I was pleasantly surprised at this comic. The blurb is quite vague and the comic cover is a bit basic in my opinion so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Turns out the story is quite interesting and the artwork and colours are gorgeous. I don't want to give anything away but I thought the story's execution was what made it so good. I also loved how at the end, there was a bit on how the comic was done and why it was done the way it was. I will be reading Volume 2 when it comes out and I would read more by Gibson.

* I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Couple of days back I received a copy of Theatrics, a graphic novel from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. Written by Neil Gibson, illustrations by Leonardo Gonzalez, Jan Wijngaard colorist and Jim Campbell letterer.

The story is not that much complex but the story is well narrated via panels. The hero of the novel is Rudy Burns, tall, handsome and attractive Broadway actor. One night while coming out of a bar he was attacked by ruthless criminals. Rudy retaliates but he was assaulted from the back, pounded mercilessly by the thugs.

Rudy wakes up to find he had lost his good looking feature which is very much needed for Broadway. From then on he comes to know he has lost his money, girl friend and his home. Nobody gives him an opportunity. Finally like every beaten soul he makes up his mind for suicide. Before trying to kick the chair Rudy sees a mail and reads it, which tells him how hard he had come up in the life.

Rudy changes his mind, Sammy gives him a idea to become a boxer. Little bit hesitation first then Rudy understands that taking up boxing is also a kind of acting. Sammy creates a myth that Rudy now known as Barbarian Count.

And Sammy utters these golden words:

“What everyone really wants is not just a story, but a distraction from their tough lives. They want to escape. It’s why they drink. It’s why they read. It’s why Broadway is so popular. It lets people escape. People want to be entertained”.

“If you want to get rich, sell to the rich. If you want to get filthy rich, sell to the dirt poor”.

“You look like a monster, but you care like a father. You’ll scare the opponents, but charm the punters”.

Rudy Burns life turns as he wins matches one by one, his career graph finally shows a upward curve. Now Sammy pushes Rudy further by making him fight with famous boxers, with that ends the first volume of the novel.

In the final pages the author has given some examples of how the graphic novel is done and what fine tunings they have to do before final print.

The artwork and coloring are excellent. The artwork for Rudy Burns character before and after the accident and panel showing the life of Rudy from the tears are worth mentioning. A good method they had followed is instead of giving chapters they separated as Act 1 and Act 2.

An entertaining graphic novel set in 1920s. I enjoyed it very much.

How the mighty have fallen! Rudy Burns is the greatest actor on Broadway and is loving the limelight. But when a chance mugging leaves him severely disfigured, the life he took for granted disappears in an instant. With no job, no money, no woman and no home, he has truly hit bottom. Neil Gibson’s new dramatic graphic novel set during the roaring twenties, tells the tale of a man whose hubris brings him to ruin and begins the slow process of rebuilding his life in a most unusual way. Theatrics is brilliantly illustrated by Leonardo Gonzalez whose previous works include the Twisted Dark series.

I am glad to see that, more and more, graphic novels are getting away from the super hero genre and presenting stories that are truly out of the box. It is original ideas such as this that will promote continued growth in graphic novels as an art form.

The book contains some illustrations of graphic violence from beatings but is otherwise not unsuitable for young adult readers.

My only peeve is that it ends rather abruptly. There will obviously be second volume which I am looking forward to but to say that this volume ended in a cliffhanger does a disservice to the cliff.

Four stars. #Theatrics #NetGalley

Note: The review was based on an advanced reading copy obtained at no cost from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. While this does take any ‘not worth what I paid for it’ statements out of my review, it otherwise has no impact on the content of my review.

FYI: On a 5-point scale I assign stars based on my assessment of what the book needs in the way of improvements:
*5 Stars – Nothing at all. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
*4 Stars – It could stand for a few tweaks here and there but it’s pretty good as it is.
*3 Stars – A solid C grade. Some serious rewriting would be needed in order for this book to be considered great or memorable.
*2 Stars – This book needs a lot of work. A good start would be to change the plot, the character development, the writing style and the ending.
*1 Star – The only thing that would improve this book is a good bonfire.

