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Review Group Week #253: THE SUICIDE FOREST #1

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BlueStreak

The Red Stands for Irony

Postby BlueStreak » Thu Dec 16, 2010 4:16 pm

Zero has informed me that he won't be able to review for the next couple of weeks due to holiday commitments. He was curious if someone would be willing to trade him spots in the rotation so that he won't have to wait another 3-4 months to pick. If anyone who has a pick coming up in the next month or so (Hawk, Squid, RU, etc.,) wants to trade for next week's pick, it'd be greatly appreciated.
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SilverPhoenix

Staff Writer

Postby SilverPhoenix » Thu Dec 16, 2010 4:27 pm

Speaking of Trades, Greg. I'll fast track my review so you can get a chance to read and review it, yourself. If you can wait till Monday, then you're golden.
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Greg

Rain Partier

Postby Greg » Thu Dec 16, 2010 4:33 pm

SilverPhoenix wrote:Speaking of Trades, Greg. I'll fast track my review so you can get a chance to read and review it, yourself. If you can wait till Monday, then you're golden.


Sure. :D
User avatar

Stephen Day

Wrasslin' Fan

Postby Stephen Day » Thu Dec 16, 2010 6:51 pm

As I feared, there was no copy of Suicide Forest on the shelves at my LCS. I'll hopefully be able to post a review next week.
User avatar

God-Man

Garbage Collector

Postby God-Man » Thu Dec 16, 2010 7:01 pm

I thought The Suicide Forest was pretty good. The story was pretty low key, but there was still a sense of foreboding and dread throughout the book. The dark, sketchy, almost impressionistic art really helped contribute to the tone.

My favorite sequence in The Suicide Forest was the juxtaposition of Alvin's hookup and the suicide of his ex girlfriend. Both scenes were sad and kinda pathetic in their own way, despite the different actions they took. Alvin's ex and the girl he was having sex with even had the same face towards the end of their respective scenes.

I also enjoyed the parallels between the two leads. Both are outsiders in their own way, Alvin being an American living in Japan, and Ryoko having a gift (presumably) others do not. Their respective stories don't intersect here, but I assume that won't be the case for long. Overall, this was a pretty interesting first issue, and it'll probably get me to read the second.



7
User avatar

Windom URL

Rain Partier

Postby Windom URL » Thu Dec 16, 2010 8:28 pm

Fieldy snuts, if you want to review this let me know and I will send you my copy--to make up for razzing you last week. :)
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Windom URL

Rain Partier

Postby Windom URL » Fri Dec 17, 2010 11:56 am

I'm not going to repost images out of sensitivity for people who've known suicides, and after a certain age unfortunately almost everyone has been affected by at least one, but if you've read the book and do a google image search for the Aokigahara Forest you'll see how well the atmosphere of this certain place was captured by artist Gabriel Hernandez.
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Greg

Rain Partier

Postby Greg » Fri Dec 17, 2010 12:02 pm

Victorious Squid wrote:I'm not going to repost images out of sensitivity for people who've known suicides, and after a certain age unfortunately almost everyone has been affected by at least one, but if you've read the book and do a google image search for the Aokigahara Forest you'll see how well the atmosphere of this certain place was captured by artist Gabriel Hernandez.


Just looked that up. Good grief.
User avatar

Windom URL

Rain Partier

Postby Windom URL » Fri Dec 17, 2010 12:22 pm

Greg wrote:
Just looked that up. Good grief.


Yeah, there are some very graphic photos. If you read the wiki entry as well I think you'd be interested particularly, in days of old the practice of Ubasute was common there where elderly or ill relatives were taken there by people and left to die there. There is also a cultural lore of Japanese demons residing there. It even mentions the posting of signs which is featured in the book. And there's a low-budget horror film call The Forest due soon from 611 Films.
User avatar

Windom URL

Rain Partier

Postby Windom URL » Fri Dec 17, 2010 12:58 pm

BlueStreak wrote:Zero has informed me that he won't be able to review for the next couple of weeks due to holiday commitments. He was curious if someone would be willing to trade him spots in the rotation so that he won't have to wait another 3-4 months to pick. If anyone who has a pick coming up in the next month or so (Hawk, Squid, RU, etc.,) wants to trade for next week's pick, it'd be greatly appreciated.


I've checked and re-checked but next week is one of those pre-holiday weeks where I don't see anything I'd want to pick, Morning Glories being one of the only things I have any interest in and it's the last issue of the first arc. But then, there's a lot of Marvel & DC books I wouldn't even consider picking. I'm surprised you don't cut him a deal to get the Larfleeze (sp?) Christmas Special in.
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Eli Katz

OMCTO

Postby Eli Katz » Fri Dec 17, 2010 1:02 pm

Just a quick review: The only flaw in this book is that it's dialogue heavy, at points, and this slows down an otherwise very interesting and original book. The art is amazingly stylized and produces a perfectly creepy atmosphere. This book reminds me why I love comics: cool concepts brought alive by wonderful illustrations.

STORY: 8.5
ART: 10
OVERALL: 9.25
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Windom URL

Rain Partier

Postby Windom URL » Fri Dec 17, 2010 1:26 pm

The main character so reminds me of an old friend of mine who taught English in Japan for a few years. As a tall blond gaijin he left a trail of heartbreak behind him, sometimes in much the same way as Alan does here for the same cultural differences.
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BlueStreak

The Red Stands for Irony

Postby BlueStreak » Fri Dec 17, 2010 1:51 pm

Victorious Squid wrote:
I've checked and re-checked but next week is one of those pre-holiday weeks where I don't see anything I'd want to pick, Morning Glories being one of the only things I have any interest in and it's the last issue of the first arc. But then, there's a lot of Marvel & DC books I wouldn't even consider picking. I'm surprised you don't cut him a deal to get the Larfleeze (sp?) Christmas Special in.


Eh, I'd rather enjoy my Christmas Special in peace without all the Johns haters getting their kicks in. I will probably never pick a Johns book for the Review Group for that reason.

Besides, it's the Dex-Starr Valentine's Special I'm looking forward to. My Dexstar just tore up my copy of Chaos War #4 last night, so I'm curious to see how he'd treat his namesake.
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Windom URL

Rain Partier

Postby Windom URL » Fri Dec 17, 2010 1:55 pm

I may be confusing Dex Starr with Larfleeze...what's a Larfleeze?
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BlueStreak

The Red Stands for Irony

Postby BlueStreak » Fri Dec 17, 2010 2:02 pm

Victorious Squid wrote:I may be confusing Dex Starr with Larfleeze...what's a Larfleeze?


Orange Lantern that looks like a cross between Gonzo and a Razorback. He's greedy, exists as mainly a source of comedy nowadays and is rather one-dimensional, hence Zechs' love of the character.

Dex-Starr is the Red Lantern rage cat for whom Darcie insists my cat is not named after, despite being the same color and temperment.

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