The Sculptor

The Sculptor tells the story of David Smith, a young sculptor struggling in his personal life and in his life as an artist as he is short of money, has no family and, despite its undeniable talent, his work is not being shown or showcased by any important art gallery and this despite his best friend Olly being part of the Art gallery network.. He is at breaking point when his deceased uncle Harry visits him and offers him a deal to solve his struggle, and the lovely cheery young actress Meg crosses paths with him.The book is drawn in a beautiful evocative duotone with indigo hues that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also the perfect tone to create the mood that this story needs to create a a blues song, which underlines the sadness, desperation, depression and alienation of some of the characters, but also to create a magic ambience for David, this "indigo child", this gifted guy with great talent, enhanced ways of perception and supernatural abilities.McCloud artwork is totally awesome, regarding use of colour, composition, framing and style.McCloud depiction of New York urban area is absolutely glorious and masterful. He looks at the city as both as an insider and an outsider, because some of the images are really those that anybody visiting the Big Apple for the first time would take with them, the overwhelming but thrilling presence of concrete, steel and skyscrapers. On the other hand, MCloud knows the city and is also able to depict its more rural or parkland areas with freshness and a great bucolic feeling, which is used as an emotional counterpoint to the urban settings, where most of the story happens. As an insider, McCloud shows the New York of the New Yorkers, the ambience of the city, but also the city of the people. Every secondary or tertiary figure and passer-by character depicted in the streets is fully there, even most of those in the background. Their body language, clothing and attitude tell us a story of who they, we see them as individuals who happen to cross the street and the vignette, not as mere accessories to the main characters or the image. This is one of the reasons I love reading comics on digital format as the zooming allows us to do that easily, and fully be there within the image, and notice the tiniest scratch or detail.There are a few surreal images depicted in the book, many of them beautifully drawn and impacting. There is a strong presence of oneiric elements as well. I one of my previous reviews, I mentioned the fact that Magic Realism can be easily mixed up with fantasy and surrealism to describe Latin-American novels as deniable part of the genre. Here we have the contrary case, this is, to me, an undeniable Magic Realism work, even if North-American, and not many people are focusing on that. So, which elements are part of the Magic Realism genre in The Sculptor?> Fantastical elements (levitation, premonitory dreams), TICK> Real-word setting, TICK> The story is told as is nothing extraordinary was taking place, magical events are accepted in the same plane as those that aren't, TICK> Use of multiple planes of reality, in this case the oneiric and the awakened state, TICK> Metafiction, that is, the narrator intentionally exposes themselves as the author of the story, TICK> Heightened awareness of mystery, TICK> Social critique, In this case about the art market. TICKOn the other hand, there are important literary connections the reader will make at the beginning, or at least I did, that of the Faustian-like plot being the most important.I thought that the narrative and characterisation of The Sculptor did not match the finesse of the artwork. Although I liked the overall plot and ending, some characters are a bit clichéd, like Olly and Finn.The character of Meg seemed a bit non-believable to me, a good-Samaritan Lolita, but it turns out that the character has some surprises and is based on MCloud's wife and on their own love story. Ouch! However David and Harry's characters are roundly profiled and created.The beginning of the book was exhilarating, witty and interesting, then turned into a boring immature love story to then gain momentum again and end brilliantly. The book mixes dialogues that deal with what Art is and is not, how Art is produced, how Art is sold and marketed and what makes a successful artist. On the other hand we see how life and Art mix in intricate ways, how the artist's life and the artist' art feed each other, and how most talented artists would not make it.The ending was genuine and the one that I wanted to see. Some rules can't be broken ever, some thing simple are that way, as Death would say. And changing the end to please readers would have been an artistic betrayal to the author's own vision and the inner logic of the story.Overall, a very enjoyable reading, with some thought-provoking moments, and awesome artwork.

