Cover Image: The Ballad of Sang

The Ballad of Sang

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Member Reviews

This was goddamn nuts and I loved 90% of it!

Sang is a killer. He's also a half blind and mute kid who's trying to just be a normal kid. However, after his master is killed he cuts off the arm of a drug lord and runs away. The drug lord puts out a bounty and all these gangs start to head out to kill him. Sang must survive, with the help of a mother-like figure, to go against all these gangs plus fight back against the drug lord himself.

This is both intense and funny as hell. The dialogue is just enough to build the characters and world plus the humor hits high for me. I also loved the art, over the top and cartoony but just perfect for this series. The pacing is well done, feeling like a movie, and by the end I was wanting more. The only negative is maybe it takes a bit to get sucked into this wacky world and also the main villain is pretty typical save the ending.

Overall, great stuff. Ed Brisson knocks it out of the park here as making a very funny story mixed with heart and extreme violence. A 4 out of 5.

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Fantasticly stunning artwork and plenty of brutal immagery which I personally love in a graphic novel but may be too much for some readers. Also some great disablility representation.

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"Homage to Takashi Miike films with THE BALLAD OF SANG, the story of a child assassin raised in violence and out for revenge after his master is murdered."

-A kid assassin being hunted by a crime lord?! Count me the eff in! The artwork is absolutely stunning, the story of course Im biased as I love all movies by Takashi Miike, is such a fun read! Great work and would totally recommend to anyone I know!

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'The Ballad of Sang' by Ed Brisson with art by Alessandro Micelli is an homage to the films of Takashi Miike. Which explains to completely over the top amount of violence inside.

Sang is a deaf child who is really good at killing. When he chops off and takes a warlord Minchella's arm, that warlord puts an ever increasing bounty on him. This pits one ridiculous gang after another against Sang. There are biker gangs and roller derby gangs and hipster gangs. Sang finds allies and chops his way through the rest.

It's a very visceral story and the overblown violence is cartoonish. The art style feels like it was drawn quick to match the story pace. Sang's ultimate reason for going after Minchella felt like a blown payoff and took some of the drive of the story away from me. It's not a very deep story, but I liked this quick cinematic read.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Oni Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

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A kid assassin is being hunted by the local crime lord for cutting off and stealing his arm. It's full of over the top, graphic violence at least from what I could make out. The art is terrible, very dark with more motion lines than skill. The violence reminded me of Luther Strode. I gotta say I was disappointed given this was by Ed Brisson. His work is usually much better than this.

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This was an interesting story, but really too dark for me. And not really in a graphic violence sense (though this certainly is violent), but more just in the fact that many of the panels were illustrated in such a way that made it difficult for me to figure out what the heck was going on.

I didn't hate this, but I didn't love it either. So 3 stars from me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for providing me with a DRC of this book.

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Ultra-violence courtesy of an unassuming-looking child is not exclusive to Hitgirl et al, but this book only suffers by coming so late to the party. There is a bit of novelty, in that he's mute, and the helpful sidekick who guides him from one fight to the next as he is sought by the Big Bad is a grown woman. But there's also the scuzzy-gang-of-the-month aspect, too, as every issue a separate collection of unlikeable drop-outs face the "oh you tried to kill him and failed? well, we really can't care too much" problem. Luckily there is just enough story-telling nous to make sure something much better enters proceedings, and the end result is actually quite likeable. Not a great book, but one you would do well to stick with. It would have been better if it didn't make you doubt the worth of seeing it out, though. A slightly begrudged four stars.

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A digital copy of The Ballad of Sang was provided by Oni Press and NetGalley for review.

Sang is a child assassin in a world full of violent and vengeful adults. His world is populated by people starving for money, drugs, food, and any kind of purpose. He was forced to grow up far too fast, and now he faces a scenario no one his age should have to deal with. His life is up for ransom, and he must defend his life or die trying.

The characters in this graphic novel are nothing short of colorful. You have a troupe of rock n’ rollers, hipster Gatsby wannabes, and a gang of kick-butt roller derby women. At some point throughout the story, they each take a stab at Sang.

Sang’s one ally, Lucy, seems to be the only person with any kind of decency left in the world. Everyone else is perfectly willing to sell our Sang for the promise of personal gain.

This story is a cautionary tale about the dangers of allowing material things control your life. It warns against forgetting that no matter how different or multifaceted the people around you may be, they all deserve respect. Perhaps most importantly it teaches that when you seek violence you can’t be surprised when violence finds you.

Though I appreciate what the book is saying, it came off as a bit heavy handed to me. There were also moments that felt a bit overly gruesome, but that’s more a matter of personal taste. I did enjoy the art, it has a very 80s high action vibe that was a lot of fun. If you enjoy bloody violent graphic novels with lots of heart, I definitely recommend this one!

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If something is described as an homage to Takashi Miike, of course I am going to read it. And in this case, it is an accurate description. Sang is mute, but he is one of the most foulmouthed and sassy characters you will encounter in a comic this year. A whole lot of brutal fun.

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I really enjoyed The Ballad of Sang. Unfortunately, I can't see myself recommending it to all teens but older teens, aged 17-19 would enjoy this story. The art is great and the jokes are funny.

