The Sculptor by Scott McLoud

"David Smith would sell his soul for his Art and he does but there's nothing in the contract about falling in love or fame and fortune. McLoud tells a brutal but beautiful story in a stark, steady hand. A truly heart wrenching story that will stick with me for a long time."

4 Stars

Pros: It's a deep, meaningful, gut wrenching story that gets you right in the feels from the start/McLoud doesn't pull any punches but it's so perfectly bittersweet that, his brutal honesty is understandable and necessary.

Cons: I feel like the scene with the Snipers near the end was a little silly, like that seemed to be a bit of an over-reaction to David's situation/Falling in love after trading your immortal soul is a bit cliche but, it worked.

Full Review

David Smith feels washed up and useless. He has no job, no girlfriend and the lease on his expensive Studio is up in two months, so no place to practice his art, the one thing in his life that really matters. He's drinking alone at a Diner, depressed, when his Great Uncle Harry sits across from him, unexpectedly and they strike up a conversation. Reminiscence abound but then David realizes that something's off. This isn't Harry, it can't be, Harry's dead. Has been for years.

And that's when the deal is struck. Harry (Death) promises David the chance to make anything he can think of with his bare hands but only for 200 days. After that, he's dead, no deals, no compromises. David agrees, unwavering, knowing that he would give his life for his art. Except, of course, there's that girl that he meets on a few opportune occasions, who he can't help but notice and always seems to have a bit of advice. And there's the fact that though Death promised him creation, he didn't promise him prosperity or recognition.

McLoud tells a brutal but honest story that gets you right from the start. Though some parts were definitely cliche, it had to be and it still worked. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good, heart rending story, a good, well paced Graphic Novel and realistic, flawed but generally good characters.

Comments

Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

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Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

“The tale of Andy Dufresne and how he served his time at Shawshank prison, as told through the eyes of his friend and fellow inmate, Red. Dark and disturbing but also compulsively readbale. I finished it in 2 days. Also enjoyable is Frank Darabont's 1994 film adaptation, "The Shawshank Redemption." ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros : Red has a soothing, drawl, making the reading easy and flowing/Since I saw the film first, I couldn't help but compare the book though I was pleased to find that the two were very similar. Cons : Things got a bit rambling a bit at the beginning/Since I saw the film first I couldn't help but compare the book but this ended up not being a con. Full Review: The state of Maine has a prison. Shawshank Redemption. And Red is the guy that can get you things. He also happens to be the only guilty man in Shawshank but that's netiher here nor there. He meets Andy Dufresne for business purposes at first and he finds him to be a calm, cool man and Red likes him i...

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

“Rick Deckard is a Bounty Hunter who's on the trail of six "Andys" (Androids) who have come to Earth illegally. His job is to track them down and "retire" them. Something he found easy to do until he met her, Rachael Rosen. The Android that does the impossible, passes the "Voight-Kampff" test. The story quickly devolves into a slow, drawn out and frankly boring mystery that was putting me to sleep by the end." ⭐⭐ Pros: I was more interested in comparing it to the film, "Bladerunner."/At first I kind of liked the drab, dreary atmostphere but it soon became soporific. Cons: I had no real idea what was going on with Mercerism/The end there had me blinking in bewilderment, like with Herbert's 29th Dune Book/There was a lot of idle chit-chat while they were in murderous/intense situations, it just seemed odd. Full Review: Rick Deckard, a Bounty Hunter, contracted with the San Francisco Police Department hunts down and retires rogue ...

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