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Golem
Satira sociale sugli estremi del capitalismo, parabola politica sulla fine delle economie mondiali, esperimento visuale di narrazione a fumetti senza limiti grafici, distopia sulla conquista del mondo da parte delle nanomacchine, Golem è il primo romanzo grafico lungo di Lorenzo Ceccotti, in arte LRNZ, apprezzatissimo illustratore e industrial designer. Nascosti nei disegni di questa storia ci sono elementi narrativi segreti, rilevabili solo con un’apposita App gratuita, che nei mesi successivi all’uscita del volume completeranno l’affresco socio-narrativo della storia con contenuti multimediali inediti realizzati appositamente e disseminati, nascosti nel web dall’autore. Un libro memorabile, in un’edizione da mozzare il fiato.
280 pages, Paperback
First published December 12, 2014
9 people are currently reading
262 people want to read
About the author
LRNZ
74 books85 followersLorenzo Ceccotti (aka LRNZ) is an artist and designer based in Rome, Italy. Born in 1978. He was a member of the SUPERAMICI collective together with Ratigher, Dr. Pira, Tuono Pettinato and Maicol & Mirco. He was one of the five pillars of the design studio Chimp Co., later to be known as Studio Brutus.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews
March 14, 2016
Gorgeous cover, and while I didn't expect 280 pages of that quality illustration, I had hoped for more.
Opening sequence is an overview, unimpressive, but I think in the context of the story it is reflects the plastic and propaganda of the new Itally, paternalistic and fascist.
Second sequence is character introduction and elaboration of the world. There's this social commentary that not being Italian is probably lost in translation, but needless to say the Euro controversy and Italy's tenuous financial position makes the story's dismissiveness towards money and waste interesting from the contemporary political and economic point of view.
In the third sequence the action and conflict developed with Steno, the young hero pulled into the fight following his friend, Rosabella. The resistance is revealed, the ragtag team and the enemy is given a face.
The last two sequences deal with the conflict and the resolution.
Quality of the art varies greatly. The opening frames of each section are very detailed, atmospheric and spectacular, much like the cover. The subsequent frames are much less developed, sketchy and raw looking. It's fine, but the cover image is not indicative of the illustrations throughout the book.
Is the story complicated? No.
Is it interesting? Yes.
I enjoyed the comic, but not enamored with it. First, there are some translation errors that are simple and surprising. They take away from the experience if not the comprehension. Second, the symbolism in this story is undoubtedly masterful in the artist's mind, but it gathers and plucks from too many sources to make it easily grasped.
The visual symbology listed at the end that discusses images choices, names and concepts is useful. Some will be more readily comprehendible and probably picked up on during the story while others are more obscure. The strong basis in Pre-Christian symbols is apparent, though the choices made are somewhat confusing when compounded by the political themes of anti-capitalism, socialism and democracy. It's clearly got some complicated thoughts, but the mishmash muddied the message.
Overall, post-apocalyptic comic features disillusionment with modern European politics and environmentalism with savior overtones.
~ARC provided by Netgalley~
Opening sequence is an overview, unimpressive, but I think in the context of the story it is reflects the plastic and propaganda of the new Itally, paternalistic and fascist.
Second sequence is character introduction and elaboration of the world. There's this social commentary that not being Italian is probably lost in translation, but needless to say the Euro controversy and Italy's tenuous financial position makes the story's dismissiveness towards money and waste interesting from the contemporary political and economic point of view.
In the third sequence the action and conflict developed with Steno, the young hero pulled into the fight following his friend, Rosabella. The resistance is revealed, the ragtag team and the enemy is given a face.
The last two sequences deal with the conflict and the resolution.
Quality of the art varies greatly. The opening frames of each section are very detailed, atmospheric and spectacular, much like the cover. The subsequent frames are much less developed, sketchy and raw looking. It's fine, but the cover image is not indicative of the illustrations throughout the book.
Is the story complicated? No.
Is it interesting? Yes.
I enjoyed the comic, but not enamored with it. First, there are some translation errors that are simple and surprising. They take away from the experience if not the comprehension. Second, the symbolism in this story is undoubtedly masterful in the artist's mind, but it gathers and plucks from too many sources to make it easily grasped.
