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Reckless Life: Guns 'N' Roses: A Graphic Novel
An explosive new graphic novel about the most dangerous band in the world They’ve sold over 100 million albums, recorded the most expensive album ever, endlessly courted controversy with their lyrics, and embrace a full-on hedonistic Guns N’ Roses are well acquainted with rock ‘n’ roll excess.
In this spectacular new graphic biography, Marc Olivent’s stunning artwork and Jim McCarthy’s incisive script perfectly capture the rollercoaster tale of Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, Steve Adler and the many others who have passed through the Guns ‘n’ Roses story. And it’s all the feud between Axl and Kurt Cobain, the riots during concerts, the acrimonious departure of Slash from the band, the inevitable drugs and groupies and, of course, the music. Over 200 b&w illustrations throughout
In this spectacular new graphic biography, Marc Olivent’s stunning artwork and Jim McCarthy’s incisive script perfectly capture the rollercoaster tale of Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, Steve Adler and the many others who have passed through the Guns ‘n’ Roses story. And it’s all the feud between Axl and Kurt Cobain, the riots during concerts, the acrimonious departure of Slash from the band, the inevitable drugs and groupies and, of course, the music. Over 200 b&w illustrations throughout
- GenresComicsGraphic Novels
160 pages, Paperback
First published June 9, 2015
6 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 26, 2025
3 stars because i love the GnR's, and i enjoyed the drawing.
This being said, this book is almost a scam.
Nothing new for usual fans, and a really poor style when band members just explain literaly what is going on, saying Word for Word what happened during this 10 years in business (chinese democracy era doesn't count)
No poetry, no imagination required and some lines are even hard to understand because they are badly written.
It's quite a failure, since there is so much to say about this chaotic band.
This being said, this book is almost a scam.
Nothing new for usual fans, and a really poor style when band members just explain literaly what is going on, saying Word for Word what happened during this 10 years in business (chinese democracy era doesn't count)
No poetry, no imagination required and some lines are even hard to understand because they are badly written.
It's quite a failure, since there is so much to say about this chaotic band.
March 4, 2016
I am not a GnR fan -- I have a used copy of Appetite, which gets occasional play, but that is all. It amazes me that this band had such a large impact on the Rock 'n' Roll scene. I purchased this book hoping for insight into the phenom, but worried it'd be another litany of indulgence and excess. I'm not sure if I gleaned any such insight (and you can't get the story without some tabulation of excess) but my amazement has increased ten-fold. How these damaged, strung-out, ****ed-up kids managed to pull it together long enough to detonate the neutron bomb of their brief catalog is beyond me -- but detonate they did. I was surprised to find that by book's end I experienced remarkable empathy for the various players -- from Axl to Slash to the assorted also-rans that continue to feed into this wild and sordid and scattered scene. Marc Olivent achieves the nearly-impossible: an emotionally compelling account of a particular band that changed everything at a very particular time and place.
October 18, 2021
Nah. The approach is all wrong here and seems at odds with the medium. The book is composed almost entirely of exceedingly long diatribes from the band members speaking directly to the reader. You're also really assuming a lot by doing it this way. You're pretty much saying "I can surmise EXACTLY what these guys were thinking in their heads for decades."
It's also unbelievably wordy for a graphic novel and again, the delivery of information sucks. The book just vomits information to you paragraphs at a time. I love the band and even read an unauthorized biography years and years ago so I was curious, but couldn't be bothered with this. Show don't tell.
It's also unbelievably wordy for a graphic novel and again, the delivery of information sucks. The book just vomits information to you paragraphs at a time. I love the band and even read an unauthorized biography years and years ago so I was curious, but couldn't be bothered with this. Show don't tell.
September 20, 2016
Meh. The biographical knowledge imparted in this book is info that any fan of the band could easily pull off the internet, or just by listening to other fans. The art work was...well...I'm just not going to say anything. Oh and it would be better if the author tried to hide his dislike of Axl, just a wee bit more.
January 17, 2020
Reckless Life Guns N'Roses (2015)
Frenetico.
Morta per gli Aerosmith che regalano le valigie ai Guns.
Frenetico.
Morta per gli Aerosmith che regalano le valigie ai Guns.
December 26, 2022
Just read through this today - some quick notes on my thoughts:
- The introduction made it clear that the book was made by the kind of writers that feel they have to ‘pick a side’, so right from the start I knew this was not going to be an objective band history. (Apparently Chinese Democracy was a failure - if a $14 million album that still managed to make a profit upon a 2008 release is considered a failure, I’d love to see what success looks like!)
- The introduction also states that Axl’s issues stem from a “crippling confusion about what his name actually was”. If only - Axl and his siblings had much more serious trauma than that during childhood.
- Some of the artwork depicting the band in performance is cool, although way too much of the book - half of it in fact - focuses on the minutiae of pre-band years and contract negotiations, none of which translates well into a graphic novel at all. A GN’R graphic novel had real potential - lots of rivalries, fights, riots and other controversies would have made great comic book scenes, but any such aspects are simply glossed over (despite being hyped in the blurb).
- The 80s are recalled in excruciating detail - this part of the band history has been done to death many times before, and there are many more interesting and more accurate books out there if this is what you’re interested in. Making room for more on the UYI years and breakup would have made for a much more interesting story, especially for a graphic novel.