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The Ballad of Sang starts as a bloody, action-adventure revenge tale and morphs into the tragedy of a child forced to become a monster instead of a normal kid. This world is incredibly violent, filled with themed street gangs who want nothing but money to fuel their shady dealings. The story is well-done, with solid pacing leading up to a big reveal.

At first, Sang seems like a willing participant in the violence, intent on killing anyone who gets in his way. His skills are unmatched by the adult criminals who underestimate him. The reveal of his origin story is truly tragic and leads to a deeper understanding of the pain Sang is trying to work through. He never backs down from the war to be free from his oppressors. The villains are maniacal to an almost cartoonish point, which pairs well with the stylized violence portrayed during the fight scenes.

Most epic is the gang of roller-skating women who fight to save their community center. They are hardcore badasses and eventually become the only allies Sang has ever had in his corner.

The art is intensely violent, filled with panels of epic fight scenes that are expertly crafted. The plot requires a lot of movement and the artist captures that motion well. It’s a style that is perfectly matched to the story.

While this is an incredibly bloody tale, The Ballad of Sang is ultimately a journey to find freedom from oppression. It’s a story of pain expressed through violence as Sang fights the men who have stolen away his childhood.

Review will be published on 3/21/19: https://reviewsandrobots.com/2019/03/21/the-ballad-of-sang-book-review

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This was such a cool and weird graphic novel. It’s hard to explain but it read like an action movie. It is high in violence and gore, which usually turns me off, but it didn’t in this case.

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I loved this book. I'm a big fan of Takashi Miike and graphic novels with over the top violence, and this won me over. I've requested a purchase in my library, both for fans of Miike but also movies like The Raid or John Wick. The art style really grabbed me and I look forward to future works!

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I received an ARC copy from Netgalley.
Rating is 4/5 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this graphic novel the violence of it totally reminded me of the fairyland graphic novels and the two I read of those I enjoyed. I will continue to read these as they come out and I recommend you to check out The Ballad of Sang.

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actual rating: 4.5

I almost feel silly for giving this book such a high rating, but I just had such a good time reading it that it would feel wrong to round down. There are probably almost infinite other pieces of media that you could compare this to, but I'm going to go with The Warriors for the story line meets I Hate Fairyland for the extreme cartoonish violence and general art style. I'm sure it isn't for everyone [there's a lot of body parts and blood flying all over the place], but I thought it was a really fun revenge story that also had some really great characters and character relationships.

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Bloody, colorful, and violent.
The Ballad of Sang follows Sang, a hit man raised by the one who kidnapped him once he was a kid back in the streets of his home town.
With no voice, he communicates with nods, signs and with writing.

After a mission gone wrong, with his now master and 'father figure' dead, Sang see's himself on the run as the mob gang is after him, putting every group in the city after the bounty of his head. Him and the stolen arm he carries now with him.

It was a nice read, fast, with lots of colors and fast paced action. But even with how I'm very so in love with action, my man do we have lot's of blood around; We can put all the 12 Golden Cloths, as well the Silver and Bronze ones from Saint Seiya! That's how much blood is around.

We meet more characters as the groups go after him, the rollerblade gals who want to use the bounty money to help the community center, the rock and roll dudes, the hipsters. Lot's of mob henchmen. But Sang is not backing down, and he will go to it until the end.

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This is a gritty, bloody, and unrelenting graphic novel. There is a lot to love here. Deep story and a great art style.

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Koroshiya Ichi is one of my all-time favorite films. Tadanobu Asano was magnificent as Kakihara. The film portrayed violence and gore with such gleeful abandon, it was practically comical.

The Ballad of Sang pays homage to Takashi Miike films and lets loose with almost the same level of mania. Guts were being pulled out while the person is still alive, uncountable number of limbs chopped off and of course, the classic, plucked eyeballs. All done with a touch of humor and a lot of blood, explicitly drawn in vivid colors.

I loved that the main character, Sang, was a Filipino and I wasn't surprised that he was as tough as fuck because I have seen Filipino kids living in the streets and nothing comes close to their hardcore survival skills.

You can't help but root for Sang from the get-go. His was a tragic, violent life. His battles were brutal and the story moved from one over-the-top fight to the next, never letting up on the adrenaline. Like the child that he was, Sang's reason for going after Minchella was so simple and pure, it left the final boss flabbergasted.

Let The Ballad of Sang blow your mind too!

P.S.

I received a copy of The Ballad of Sang from Oni Press via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

SOUNDTRACK
Blame It On The Kids
Squid 9
Weld

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Well...

Hmm...

Er...

That is to say...

The art is absolutely stunning. The story reminds me of a Kill Bill on a crack mixed with steroids. It's ultra-brutal, bloody, and fast. The plot is thin, but if you dig the convention that shouldn't be a problem.

Worth reading as long as you don't approach graphic novels too seriously and extreme violence doesn't trigger visceral reaction in you.

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Electric art and enjoyable story punctuate The Ballad of Sang. For comics fans, this is a wonderful journey and one that I can recommend if you are looking for a solid graphic novel read. Most enjoyable.

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