The visual symbology listed at the end that discusses images choices, names and concepts is useful. Some will be more readily comprehendible and probably picked up on during the story while others are more obscure. The strong basis in Pre-Christian symbols is apparent, though the choices made are somewhat confusing when compounded by the political themes of anti-capitalism, socialism and democracy. It's clearly got some complicated thoughts, but the mishmash muddied the message.
Overall, post-apocalyptic comic features disillusionment with modern European politics and environmentalism with savior overtones.
~ARC provided by Netgalley~
June 19, 2020
Golem is set in a dystopian version of Italy where corporations have basically taken over and most people have checked out. This is very much a social commentary on today's society. A group of rebels is fighting back to bring the government back in charge of the people. The art is very much Manga influenced.
Received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
November 26, 2015
Disegni molto belli, idea interessante e una buona prima parte, con la società iperconsumistica del futuro e la tecnologia invasiva sviluppo dell'attuale.
Però poi la storia si fa un po' caotica e molto sbrigativa, non c'è introspezione, non si "sentono" messaggi e rivoluzione. E la conclusione è semplicistica e rapida.
Però poi la storia si fa un po' caotica e molto sbrigativa, non c'è introspezione, non si "sentono" messaggi e rivoluzione. E la conclusione è semplicistica e rapida.
July 29, 2024
When you have finished reading comics worthy of the name such as Watchmen or V for Vendetta, you have the feeling that the world created by its author is larger than the one contained in the pages, and that the story, however perfect, could go on forever.
When you finish reading Golem, alleged magnus opus of Lorenzo Ceccotti aka LRNZ, you get the feeling that he has told you absolutely nothing.
Let's go in order. The dystopian world he created, a pseudo-techno-fascist Italy exited from the European Union in the not-too-distant future, is clearly a science fiction setting in the absolute sense of the word: it has a prosperous economy, education is provided to all, and cancer is cured with pills in less than a week.
Compare it to real Italy, in constant recession, with large pockets of ignorance, where the average time for a mammogram is 18 months, and I guarantee that 99% of Italians would gladly live in that "horrific" world.
The protagonist, the repository of a scientific secret discovered by his father and with an ability to mutate his body into a gigantic creature, joins (or it would be better to say, becomes involved against his will) with a group of young dissidents who we might call, without understatement, causeless. A mixture of suburban writers and some Black Block veterans, something like that.
The stark truth is that Ceccotti has learned from better artists than he how to illustrate a comic book, but not how to write it. The supposed "social satire against the extremes of capitalism" that he would like to highlight is almost impossible to find, and even if it were there it does not compensate for the other critical narrative issues.
First and foremost is the total absence of any character development. They are empty, evanescent, one-dimensional, have no personality and do not change in any way in the course of the story-except for Steno, the protagonist, who mutates into a monster, but you get my point. Even the rebels, who should have seemed at least interesting, have the emotional depth of a broomstick. They come in and out of the scene, and you never miss them, they add almost nothing to the story, they play very little role. And there are too many of them. Three with good personalities would have sufficed, not a dozen empty ones.
Reading and rereading it, still with the same questions as the first time, nothing takes my mind off that this is just an exercise in style - beautiful to look at, but completely empty. Because yes, in terms of drawing style we are at a very high level, but as a story we are just not there. LRNZ was working on an animated Golem movie, which he then had to postpone to focus on other projects. I think it's definitely better this way.
STYLING: ⭐⭐⭐
ORIGINALITY: ⭐
CHARACTER DEV.: inexistent
PLOT DEV.: ⭐
IMPORTANCE: ⭐
When you finish reading Golem, alleged magnus opus of Lorenzo Ceccotti aka LRNZ, you get the feeling that he has told you absolutely nothing.
Let's go in order. The dystopian world he created, a pseudo-techno-fascist Italy exited from the European Union in the not-too-distant future, is clearly a science fiction setting in the absolute sense of the word: it has a prosperous economy, education is provided to all, and cancer is cured with pills in less than a week.
Compare it to real Italy, in constant recession, with large pockets of ignorance, where the average time for a mammogram is 18 months, and I guarantee that 99% of Italians would gladly live in that "horrific" world.