- As mentioned in another Good Reads review, the authors don’t try to hide their dislike of Axl and nuGuns at all. Wouldn’t be too much of a problem if they were accurate in their criticism. A classic case of someone who trashes a subject without really knowing what they’re talking about. That’s to be expected in online ramblings, not a book you actually pay money for.
- As mentioned, many inaccuracies - too many to list. The most obvious one being on the cover - for some reason, Axl’s famous ‘Kill Your Idols’ shirt instead reads ‘Pussycat Kill’. Another particularly funny one which stuck in my mind was when some guy called John Freese joined the band. Who the hell is John Freese? Must be Josh’s brother, I guess. ;p
- In one startling panel (with text that points out what an asshole Axl is, natch), the illustrator decided to include a drawing of Axl wearing a cap with a swastika on it - Axl never wore anything like this. This was actually VR singer Scott Weiland’s nazi cap. A few pages later there is another panel in which there is a drawing of Axl performing live with this same cap added on, when it is not in the original photo that this illustration is based on. It’s pretty blatant what the authors were trying to do here, if you ask me.
- In the few pages that cover the post-breakup years, the illustrator makes sure that each picture of Axl has one extra chin than the last. I’ll admit, this is funny, in a childish, petty kind of way.
- Glamourises the sleazy, scuzzy elements of the band, such as drug and alcohol abuse. Eugh. (Note: the drug related lyrics of Appetite are actually critical of that lifestyle).
- Also romanticises Kurt Cobain’s brutal suicide: “…Kurt placed a shotgun in his mouth… a final act of self-inflicted mercy”. Nice.
- A funny little tidbit that shows the authors don’t really know what they’re doing: In the artwork gallery at the end, it’s explained that an original GN’R logo was designed for use in the book, as they were not allowed to use the official one. If you turn the page, however, you can see an illustration of the band onstage with the official logo on the drum kit *facepalm*
Overall, meh. The band’s early history in comic book form may be fun for new fans, but there’s nothing of merit here otherwise. Different parts of the band’s history would have made for a better graphic novel, but the parts that are used here don’t work. There are many other more conventional books on the band that are much more entertaining (and accurate).
- The introduction made it clear that the book was made by the kind of writers that feel they have to ‘pick a side’, so right from the start I knew this was not going to be an objective band history. (Apparently Chinese Democracy was a failure - if a $14 million album that still managed to make a profit upon a 2008 release is considered a failure, I’d love to see what success looks like!)
- The introduction also states that Axl’s issues stem from a “crippling confusion about what his name actually was”. If only - Axl and his siblings had much more serious trauma than that during childhood.
- Some of the artwork depicting the band in performance is cool, although way too much of the book - half of it in fact - focuses on the minutiae of pre-band years and contract negotiations, none of which translates well into a graphic novel at all. A GN’R graphic novel had real potential - lots of rivalries, fights, riots and other controversies would have made great comic book scenes, but any such aspects are simply glossed over (despite being hyped in the blurb).
- The 80s are recalled in excruciating detail - this part of the band history has been done to death many times before, and there are many more interesting and more accurate books out there if this is what you’re interested in. Making room for more on the UYI years and breakup would have made for a much more interesting story, especially for a graphic novel.
- As mentioned in another Good Reads review, the authors don’t try to hide their dislike of Axl and nuGuns at all. Wouldn’t be too much of a problem if they were accurate in their criticism. A classic case of someone who trashes a subject without really knowing what they’re talking about. That’s to be expected in online ramblings, not a book you actually pay money for.
- As mentioned, many inaccuracies - too many to list. The most obvious one being on the cover - for some reason, Axl’s famous ‘Kill Your Idols’ shirt instead reads ‘Pussycat Kill’. Another particularly funny one which stuck in my mind was when some guy called John Freese joined the band. Who the hell is John Freese? Must be Josh’s brother, I guess. ;p
- In one startling panel (with text that points out what an asshole Axl is, natch), the illustrator decided to include a drawing of Axl wearing a cap with a swastika on it - Axl never wore anything like this. This was actually VR singer Scott Weiland’s nazi cap. A few pages later there is another panel in which there is a drawing of Axl performing live with this same cap added on, when it is not in the original photo that this illustration is based on. It’s pretty blatant what the authors were trying to do here, if you ask me.
- In the few pages that cover the post-breakup years, the illustrator makes sure that each picture of Axl has one extra chin than the last. I’ll admit, this is funny, in a childish, petty kind of way.
- Glamourises the sleazy, scuzzy elements of the band, such as drug and alcohol abuse. Eugh. (Note: the drug related lyrics of Appetite are actually critical of that lifestyle).
- Also romanticises Kurt Cobain’s brutal suicide: “…Kurt placed a shotgun in his mouth… a final act of self-inflicted mercy”. Nice.
- A funny little tidbit that shows the authors don’t really know what they’re doing: In the artwork gallery at the end, it’s explained that an original GN’R logo was designed for use in the book, as they were not allowed to use the official one. If you turn the page, however, you can see an illustration of the band onstage with the official logo on the drum kit *facepalm*
Overall, meh. The band’s early history in comic book form may be fun for new fans, but there’s nothing of merit here otherwise. Different parts of the band’s history would have made for a better graphic novel, but the parts that are used here don’t work. There are many other more conventional books on the band that are much more entertaining (and accurate).
May 14, 2019
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it. But let's not pretend it is anything other than bits and pieces taken from various autobiographies and put into random speech bubbles with random images.
For black and white artwork of real people it is really good.
For black and white artwork of real people it is really good.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews