 1 page and had more information and emotion than the 55 pages I read of Look.

That's all I have to say about this.

Was this review helpful?

I found this more philosophical than entertaining. The relationship between the robot and the vulture was cute but I feel the overall story was bland and lifeless.

Was this review helpful?

Not quite what I was expecting from this graphic novel. Not bad though.

Was this review helpful?