The protagonist, the repository of a scientific secret discovered by his father and with an ability to mutate his body into a gigantic creature, joins (or it would be better to say, becomes involved against his will) with a group of young dissidents who we might call, without understatement, causeless. A mixture of suburban writers and some Black Block veterans, something like that.
The stark truth is that Ceccotti has learned from better artists than he how to illustrate a comic book, but not how to write it. The supposed "social satire against the extremes of capitalism" that he would like to highlight is almost impossible to find, and even if it were there it does not compensate for the other critical narrative issues.
First and foremost is the total absence of any character development. They are empty, evanescent, one-dimensional, have no personality and do not change in any way in the course of the story-except for Steno, the protagonist, who mutates into a monster, but you get my point. Even the rebels, who should have seemed at least interesting, have the emotional depth of a broomstick. They come in and out of the scene, and you never miss them, they add almost nothing to the story, they play very little role. And there are too many of them. Three with good personalities would have sufficed, not a dozen empty ones.
Reading and rereading it, still with the same questions as the first time, nothing takes my mind off that this is just an exercise in style - beautiful to look at, but completely empty. Because yes, in terms of drawing style we are at a very high level, but as a story we are just not there. LRNZ was working on an animated Golem movie, which he then had to postpone to focus on other projects. I think it's definitely better this way.
STYLING: ⭐⭐⭐
ORIGINALITY: ⭐
CHARACTER DEV.: inexistent
PLOT DEV.: ⭐
IMPORTANCE: ⭐
September 26, 2016
[I got a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]
Some pretty good artwork in places, although I expected something more original, especially considering the length of this volume.
The basic idea in itself is, I'd say, typical enough of dystopian stories: country (here, Italy) in the not-too-far future, dominated by an apparent benevolent ruler (president Oudeis) who's actually a tyrant, with "the masses" living day to day in blissful ignorance, smothered with all the latest technological toys and gizmos they could desire. Also a "terrorist"/"freedom fighters" group, because dystopian stories need that. All in all, terra cognita here, not bad, and not exceptional either.
The world depicted in this comics is interesting, and chilling, too, however it gave a strong Japanese vibe, and this felt a little strange. Lots of Japanese-sounding names (the Yoko brand, the Shorai "terrorist group"), aesthetics that clearly reminded me of quite a few cyberpunk/futuristic manga... Again, not bad per se, yet I couldn't reconcile this vision with Italy. Not to say I expected stupid clichés here (nope, I didn't want to see pasta everywhere, that's just as bad as the French baguette as far as clichés go!), just... something that would've felt more European-centric?
The art was pretty good in some parts, though average in others, and most often dynamic: the fights looked and felt like fights, bodies in movement giving an impression of speed. As a work of art, as in painting/drawing, it was definitely interesting to look at.
The characters in general were sympathetic. Not unexpectedly at all, the rebels all have their quirks and cool tech and moves (cooking, hooked on computers, a sort of probabilities-projecting technology allowing them to predict their enemies' moves by a couple of seconds...). However, I never got a real feeling for them, especially the two kids at the centre of it all.
Conclusion: In general, my impression was that of a story with good foundations, but not told as it would've deserved—both too long and too crammed considering its conspiracy aspect. The bland characters didn't help.
Some pretty good artwork in places, although I expected something more original, especially considering the length of this volume.
The basic idea in itself is, I'd say, typical enough of dystopian stories: country (here, Italy) in the not-too-far future, dominated by an apparent benevolent ruler (president Oudeis) who's actually a tyrant, with "the masses" living day to day in blissful ignorance, smothered with all the latest technological toys and gizmos they could desire. Also a "terrorist"/"freedom fighters" group, because dystopian stories need that. All in all, terra cognita here, not bad, and not exceptional either.
The world depicted in this comics is interesting, and chilling, too, however it gave a strong Japanese vibe, and this felt a little strange. Lots of Japanese-sounding names (the Yoko brand, the Shorai "terrorist group"), aesthetics that clearly reminded me of quite a few cyberpunk/futuristic manga... Again, not bad per se, yet I couldn't reconcile this vision with Italy. Not to say I expected stupid clichés here (nope, I didn't want to see pasta everywhere, that's just as bad as the French baguette as far as clichés go!), just... something that would've felt more European-centric?