Every few years there’s a graphic novel that’s so good at what it does that it transcends the medium. There are many graphic novels that I would recommend to people who are already readers of comic books. I love my superhero comics and graphic novels, but I’ve also come to appreciate the great works of artists like Gene Luen Yang and Marjane Satrapi, Guy Delisle and Shaun Tan. And yet, for most of their books, I’d still only recommend them to fellow fans of that storytelling art. The last book I read that moved me to the point that I’d recommend it as a work of literature, not just as a graphic novel, was Craig Thompson’s “Blankets.” That was published in 2003, and I’ve been wondering what the next would be that impressed me as much. That next book is here, in Scott McCloud’s “The Sculptor.”The 500-page hardcover tells a relatively simple story: underappreciated artist David Smith has a meeting with Death and is granted a wish – that he will give his life to make great art. The way that ends up playing out is that David is made aware of the exact date of his death, and until he dies, he has a superpower of sorts—he can sculpt any material with his bare hands. Marble, iron, concrete, it all molds in his hands like clay. This extraordinary talent, and David’s ticking clock, become a lens for us to examine our own lives.We watch as David loses friends and family, as he finds love, as he comes to regard his life as a gift and his magical gift as a curse. The story is simple. It’s one that’s been told hundreds, thousands of times even. What makes this examination of love and life and sickness and death and family and friends move beyond the typical graphic novel fare and into what I’d deem “literature” is the thoroughness that David is given to explore these ideas. Much of that is in the dialogue, but even more of it is in the visuals. Too many graphic novels keep their stories grounded in reality to the point that it’s just a text with some pictures in it. Showing the story and telling the story both in the same panel.McCloud lets David fear and grieve and imagine and work, and do so often on panels and even whole pages without words. He does talk, he talks a lot. But so much of “The Sculptor” is told through the images that the book would be incomplete if it were told in any other medium. Many of the pictures, the angles that we view David and New York City from, are cinematic. There are pans in and out, there are shots that crane in above the crowds, there are crowd scenes where you catch snippets of conversation – but I don’t want to see this made into a movie. It could be. It probably will be. But it won’t be as good as this book.My favorite of the many themes in the book is about art. About finding your own muse, and your own creative act that will live on beyond you. McCloud may have been getting autobiographical with that—he’s achieved a meisterwerk here that will live on well past him. In an afterword, he writes about how David is him—but quite a bit younger. It’s books like this that inspire readers to do something. Will I ever have a crowning achievement? Will I be remembered? It’s these questions that haunt all of us, artists or not, and McCloud has found a beautiful way to both ask and answer the question.I’d say all the usual things here – I laughed out loud, I wept, it became a part of my life, I didn’t want to put it down – but none of that is quite right. I mean, all of those things happened. But there was also some pain with reading “The Sculptor.” It soared, but never without the fear of falling. It warmed, but always with the awareness that you could burn. Much like life itself, David Smith’s journey has real consequences. Magical meetings with Death aside, this was the most visceral book I’ve read in some time. I saw myself in “The Sculptor.” You will too.

A long time coming, this was worth the wait. Neil Gaiman's comments are dead on the money - it is one of the best graphic novels you are *ever* likely to read and it *will* leave you an emotional wreck if you let yourself be carried along by this simply stunning and beautifully executed story. Scot McCloud puts all his experience and understanding of sequential storytelling into a masterpiece of graphic art. Take my advice and put aside a whole day or evening for this as you will not want to put it down and you absolutely have to read the final section in one hit. Have tissues ready, because it will break your heart at the same time as lifting it with the sheer.....I don't know what it is, but I have *never* read a book like it.Breathtaking.

This Graphic Novel was recommended by Jessethereader on Youtube as part of his Graphic Novel/Comic haul a few months back. I am not going to give too much away as I really think you need to go into this book without knowing too much about the storyline so this review is going to be quite short.As the first Graphic Novel I have ever read, The Sculptor has won the title of my favourite read so far in 2016. I am not somebody who gets through books that quickly and when starting this I thought I would be reading it for at least a week due to its size, boy was I wrong! This book and its amazing artwork had me glued from the very beginning and if it wasn't for my mommy duties I would have completed this in one sitting, but I managed a personal best of of 2 days. I am someone who gets very annoyed if their sleeping pattern is messed with but I volunteered myself a sleepless night to finish this so that is definitely saying something...This Novel also helped me get over the mini reading slump that occurred when I finished the book I was previously reading.I will definitely be checking out a few more of Scott McCloud's books as this was very impressive. Once I finished the book all I could say was "wow". I desperately wanted to converse with someone over what I had just read but I also didn't want to be the annoying spoiler friend lol.I am giving this book 5 stars based on the captivating story line, the morals in the story itself and of course the amazing artwork. Any chance for a sequel?Kudos to Scott McCloud!

I don't want to spoil any details for you. All I will say is that this is a book EVERYONE should read once in their life time. It shows what comics can be, and should be, all about.Sculptor is by far the best comic /graphic novel I've ever read. Probably the only one to have caused such strong emotions to rise not only in me, but everyone else I've shared it with so far.It is created by one of the best in the industry in my opinion and you will not regret picking it up. Remember that in comics it's not only the words that communicate with the reader but also the images, and they often say way more than you can ever imagine. Read as you would your favorite novel, pay attention, and you will me amazed, I guarantee it.

An unusual love story that keeps you on the edge of your seat & packs a punch - Reminds you to appreciate the love, if you have any, in your life...

I'm more of a fiction reader, have enjoyed the odd graphic novel like Gaiman's Sandman series. If there are more graphic novels like this, bring them on! great art, original and moving story, wonderful undertaking and such a pleasure to read!