Life Sucks by Jessica Abel, Gabriel Soria Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Life Sucks
Book Review: A nice addition to vampire lit, not just for YA
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't read all the graphic novels out there - I'm older generation, and still mostly like my books to be mostly words - but I do try to read all the vampire books I come across, and so I read this from the perspective of a vampire fan, rather than as a graphic-novel fan. And what I found was, this is a pretty good vampire story, a fun addition to the vampire subgenre, and not only for young adults.
As far as basic stuff goes, BunRab's Standard Vampire Classification: (1)the book is romance as well as fantasy and graphic. (2) The vampires have fairly traditional superpowers and weaknesses: strength, ability to hypnotize humans, drink strictly blood, can't eat solid food, harmed by daylight although they can be awake and indoors during the day; long lifespans but can be killed by severing their heads. (3) The vampires have lives that include jobs; they don't exist just as vampires for the sake of being vampires, doing nothing but brooding darkly; they also exist in a milieu that has a presence besides just being a home for the vampires - it's modern day Los Angeles, with weather and beaches and cars, not some un-named place where there are only vampires and victims. I tell you this so that you can compare it to other vampire types that you like, or don't like, and see if this fits in. If you like your vampires deadly serious (pardon the pun) and ancient, then these vampires, who have senses of humor and are mainly young people, wouldn't fit your vampire profile. But if you like Tanya Huff's vampires, for example, who crack jokes, work for a living, and interact with humans a lot, then you should enjoy these vampires.
Our hero works in a convenience store owned by his vampire master, a fairly neat conceit on which to start the story. The convenience store stocks products specifically for vampires as well as the usual run of things, for example, beer made from fermented blood! So vampires can pick up a six-pack for their poker game. And some of this is where the graphic-novel format adds to the story something one might not get just from a text novel: the visual element of seeing four old vampires sitting around in a basement den with a singing bass on the wall, arguing about the actors who played vampires in the movies. Or how Wes the surfer-dude can tart himself up pretty spiffily as Wes the rich man's son.
I like the other characters, too - Merle the biker, who only makes a couple of brief appearances; Dave's roommate, a human who is awesomely comfortable with living with a vampire.
The ending is a bit predictable, but there are a couple of original elements in it, and it was nice to have it not be too sappy or unbelievably happy. Overall, I would say there's as least as much plot and characterization as there is in many of the vampire series novels in plain text, and more than some; although it's not great literature, it is definitely an enjoyable read and a must for the collector of vampire books.
Book Review: Awesome Book!
Summary: 5 Stars
It was an easy, fast read. It flowed rather well despite the fact that its not an animation and there are printed words instead of sounds. I got really into it. Only took me a day to get through it. I really enjoyed it and wish there were more in the series.Book Review: Fun But Somewhat Shallow
Summary: 3 Stars
I grabbed this from the library when I was looking for something I could start and finish during my 45-minute lunch break, and it pretty much hit the spot. Don't get me wrong, it's not the kind of amazing graphic novel you go out and buy as a birthday gift for your hipster friends, it's more of a fluffy sugary treat, quick and fairly fun. The story is probably best described as Clerks meets '80s John Hughes teen movies -- with vampires. Basically, the authors are taking the popular image of vampires as sexy eternal lords who live well, and satirizing it with a cast of scrub vampires whose finances revolve around convenience stores and coffee shops, and generally look like shlubs.
Dave is one such shlub, a relatively newly minted vampire relegated to working the night shift at his vampire lord's convenience Los Angeles store. In a direct nod to Clerks, his best friend works next door at a copy shop (the 2008 version of a video store). Dave is pretty lame vampire, unwilling to drink real human blood, and thus perpetually run down due to his subsistence plasma diet. Naturally enough, he has a crush on a beautiful (non-vampire) goth chick whom he sees around. Also naturally enough, just as he gears himself up to approach her, a rival emerges in the form of a more traditionally virile and ruthless vampire (here in the form of handsome, macho surfer dude).
This love plotline goes pretty much as expected, although the writers do a nice trying to show how the goth chick's fantasy of being a vampire clashes with the reality as experienced by Dave and others. There are some pretty good gags, and nice deadpan humor (like Dave's roommate, a regular slightly nerdy human who seems entirely unfazed by Dave's transformation and vampire friends.), but ultimately, the characters are all "types" rather than fully realized people, and as such, sometime act in ways that don't really make sense, simply to drive the plot forward. It also doesn't help that the ending is poorly handled, with a major resolution taking place off-page and the whole thing kind of just petering out (perhaps in a nod to real life?). On the whole, a diverting enough read but not a book to go out of your way for, unless you're a vampire fanperson and want to see a different take.
Oh yes, I should note that as with everything this publisher puts out, the artwork is above average and the colorwork and production is top notch.
Book Review: Good writing, mediocre art
Summary: 4 Stars
Dave Miller is a typical 20-something Angelino in a dead-end job, managing an all-night convenience store for a boss from the Olde Country who lectures him about his work ethic. The difference is, in this generally good graphic novel, Dave is a recently-made vampire, his boss is also his master, and the store is a favorite quick-shop stop for LA's undead community. Dave's apparently doomed to a long, long lifetime of rotating the hot dogs and restocking the Blood Brew. Because, as much as the goth girls at the local juice bar would like to think otherwise, this is the reality of vampirism in the 21st century. Dave, who is cursed with a baby-face and a wimpish personality, has his eye on one of those girls but doesn't quite know what to do about it. His undead buddy, Jerome (who runs a quick-copy shop for another vampire master), tries hard to help out, but Dave's going to need a lot of help -- especially in dealing with the wealthy surfer dude who wants the girl, too. There's a good story here, some effective deadpan humor, and a pretty good grasp of life as it is lived, but the artwork isn't up to the level of the writing. The author should have gotten someone like Adrian Tomine or Michel Rabagliati.Book Review: Life Sucks (literally)
Summary: 2 Stars
As a casual fan of La Perdida (also by Jessica Abel) and indie graphic novels in general (i.e. Daniel Clowes, Adrian Tomine, Joe Matt, Jeffrey Brown, Craig Thompsen, Charles Burns), I took a gamble with this one when I saw it at my local comic book store and thought it looked like a fun, light read. However, after reading it, I must say that it was entirely a waste of time. It feels terribly dated with horribly written dialogue and it feels like the creators were just trying to cash in on the vampire fad (i.e. Twilight series). I'd probably compare it to a blockbuster popcorn movie, as opposed to what could have been an interesting, cult-y new take on the whole vampire genre. It's surely a waste of talent and I hope Jessica Abel doesn't continue on with this trend.
More Life Sucks reviews:
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