The art was pretty good in some parts, though average in others, and most often dynamic: the fights looked and felt like fights, bodies in movement giving an impression of speed. As a work of art, as in painting/drawing, it was definitely interesting to look at.
The characters in general were sympathetic. Not unexpectedly at all, the rebels all have their quirks and cool tech and moves (cooking, hooked on computers, a sort of probabilities-projecting technology allowing them to predict their enemies' moves by a couple of seconds...). However, I never got a real feeling for them, especially the two kids at the centre of it all.
Conclusion: In general, my impression was that of a story with good foundations, but not told as it would've deserved—both too long and too crammed considering its conspiracy aspect. The bland characters didn't help.
February 10, 2018
Golem by Lorenzo Ceccotti
3 stars
Art Scale: 3.5
Character Scale: 2
Plotastic Scale: 3
Cover Thoughts: Not a big fan of it.
Thank you, Netgalley and Magnetic Press, for providing me with this novel in exchange for an honest review.
3 stars
I would compare this graphic novel to 1984, but it’s set in Italy and this offers a very different setting to the usual American atmosphere that most dystopian stories focus on. This is also very nature oriented and focuses on the concept that a device with the ability to recycle matter into anything. This device becomes a threat to capitalism and this in turn causes political problems within the society. I really enjoyed the symbolism Ceccotti focuses on and the art and the concepts are solid, but my biggest problem lies with the characters. They were hard to keep track of, which is not a good thing in a graphic novel because I should have an easier time of knowing who is who since I’m visually seeing the content. The problem is that this doesn’t really blow me away or strike me in any way. It’s very simple in structure, content, and it didn’t feel like anything new.
Art Scale: 3.5
Character Scale: 2
Plotastic Scale: 3
Cover Thoughts: Not a big fan of it.
Thank you, Netgalley and Magnetic Press, for providing me with this novel in exchange for an honest review.
December 6, 2020
Nulla da ridire sugli splendidi disegni, anche se a volte confondevo Steno con la madre e viceversa, ma i personaggi sono di una piattezza disarmante e la trama poco ispirata di questo manga nostrano è solamente l'ennesima e confusa distopia al neon, con qualche pizzico di Katsuhiro Ōtomo, Masamune Shirow, Mamoru Oshii e chi più ne ha più ne metta.
Tre stelle per l'impegno e la confezione, ma l'inno al capolavoro strillato in prefazione e quarta di copertina è secondo me una grossa esagerazione.
July 14, 2016
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I really liked the artwork. However, at times I was wondering what I was reading because there didn't seem to be much of a plot.
Set in a very Dystopian (one might say over-the-top Dystopian) future Italy it had a very strange Japanese feeling over it. Partly this might have to do with the manga-like art style, but everything else also felt more Japanese than Italian (clothes and the like). It was distracting for me as I kept wondering why future Italy looked so much like Japan.
Like I said, the plot was somewhat lacking and really fell quite flat amidst all the Dystopian tragedy happening around the main character. While the artwork saved some of the story, I can not say that I loved it.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I really liked the artwork. However, at times I was wondering what I was reading because there didn't seem to be much of a plot.
Set in a very Dystopian (one might say over-the-top Dystopian) future Italy it had a very strange Japanese feeling over it. Partly this might have to do with the manga-like art style, but everything else also felt more Japanese than Italian (clothes and the like). It was distracting for me as I kept wondering why future Italy looked so much like Japan.
Like I said, the plot was somewhat lacking and really fell quite flat amidst all the Dystopian tragedy happening around the main character. While the artwork saved some of the story, I can not say that I loved it.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
July 1, 2018
Era partito bene... Poi si è perso.
Avevo intenzione di leggere altro oggi, ma son capitata sullo scaffale dedicato alla Bao e ho preso questo.
Siamo in una Roma del futuro, in cui quattro multinazionali hanno il controllo del paese. Persino il primo ministro è un burattino nelle loro mani. In questo mondo distopico arriva Steno, innamorato della figlia del primo ministro. Durante un trasferimento in macchina - in cui si ritrovano casualmente vicini - subiscono un attacco da un gruppo terrorista. Lei viene portata via dalla polizia; lui dai terroristi. E si scopre che il mondo non è così come lo si dipinge.
