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Cherubs
An original graphic novel with script and layouts by Eisner-award winner Bryan Talbot and art by the hottest Brit Indy artist, Mark Stafford, CHERUBS! is a totally irreverent, fast-paced supernatural comedy-adventure that's heaven-sent and hell-bent! Put in the frame for the first murder in Heaven, the outrageous celestial rugrats chase the renegade archangel Abbadon to New York on the eve of the Apocalypse! Befriended by Mary, an exotic dancer, and pursued by unstoppable Seraphim terminators, they join battle with Frankie Dracula and his vampire horde as the Devil prepares to stalk the earth once more! Demons! Vampire Hunters! Fairy hookers! Fart jokes! What more could you possibly want?
104 pages, Paperback
First published December 12, 2007
47 people want to read
About the author
Bryan Talbot
286 books187 followersTalbot began his comics work in the underground comix scene of the late 1960s. In 1969 his first work appeared as illustrations in Mallorn, the British Tolkien Society magazine, followed in 1972 by a weekly strip in his college newspaper.
He continued in the scene after leaving college, producing Brainstorm Comix, the first three of which formed The Chester P. Hackenbush Trilogy (a character reworked by Alan Moore as Chester Williams for Swamp Thing).
He started The Adventures of Luther Arkwright in 1978. It was originally published in Near Myths and continued on over the years in other publications. It was eventually collected together into one volume by Dark Horse. Along with When the Wind Blows it is one of the first British graphic novels.
In the early to mid-eighties he provide art for some of 2000 AD's flagship serials, producing 3 series of Nemesis the Warlock, as well as strips for Judge Dredd and Sláine.
The Tale of One Bad Rat deals with recovery from childhood sexual abuse.
Talbot moved to the American market in the 1990s, principally for DC, on titles like Hellblazer, Sandman and Batman. He also produced the art for The Nazz by Tom Veitch and worked with Tom's brother Rick Veitch on Teknophage, one of a number of mini-series he drew for Tekno Comix.
Talbot has illustrated cards for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game.
He has also illustrated Bill Willingham's Fables, as well as returning to the Luther Arkwright universe with Heart of Empire. He has also worked on The Dead Boy Detectives.
In 2006, he announced the graphic novel Metronome, an existential, textless erotically-charged visual poem,written under the pseudonym Véronique Tanaka. He admitted that he was the author in 2009.
In 2007 he released Alice in Sunderland, which documents the connections between Lewis Carroll, Alice Liddell, and the Sunderland and Wearside area. He also wrote and drew the layouts for Cherubs!, which he describes as "an irreverent fast-paced supernatural comedy-adventure."
His upcoming work includes a sequel to 2009's Grandville, which Talbot says is "a detective steampunk thriller" and Paul Gravett calls it "an inspired reimagining of some of the first French anthropomorphic caricatures". It is planned as the first in a series of four or five graphic novels.
Source: Wikipedia
He continued in the scene after leaving college, producing Brainstorm Comix, the first three of which formed The Chester P. Hackenbush Trilogy (a character reworked by Alan Moore as Chester Williams for Swamp Thing).
He started The Adventures of Luther Arkwright in 1978. It was originally published in Near Myths and continued on over the years in other publications. It was eventually collected together into one volume by Dark Horse. Along with When the Wind Blows it is one of the first British graphic novels.
In the early to mid-eighties he provide art for some of 2000 AD's flagship serials, producing 3 series of Nemesis the Warlock, as well as strips for Judge Dredd and Sláine.
The Tale of One Bad Rat deals with recovery from childhood sexual abuse.
Talbot moved to the American market in the 1990s, principally for DC, on titles like Hellblazer, Sandman and Batman. He also produced the art for The Nazz by Tom Veitch and worked with Tom's brother Rick Veitch on Teknophage, one of a number of mini-series he drew for Tekno Comix.
Talbot has illustrated cards for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game.
He has also illustrated Bill Willingham's Fables, as well as returning to the Luther Arkwright universe with Heart of Empire. He has also worked on The Dead Boy Detectives.
In 2006, he announced the graphic novel Metronome, an existential, textless erotically-charged visual poem,written under the pseudonym Véronique Tanaka. He admitted that he was the author in 2009.
In 2007 he released Alice in Sunderland, which documents the connections between Lewis Carroll, Alice Liddell, and the Sunderland and Wearside area. He also wrote and drew the layouts for Cherubs!, which he describes as "an irreverent fast-paced supernatural comedy-adventure."
His upcoming work includes a sequel to 2009's Grandville, which Talbot says is "a detective steampunk thriller" and Paul Gravett calls it "an inspired reimagining of some of the first French anthropomorphic caricatures". It is planned as the first in a series of four or five graphic novels.
Source: Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 18, 2013
Reminiscent of works by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, Cherubs tromps through some well-trodden turf in an often hilarious and profound manner. Accused of Heaven's first homicide, five churlish cherubim flee to New York in pursuit of the real criminal, the renegade archangel Abbadon. Befriended by exotic-dancer Mary and pursued by unstoppable Seraphim terminators, the Cherubs alone stand against the impending Apocalypse. The acclaimed Talbot (One Bad Rat, Alice in Sunderland) and cartoonist Stafford skewer a wide range of supernatural-inspired pop culture icons from Buffy to Scooby-Doo by way of Harry Potter, not to mention the abundant hypocrisies inherent within Christianity. Similar to the dwarfs of Disney fame, the five unique, diminutive protagonists often bicker and play among themselves, trading barbs and banter throughout. Stafford's underground-inspired art lends the proper touch of chaos and levity to the proceedings. While at times missing the mark and perhaps a tad too long, the excellent Cherubs provides an enlightening, intelligent, and humorous entertainment.