This comic is about a sunny-boy in 1920's New York city. He's an actor and apparently quite successful too, but he gets robbed after having had a bit too much to drink. Unfortunately, him fighting back means the robbers use a crowbar on him which messes with his good looks so he loses his job, money, status, and girlfriend - one after another (no, she didn't leave him because he's poor, she's the money in the realtionship in fact).
The only person he can count on is his nephew and he has a weird idea to get them back on their feet that leads to the world of underground fighting.

The art and story were OK but nothing special. Maybe one has to read more than this first volume but I'm not sure I'll continue. It's really not a bad story but a bit too generic for me. The art was appropriate in that it equally reflected the MC as a dandy at the beginning and as a Mr-Hyde-like monster later.

Rudy is an actor on Broadway in the 1920's. New York is wonderful to him as he is a "leading man" that everyone loves. One night while partying, he gets drunk. As he walks home, he is mugged and beaten up. He wakes up in the hospital thinking nothing is wrong. His face is badly hurt -- he doesn't have his good looks anymore. When he gets out, he finds that he has lost everything including his girlfriend. What will he do? His friend has a suggestion. Will he do what his friend suggests? Will he act again?

The author and illustrator did a great job making the story come alive. In this novel, I gain a different view of New York City in the 1920's. I saw the heartbreak and harshness of the real world. It can be a cruel world when you are down on your luck as Rudy was. It made me think about how easy it is to take life for granted and not appreciated. I recommend that everyone read this excellent graphic novel!

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is the first volume in a new graphic novel series by Neil Gibson, and follows a character named Rudy Burns, who has it all. He is a famous Broadway actor, yet he is unhappy and drinks a lot. One evening he drinks one too many and stumbles home, only to be attacked by a gang of thieves. Rudy does a fantastic job at defending himself, but the gang fight dirty and beat him to a pulp using a lead pipe. Rudy wakes up in hospital with his face disfigured and faces the prospect of losing everything he had. We follow Rudy as he tries to get his life back on track.

I loved how easy this story was to get into, I found Rudy interesting and engaging as a character from the very beginning. You can tell from the get go that there is more to him than meets the eye, and I can't wait to get to know him more in future volumes. Other characters didn't stand out quite as much, and I ended up disliking a lot of them, which in many cases was surely intentional.

The graphics are amazing, I always love when the colours are matched to the subject matter on the page. So when things are tense, and anger filled, the colours are red and black. When Rudy is indoors and mulling over his situation, or struggling mentally, the colours are dull and dreary, which matches his mood perfectly.

This is a really strong first volume from Neil, and I have read many of his graphic novels now and enjoyed them all. I can't wait to see where this series goes and I will definitely be continuing on with this one. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a dark, quick but graphic read.

Comic noir. First volume in a series, but I would have liked at least a mini-resolve in this one.

I didn't think I was going to like this, because it's totally not the type of Graphic Novel I typically read but it was really good!
A super cocky Broadway actor in NYC in the 20's gets CRAZY drunk one night and gets the living crap beat out of him - and his face completely smashed in and destroyed. Of course, since he is no longer handsome, he no longer gets cast in the lead roles... or any roles for that matter. He loses his home and his girlfriend too, and all he has left is his childhood best friend who believes he can get everything he lost and more by playing one final part... and playing it so well that NO ONE can ever know he's acting.
Great artwork, an interesting story with interesting characters, I whipped right though the first volume and I'm dying to know what happens in volume 2!

First of all the artwork in this is amazing. I really loved the colors and also how the style changed slightly as the story progressed and a different mood was needed. The story is pretty straight forward but still good and it was interesting to watch how the two main characters both changed as the book progressed. My only big complaint is that I thought this was going to be a complete story since there is no 'volume 1' on the title and it is in fact the first part of a series. Still I did like it enough to take a look at the second volume whenever it does come out.