La prima parte mi è piaciuta molto, devo dire. Per essere un fumetto italiano, è stata una sorpresa. Ma poi tutto si perde. L'ho trovato molto confuso nella realizzazione e inoltre non mi sono nemmeno molto chiare alcune relazioni tra i protagonisti, come X, ad esempio.
Chi scrive la postfazione, poi, loda la simbologia presente nelle tavole. Ammetto di aver forse riconosciuto la composizione di una pietà tra le tavole e basta. Ma quando la simbologia è troppa, come sembra essere il caso di questo libro, forse non è più simbologia, ma solo sfoggio di conoscenze.
I disegni sono OK, a volte i colori sono troppo scuri ma niente di particolare. Ci sono degli intermezzi con alcune tavole molto oniriche che sono decisamente ben fatti.
Contenta di averlo letto, ma non un capolavoro. Forse l'autore avrebbe dovuto curare di più la trama.
Avevo intenzione di leggere altro oggi, ma son capitata sullo scaffale dedicato alla Bao e ho preso questo.
Siamo in una Roma del futuro, in cui quattro multinazionali hanno il controllo del paese. Persino il primo ministro è un burattino nelle loro mani. In questo mondo distopico arriva Steno, innamorato della figlia del primo ministro. Durante un trasferimento in macchina - in cui si ritrovano casualmente vicini - subiscono un attacco da un gruppo terrorista. Lei viene portata via dalla polizia; lui dai terroristi. E si scopre che il mondo non è così come lo si dipinge.
La prima parte mi è piaciuta molto, devo dire. Per essere un fumetto italiano, è stata una sorpresa. Ma poi tutto si perde. L'ho trovato molto confuso nella realizzazione e inoltre non mi sono nemmeno molto chiare alcune relazioni tra i protagonisti, come X, ad esempio.
Chi scrive la postfazione, poi, loda la simbologia presente nelle tavole. Ammetto di aver forse riconosciuto la composizione di una pietà tra le tavole e basta. Ma quando la simbologia è troppa, come sembra essere il caso di questo libro, forse non è più simbologia, ma solo sfoggio di conoscenze.
I disegni sono OK, a volte i colori sono troppo scuri ma niente di particolare. Ci sono degli intermezzi con alcune tavole molto oniriche che sono decisamente ben fatti.
Contenta di averlo letto, ma non un capolavoro. Forse l'autore avrebbe dovuto curare di più la trama.
August 18, 2017
Admittedly, I flew through the first 200 pages of this in a single day and after finishing up the last 80 I sort of regretted it because it flew by almost too fast and then the ending felt so rushed. The final battle was only a couple pages and I was left wanting more explanations for what had happened and what was going to happen after the book ended.
Additionally, I don't think I fully understood everything that was happening in the world because there wasn't a ton of background given to us. I do think there is a good story here, but it just seems like something that we've seen so many times again and again.
What really saved this for me and what caused me to give it more than just two stars was the art work. It's really phenomenal and compelling to look at. Story aside, it's a beautiful piece of work because of the vibrant colors that clash with the dark imagery. Really exceptional.
I would say give this a try if you're having a thirst for some dystopian graphic novels, but don't spend a lot of money in doing so.
May 8, 2017
Pro: disegni validissimi, alcuni sono da incorniciare; inoltre, la visione distopica di Roma nel 2030, che comprende l'alta tecnologia, la superficialità dell'apparire che sovrasta l'essere e la totale indifferenza verso gli altri... insomma, tutti questi aspetti sono resi in un modo spaventosamente magnifico.
Contro: la seconda parte della storia, troppo sbrigativa e con una conclusione (ahimé) scontata. Mi trovo d'accordo con quelli che avrebbero preferito una maggiore caratterizzazione dei personaggi.
Morale: Golem è molto graphic, un po' meno novel. Rimane comunque un lavoro da leggere e apprezzare, e per questo mi sento di consigliarlo.
Contro: la seconda parte della storia, troppo sbrigativa e con una conclusione (ahimé) scontata. Mi trovo d'accordo con quelli che avrebbero preferito una maggiore caratterizzazione dei personaggi.
Morale: Golem è molto graphic, un po' meno novel. Rimane comunque un lavoro da leggere e apprezzare, e per questo mi sento di consigliarlo.