April 13, 2020
I know Bryan Talbot for more high-concept fare but it was nice to see him kick back and have some rather biblical fun in Cherubs!
A group of cherubim mucking around contemporary America seems an idea ripe for laughs. While the inciting incident of the first murder in Heaven is vaguely interesting, it seems more of a vehicle to get our badly-behaved baby angels out of their Heavenly comfort zone. The jokes come thick and fast for a writer of Talbot's established nuance and some land far better than others (I'm thinking of the St Peter gag here). I also enjoyed Stafford's heavily-outlined cartoon style and felt it suited the book to a tee.
While I am glad to have picked up Cherubs!, I doubt I will see the series to its finish as it didn't inspire enough enthusiasm in me. Nevertheless it was a cheeky divergence.
I recommend Cherubs! to hardcore readers of Bryan Talbot and those who like their Heavenly Host to drink vino and burp garlic.
A group of cherubim mucking around contemporary America seems an idea ripe for laughs. While the inciting incident of the first murder in Heaven is vaguely interesting, it seems more of a vehicle to get our badly-behaved baby angels out of their Heavenly comfort zone. The jokes come thick and fast for a writer of Talbot's established nuance and some land far better than others (I'm thinking of the St Peter gag here). I also enjoyed Stafford's heavily-outlined cartoon style and felt it suited the book to a tee.
While I am glad to have picked up Cherubs!, I doubt I will see the series to its finish as it didn't inspire enough enthusiasm in me. Nevertheless it was a cheeky divergence.
I recommend Cherubs! to hardcore readers of Bryan Talbot and those who like their Heavenly Host to drink vino and burp garlic.
March 6, 2014
Just a read, no real thinking involved. Good for a couple of laughs but don't expect to be blown away.
February 4, 2020
2 1/2 stars. A graphic novel pulling ideas and imagery from the likes of Dante's Divine Comedy, Milton's Paradise Lost, The Bible, Dracula, Shakespeare, Scooby Doo, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and many more.
Essentially, a group of cherubs witness a murder in heaven and are accused of said crime. They follow the real killer to earth to try to prove their innocence, running into Mary a stripper for Dracula. They team up and try to take down the rebel angel Abbadon and his plan to bring Lucifer to earth, encountering many strange characters from literature along the way.
An interesting read, I really appreciated all the literary references although the artwork felt a bit too much. With such an outlandish plotline, I feel a slighter milder style would have suited the tale better.
Essentially, a group of cherubs witness a murder in heaven and are accused of said crime. They follow the real killer to earth to try to prove their innocence, running into Mary a stripper for Dracula. They team up and try to take down the rebel angel Abbadon and his plan to bring Lucifer to earth, encountering many strange characters from literature along the way.
An interesting read, I really appreciated all the literary references although the artwork felt a bit too much. With such an outlandish plotline, I feel a slighter milder style would have suited the tale better.
January 2, 2013
I am thankful to have finished this. It took far too long to read. For many reasons, of course. But, mainly because it was full of WTF? moments, where I kept wondering "What did I just read?". It was a slightly entertaining read, and given the chance, I might read others by this artist, but I might turn them down instead. I don't think I want to have this experience again. And, whoa, that ending. Didn't see it coming, and didn't care much for it, either.
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This GN was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.
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This GN was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.
May 5, 2013
I would have enjoyed this more if Bryan Talbot had provided the artwork instead of just writing it. It was clever and funny at times, and there were a lot of good pop culture references in here (I suspect I may have missed a lot more than I spotted), but Mark Stafford's cartoony style just didn't suit the story, and it quickly dragged the whole story down.
March 19, 2014
The first half of this book with it's intentional overtones of The Divine Comedy meets Dogma meets American Gods was 4* worthy. What drags it down is the second half as the weak parodies of Ghostbusters, Harry Potter etc suddenly appear and the Scooby Doo parody BDSM sex scene in the Mystery Machine was just overkill.
July 18, 2014
I really enjoyed all the special appearances, like doggy doo and the gang. They add a levity I found charming. I also really liked some of the background touches, the photo of Marilyn Monroe with Mickey Mouse tits is just one example.
The story was typical good versus evil. What I learned is that the afterlife is boring, no matter where you end up. Never give up hope.
The story was typical good versus evil. What I learned is that the afterlife is boring, no matter where you end up. Never give up hope.
September 6, 2015
Got about ten pages in and couldn't continue. The graphics style and writing was too busy and smarmy for me, although I can understand other readers may find it more their plate of angel cake. Gave it a shot, but not really sure whom the intended audience is for this piece.
November 27, 2012
Angels they are not! Irreverently full of foul language, a murderous archangel, fart jokes, fairy hookers and vampires.
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December 10, 2012MITNG reviews Cherubs
http://mediocrityisthenewgenius.com/2...
http://mediocrityisthenewgenius.com/2...
February 10, 2013
I'm usually a Bryan Talbot fan, but not this time out. Not funny, unremarkable artwork.
January 19, 2015
Hmm... mixed feelings. Only had a few great laugh out loud moments.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews