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A review by introverted_dragon
The Sculptor by Scott McCloud
3.0
Rating: 3.70
Plot:
Twenty six year old David Smith is at a loss. Being a sculptor is hard work and he’s hit a dry spell. Not being able to sculpt a single piece is driving him mad and he’s down in the dumps and doesn’t know what to do. But then Death comes along and strikes him a deal he can’t turn down: the ability to sculpt anything with his bare hands. However, there’s a catch, once David makes the deal, he’ll only have 200 days to live and if he tells anyone about his deal then his 200 days will be shortened by 3 days.
David is okay with this; after all he thinks that he has no one left in this world other than his perky best friend Ollie. The last thing he expected was to fall in love but then again we never expect to fall in love. The sweet and enthusiastic Meg, his “angel”, enters his life and makes him question his decision to throw his life away for his art. He’s caught between devoting himself to his work and devoting himself to her. But he’s running out of time and David still wants to make his big splash in the art world before his 200 days are up but a shocking event is just the push he needs in order to sculpt his masterpiece and make his mark in this world.
Characters:
The characters were nice and entertaining but to be honest I didn't really feel for any of them other than David. I just couldn’t connect and I would constantly question Meg’s choices and her behavior. I know she was meant to be careless and reckless but look how that turned out. Honestly the only one I could relate to was David because I know how much of a struggle art is. I'm no huge artist or anything but I know it’s hard to draw, write, sculpt or anything so I kinda understand where David was coming from but still making a deal with Death is a bit much and overdramatic but hell, if that didn't happen we never would’ve met David Smith, now would we?
Thoughts:
I had high hopes for this one but sadly it didn't blow me away like I thought it world. The whole deal with Death thing was right up my alley and I love books that have Death as a character and I liked Harry. But I think the thing that got me was the romantic element in this graphic novel, the romance felt…kinda dead. I mean, first of all, guy meets girl and instantly falls in love with her because she came to him as an angel and told him everything will be alright. Then the same girl takes him after a rather dreadful meeting with his landlord to be. At first she drills him for saying the three special words to her and makes him promise to not say them unless she does first. She constantly ignores his feelings and her friends always tell him that he’s not good enough or not one of her real friends. And she constantly makes him feel like things will never work out. But then they're all lovey-dovey again as if nothing happened. I don’t know maybe it’s just me but I prefer romances that are a bit more interesting and less predictable and cliché.
And aside from the romance, I did like the book; it’s not one of my favorites but it still good. The artwork was amazing and very nice. I liked the style of drawing and thought that it went well with the story. And as for the plot, interesting to say the least, like I said I love books with Death as a character and I really liked Harry and David’s relationship, overall, good read.
If you like books with a funny grim reaper and cute, dedicated sculptors go read this.
Plot:
Twenty six year old David Smith is at a loss. Being a sculptor is hard work and he’s hit a dry spell. Not being able to sculpt a single piece is driving him mad and he’s down in the dumps and doesn’t know what to do. But then Death comes along and strikes him a deal he can’t turn down: the ability to sculpt anything with his bare hands. However, there’s a catch, once David makes the deal, he’ll only have 200 days to live and if he tells anyone about his deal then his 200 days will be shortened by 3 days.
David is okay with this; after all he thinks that he has no one left in this world other than his perky best friend Ollie. The last thing he expected was to fall in love but then again we never expect to fall in love. The sweet and enthusiastic Meg, his “angel”, enters his life and makes him question his decision to throw his life away for his art. He’s caught between devoting himself to his work and devoting himself to her. But he’s running out of time and David still wants to make his big splash in the art world before his 200 days are up but a shocking event is just the push he needs in order to sculpt his masterpiece and make his mark in this world.
Characters:
The characters were nice and entertaining but to be honest I didn't really feel for any of them other than David. I just couldn’t connect and I would constantly question Meg’s choices and her behavior. I know she was meant to be careless and reckless but look how that turned out. Honestly the only one I could relate to was David because I know how much of a struggle art is. I'm no huge artist or anything but I know it’s hard to draw, write, sculpt or anything so I kinda understand where David was coming from but still making a deal with Death is a bit much and overdramatic but hell, if that didn't happen we never would’ve met David Smith, now would we?
Thoughts:
I had high hopes for this one but sadly it didn't blow me away like I thought it world. The whole deal with Death thing was right up my alley and I love books that have Death as a character and I liked Harry. But I think the thing that got me was the romantic element in this graphic novel, the romance felt…kinda dead. I mean, first of all, guy meets girl and instantly falls in love with her because she came to him as an angel and told him everything will be alright. Then the same girl takes him after a rather dreadful meeting with his landlord to be. At first she drills him for saying the three special words to her and makes him promise to not say them unless she does first. She constantly ignores his feelings and her friends always tell him that he’s not good enough or not one of her real friends. And she constantly makes him feel like things will never work out. But then they're all lovey-dovey again as if nothing happened. I don’t know maybe it’s just me but I prefer romances that are a bit more interesting and less predictable and cliché.
And aside from the romance, I did like the book; it’s not one of my favorites but it still good. The artwork was amazing and very nice. I liked the style of drawing and thought that it went well with the story. And as for the plot, interesting to say the least, like I said I love books with Death as a character and I really liked Harry and David’s relationship, overall, good read.
If you like books with a funny grim reaper and cute, dedicated sculptors go read this.