March 3, 2016
This is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel. The images are just to stare at and enjoy.
Some examples here.
And the story is good. It is, as dystopian stories are, a story of the people trying to overcome it, usually a small group who overthrow the present government. There is a twist to how they do so, and did I mention the illustrations and layout are marvelous.
I guess, except for the twist, we have seen this story so many times, that it just isn't that fresh.
So read this to enjoy the art, and to enjoy the Golem itself, and what it is created from, but that is about it.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Some examples here.
And the story is good. It is, as dystopian stories are, a story of the people trying to overcome it, usually a small group who overthrow the present government. There is a twist to how they do so, and did I mention the illustrations and layout are marvelous.
I guess, except for the twist, we have seen this story so many times, that it just isn't that fresh.
So read this to enjoy the art, and to enjoy the Golem itself, and what it is created from, but that is about it.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
May 28, 2016
"Golem" is a graphic novel set in a dystopian version of Italy, where consummerism is more than dominant and also enforced by the government. However, when a mission led by a group of "rebels" called The Shorai doesn't exactly go as planned, things start to rapidly change.
This graphic novel contains so many spot-on social and political comments and even though they refer to this dystopian society described in the story, they can be applied to many of today's societies as well. The plot is very nice and engaging, but I felt that some parts could have been explained more, such as the title's golem. They just appear out of the blue with no explanation of how or why they came into existence. The art was magnificent, with some pretty stunning watercolour images and the art style was reminiscent of Japanese manga.
All in all, it was a very nice graphic novel that triggered many thoughts and questions about the motives behind society's trends and norms and how people should react to them.
A copy was very kindly provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley.
This graphic novel contains so many spot-on social and political comments and even though they refer to this dystopian society described in the story, they can be applied to many of today's societies as well. The plot is very nice and engaging, but I felt that some parts could have been explained more, such as the title's golem. They just appear out of the blue with no explanation of how or why they came into existence. The art was magnificent, with some pretty stunning watercolour images and the art style was reminiscent of Japanese manga.
All in all, it was a very nice graphic novel that triggered many thoughts and questions about the motives behind society's trends and norms and how people should react to them.
A copy was very kindly provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley.
July 23, 2016
I was really curious to see what this is about and I'm happy that I was able to read it.
The art of this comic book is amazing and at times I just stopped to enjoy it, but unfortunately I can't say the same thing about the story. I couldn't really connect with all the characters and I needed more details to understand everything. Some of the political themes were hard to get at first, since it's not my area of expertise.
Steno was interesting, but we don't get to know him too well, and the same with Rosabela. I liked the end though, with all those explanations of the names.
The technology presented was cool and very interesting to watch. The device was impressive, but very dangerous.
I hope we can read more of this.
I received an advanced copy of this from NetGalley.com.
The art of this comic book is amazing and at times I just stopped to enjoy it, but unfortunately I can't say the same thing about the story. I couldn't really connect with all the characters and I needed more details to understand everything. Some of the political themes were hard to get at first, since it's not my area of expertise.
Steno was interesting, but we don't get to know him too well, and the same with Rosabela. I liked the end though, with all those explanations of the names.
The technology presented was cool and very interesting to watch. The device was impressive, but very dangerous.
I hope we can read more of this.
I received an advanced copy of this from NetGalley.com.
March 21, 2016
This wasn't perfect, but I had no problems being drawn into the story, It's a setting and plot I feel I've seen before but with a new flavor. Steno Critone starts this book off with a nice youthful perspective on an otherwise eerily similar to ours, consumer enslaved world. The futurism is spot on and hits close to home with what Is in my imagination, and a few sequences warranted some very uncomfortable laughter. This book asks a question needing to be asked more often:
When what you own, owns you, are you truly free?
Reviewed with honesty for Netgalley.(honestly)
When what you own, owns you, are you truly free?
Reviewed with honesty for Netgalley.(honestly)
December 28, 2022
I guess the thing about dystopian satire is that you should say something new with them, bring a new perspective to our world and its problems, maybe offer some solutions. This one doesn't. The story's pretty much the usual stuff, the characters shallow, the usual points done through without much anything new of its own. The art has its moments but the manga style really just got distracting.