This is from an advance review copy for which I thank the publisher.

Set in the 1920's in New York City, this graphic novel by Neil Gibson tells the story of Rudy Burns who is a playboy of an actor who one night is mugged behind a bar and ends up not looking pretty any more. Out of hospital at last, he arrogantly turns own a paltry role that's offered to him, and quickly finds himself out of work and unsought-after for his looks any more. Even his well-to-do girlfriend has found someone else, although her rejection has nothing to do with his appearance. Shades of Mickey Rourke, for want of employment elsewhere, Rudy takes up boxing.

I am not a series fan and I'm frankly not sure where a series based on this premise could successfully take itself, but for this first installment, I found that I liked the novel for the story. It turned an unlikable protagonist into a pitiable one and brought my interest in. I also liked it for the free-flowing graphic content by Leonardo Gonzalez and for the vibrant colors by Jan Wijngaard.

3 .5-3.75 Stars
A darkly engrossing and gritty 1920s-era graphic novel set in New York City with a good start for a storyline and some solid artwork. I especially enjoyed the illustrations of the MC that look similar to what I would imagine Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde would be like. A fun beginning to a new series. For graphic novel fans or anyone who appreciates the darker underbelly of 1920s NYC.

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This is a light read, but a pretty engaging one. When one of the stars of the golden age of the Broadway stage gets heinously mugged one night he becomes someone not even the blind girl in ''Frankenstein'' could love, a drunken sop and a wreck both physically and mentally. So with the help of his best friend he tries to find a way for revenge, but it's going to be his most demanding role yet, living full-time as a vengeful European Count with a habit of going berserk in the boxing ring. I wish I'd been told this was book one of two, for I was wondering what on earth was happening to the revenge side of things; but I was also having a lot of fun. Some of the art is a little too fussy (a key female character losing half her face for no reason courtesy of a small box of artwork dumped on top willy-nilly) but the colours and design generally are spot on. And the story is certainly one to engage – I'll definitely intend to be back for round two.

This is a really good graphic novel. The story follows a successful actor (Rudy Burns), who loses his career when he is attacked by a gang of street thugs. Rudy finds he is no longer a handsome, up and coming starlet. He can no longer attract good roles and he finds himself really down on his luck. His girlfriend abandons him, intent on making a new life for herself in Paris, and he loses his flat. As Rudy wallows in his penniless state Rudy decides to end everything but something happens which makes him rethink what he is about to do.

Together with the support of a friend Rudy reinvents himself and becomes "The Count", a European immigrant who has lost his family and is seeking to box as a way of dealing with his grief. Rudy having lost all that he has, really throws himself into this new career, but he still struggles, not too sure that this is who he really wants to be and unsure if this new life is one that he really wants for himself.

This is a gripping story. I couldn't put it down once I started and I was quite disappointed to find out that this is book one in a series. The artwork is good but it is the actual story the draws the reader in and holds them there. I didn't realize that this was the first volume and I really want to know what happens next. Will Rudy survive as The Count? Will his friend betray him?

The story make you want to cheer Rudy along but there are just so many possible twists and turns in the story and these make it hard to see what might happen. Rudy's fall from grace is so well depicted and the way everything falls apart so quickly is painful and sobering. His gradual recovery is exciting and creates a sense of hope in the reader although this is tinged with suspense. Will Rudy continue to rise or will he fall?

Definitely a must - read.

Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

4 out of 5 stars.

Rudy, a famous movie star who is also pretty, gets mugged after leaving a speakeasy in the 1920's and he was hurt very badly so he lost all of his good looks. Now, Rudy has to navigate through life with working on his career because he can no longer rely on his looks to get him by. I really liked Rudy's character development throughout. I was engaged in the story the whole time. I can't wait until volume 2 is released! I really want to know what happens next!

This is a gritty, fast-paced, graphic novel. There is a lot to love in this one. Looking forward to more!