Joe's Bar

Verhalen uit Joe's Bar #1

by Carlos Sampayo

Joe's Bar by Jose and Carlos Sampayo Munoz (Author), paperback

Genres: Comics, Bande Dessinée, Noir, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Comix

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Escritor y guionista, es autor de novelas, relatos cortos, poesía y guiones de historieta y cine. Además es especialista en jazz, tema sobre el que ha publicado ensayos y ficciones, y dirigido y coordinado enciclopedias. Su obra ha sido ampliamente publicada en América y en Europa. En 1974, conoció a su compatriota José Muñoz, con el que comenzó a dar vida al célebre detective Alack Sinner. Sampayo ha colaborado con Igort en una biografía en historieta de Fats Waller, y con Oscar Zárate, en los libros «Tres artistas en París», «Fly blues» y «La faille».

Writer best known for his work in comics, particularly in collaboration with artist José Muñoz. He is also poet and a literature and music (particularly Jazz) critic. He left Argentina in the early 70s for political reasons, stayed in Italy, France and settled in Spain

Reviews

[StrictlySequential ArtNarrative · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is VERY difficult to rate. Anywhere from **-***** makes sense depending on what you prefer and what turns you off in terms of story, art, and the presentation of each. The risks taken by this team, in terms of reader expectation and marketability, outweigh the probability of reward drastically.

Luckily, they advantaged from the best dressing that money can't buy- critical acclaim coming in the form of explanatory introductions from luminaries who are creators, editors and unanimously acknowledged experts within the field who are, most importantly, unforgiving in analysis.

They point out the strengths of the creators and how they counterbalance each other while praising the qualities and styles that many wouldn't be wrong to call weaknesses. Do you want to be entertained and walk away clean or be forced into relating to the grotesque on their level and leave burdened with the emotional baggage and the echoes of a mind-fuck?

In terms of literary value it shines the way Faulkner would if he was a diseased meth-addict that slept on the sidewalks of the most ethnically diverse "concrete-jungle" neighborhoods. You will be intentionally disgusted by the art, which reveals the worst of the environments while adding the grotesque to supernatural heights with reckless abandon. The writing is deep-bruise black and blue that's caustic, unrelenting in cruelty and filled with sadness, tragedy, gauging all-the-while staying purposefully vague leaves off...

[Peter Landau · Rating 3 out of 5]

JOE’S BAR is a graphic short story collection by Carlos Sampayo and José Muñoz. It takes place in a sleazy punk New York City that the writer and artist had never visited, which is fine. New York City is like a drug, anyway, and the further you are from it, the less you're under its spell and the closer you’ll come to understand it. The stories are okay, mostly depressing and ending in someone’s death. But the art is more alluring. It's busy and inky, like a bottle spilled over the page that just about makes sense in its mess. I like the fluidity of the line. More is not always more, but these guys don’t care and pile it on like a stinky street during a garbage strike. It made me nostalgic for a New York that never existed, which is the point of nostalgia.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Munoz art and graphic storytelling are stellar. Sampayo's scripts can be a little hackneyed and cliche, but they still work (maybe an issue with translating).

[Magnus Frederiksen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Det kan vara så att historien bara är gammal och jag är van vid att läsa serier som inte lämnar lika många luckor som denna. Men jag tycker historierna är ganska trista. Och lite svåra att hänga med i. Det är allvarliga ämnen som lyfts men det känns ibland som att duon försökt skoja till det ibland för att det inte ska bli för mörkt. Men så som historierna berättas i text och illustration blir det bara spretigt. Det experimenteras friskt med vinklar för att skapa spänning men det är inte så spännande så det känns mest bara poserande.

[Marko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sjajna grafička novela.
Priče su pomalo Džramušovske sto mi se bas sviđa sa jednom dodoa tom dozom crnila i sa malo više smrada od znoja i dima.
Ovo je set od pet priča koje su zasebne ali ima prelivanja kako bi dale duh celine i jedne velike pozornice koju sam bar kod Džoa ima.
Ako sam dobro shvatio ovo je neki nastavak na Alec Sinnera koji na žalost nisam citao i nadam se reprintu Fibre.

Kafanski slice of shity life za obe koji vole.

[Petra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hämmentävä teos.

[Jim Ordolis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The lives of these people are intertwined and crisscross in these dark short stories based around Joe’s Bar.

[Dario Malic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nema boljeg mjesta za promatranje i upoznavanje nepoznatih ljudi od bara. Barovi (kafići, lokali, i kako ih već sve zovemo) su mjesta gdje dolaze svi: mladi, stari, tužni, sretni, propali, uspješni. Kakvi god bili, svatko od nas više ili manje često posjećuje neki bar, i koliko god se ti barovi međusobno razlikovali, Joeov liči baš svakom od njih. Tu zalaze ubojice, kurve, filatelisti, fotografi, privatni detektivi, ratni veterani, nekadašnji šampioni i mnogi drugi, a Munoz i Sampayo nam pokazuju da su svi oni (i mi) jednako (ne)normalni. U crno-bijelom Baru kod Džoa sve je sivo, a siva nikada nije bila dobra kao u rukama ovog majstorskog dvojca.

[Mejix · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories are kind of adolescent and based on a very superficial impression of NYC. I ended up liking the drawing style despite myself. Every frame is convulsive and visually interesting. I also appreciated the spirit of experimentation, even if all of the vignettes fell flat.