May 6, 2016
For a graphic novel of 280 pages this was a beautifully illustrated book.
Set in a futuristic Italy consumed by political consumerism and freedom fighters deemed "terrorists" this novel is somewhat shallow as a story given its nature and that it can be read in less than an hour, although I did enjoy it and I'm glad to have read it.
Set in a futuristic Italy consumed by political consumerism and freedom fighters deemed "terrorists" this novel is somewhat shallow as a story given its nature and that it can be read in less than an hour, although I did enjoy it and I'm glad to have read it.
August 3, 2016
Recensione @ Chibiistheway
Davvero sorprendente!! Golem è una critica alle moderne democrazie ma non si ferma alla sola politica, parla anche di libertà e di sogni. Un'opera studiata nei minimi dettagli e con continui riferimenti ad altri autori occidentali e giapponesi (come Miyazaki e Urasawa). Visivamente uno spettacolo. Avrei preferito una migliore caratterizzazione dei personaggi, soprattutto del protagonista, ma a parte questo non ho nulla da rimproverare. Super consigliato, io sono rimasta piacevolmente sorpresa da questo autore italiano
Davvero sorprendente!! Golem è una critica alle moderne democrazie ma non si ferma alla sola politica, parla anche di libertà e di sogni. Un'opera studiata nei minimi dettagli e con continui riferimenti ad altri autori occidentali e giapponesi (come Miyazaki e Urasawa). Visivamente uno spettacolo. Avrei preferito una migliore caratterizzazione dei personaggi, soprattutto del protagonista, ma a parte questo non ho nulla da rimproverare. Super consigliato, io sono rimasta piacevolmente sorpresa da questo autore italiano
May 31, 2020
Disegni eccezionali, non si discutono. Ma la storia... troppo caotica per i miei gusti.
June 23, 2020
4.5 riordino le idee e poi scrivo cosa ne penso!
Se dovessi basarmi solamente sui disegni e la colorazione, questo fumetto si meriterebbe mille e passa stelline. Ha una mole non proprio piccina, parliamo di 300 pagine che però a me sono volate in un pomeriggio, d'altronde anche questo era un titolone che bramavo leggere da tantissimi anno! Finalmente grazie a queste uscite settimanali ci sono riuscita.
Come vi dicevo appunto i disegni sono stupendi, sono molto dinamici, spaziali, pieni di dettagli e di segni, il tratto con cui LRNZ disegna poi il fumo, le esplosioni, è qualcosa di sublime, ma tutto questo boom di immagini, appena sono entrata nel fumetto, mi ha fatto sentire leggermente disorientata e spaesata. Mi ci è voluta più di qualche tavola per ambientarmi e capire bene dove girarmi. Quando leggiamo un fumetto ci precipitiamo sui testi, qui testo e disegno si fondono e si legano tutt'uno, non devi lasciarti scappare nulla e devi rileggere qualche pagina per poi gustartela con gli occhi nella sua interezza e passare ai raggi x minuziosamente ogni fotogramma, perchè si, i suoi sono decisamente fotogrammi che si muovono su carta. Mi sono ritrovata in questa Italia distopica, il che è strano perchè in genere, questo tipo di storie sono ambientate altrove, non a casa nostra. Quindi vederla così ricca di elementi "disturbanti" (la pubblicità ossessiva, il bancomat che ti da solo in perdita, ecc) mi è sembrato quanto meno strano. I personaggi forse mi sono sembrati un po' superficiali e devo dire, con dei nomi molto particolari e forse un po' difficili da tenere a mente, anche il linguaggio parlato tra di loro, dovevo stare molto concentrata per non perdere il filo. Ecco, forse è questo, Golem è un fumetto che ha bisogno di concentrazione, trasmette un messaggio molto potente, perciò non è una storia che puoi prendere alla leggera e pensare di svagarti per un'oretta o due. No, ti ritrovi a riflettere, a soffrire, ad avere il magone per la storia sanguinolente che segui, non puoi restare impassibile difronte alle immagini che ti scorrono davanti, ancor più perchè ambientate nel nostro paese, a casa nostra. Per quello che io ho potuto ricavare dalla lettura di questo fumetto, và molto più in profondità rispetto magari ai personaggi. Si concentra e affronta una realtà che potrebbe benissimo essere la nostra, basterebbe che ci soffermassimo di più a pensare a riflettere su alcune dinamiche del nostro paese e che, è importante sognare un futuro migliore e battersi per i propri ideali e per quello che è giusto. Non avevo dubbi comunque che mi sarei innamorata dello stile di LRNZ, già le sue copertine per Enaudi erano fantasmagoriche, qui siamo a una bellezza sublime per gli occhi data dai suoi disegni. Consigliatissimo.
Se dovessi basarmi solamente sui disegni e la colorazione, questo fumetto si meriterebbe mille e passa stelline. Ha una mole non proprio piccina, parliamo di 300 pagine che però a me sono volate in un pomeriggio, d'altronde anche questo era un titolone che bramavo leggere da tantissimi anno! Finalmente grazie a queste uscite settimanali ci sono riuscita.
Come vi dicevo appunto i disegni sono stupendi, sono molto dinamici, spaziali, pieni di dettagli e di segni, il tratto con cui LRNZ disegna poi il fumo, le esplosioni, è qualcosa di sublime, ma tutto questo boom di immagini, appena sono entrata nel fumetto, mi ha fatto sentire leggermente disorientata e spaesata. Mi ci è voluta più di qualche tavola per ambientarmi e capire bene dove girarmi. Quando leggiamo un fumetto ci precipitiamo sui testi, qui testo e disegno si fondono e si legano tutt'uno, non devi lasciarti scappare nulla e devi rileggere qualche pagina per poi gustartela con gli occhi nella sua interezza e passare ai raggi x minuziosamente ogni fotogramma, perchè si, i suoi sono decisamente fotogrammi che si muovono su carta. Mi sono ritrovata in questa Italia distopica, il che è strano perchè in genere, questo tipo di storie sono ambientate altrove, non a casa nostra. Quindi vederla così ricca di elementi "disturbanti" (la pubblicità ossessiva, il bancomat che ti da solo in perdita, ecc) mi è sembrato quanto meno strano. I personaggi forse mi sono sembrati un po' superficiali e devo dire, con dei nomi molto particolari e forse un po' difficili da tenere a mente, anche il linguaggio parlato tra di loro, dovevo stare molto concentrata per non perdere il filo. Ecco, forse è questo, Golem è un fumetto che ha bisogno di concentrazione, trasmette un messaggio molto potente, perciò non è una storia che puoi prendere alla leggera e pensare di svagarti per un'oretta o due. No, ti ritrovi a riflettere, a soffrire, ad avere il magone per la storia sanguinolente che segui, non puoi restare impassibile difronte alle immagini che ti scorrono davanti, ancor più perchè ambientate nel nostro paese, a casa nostra. Per quello che io ho potuto ricavare dalla lettura di questo fumetto, và molto più in profondità rispetto magari ai personaggi. Si concentra e affronta una realtà che potrebbe benissimo essere la nostra, basterebbe che ci soffermassimo di più a pensare a riflettere su alcune dinamiche del nostro paese e che, è importante sognare un futuro migliore e battersi per i propri ideali e per quello che è giusto. Non avevo dubbi comunque che mi sarei innamorata dello stile di LRNZ, già le sue copertine per Enaudi erano fantasmagoriche, qui siamo a una bellezza sublime per gli occhi data dai suoi disegni. Consigliatissimo.
June 11, 2021
2 e mezzo.
Caotico, sbrigativo e un bel po' facilone.
Caotico, sbrigativo e un bel po' facilone.
March 29, 2023
Adoro il tratto grafico di LRNZ, che costituisce la parte forte del fumetto. L'idea alla base della trama è interessante, ma lo svolgimento è stato sbrigativo e un po' confuso.
May 29, 2017
I liked the art style but the political theme was not my cup of tea. I guess I have grown out of Deus Ex Machina solutions to problems either...
October 23, 2022
Stile di disegno e colori stupendi. Idea alla base molto interessante e con un incredibile potenziale, ambientazione e dettagli curati fino al minimo particolare.
MA ho trovato la struttura narrativa confusionaria, i personaggi non approfonditi e tutto molto poco chiaro, tanto che mi è risultato impossibile immergermi veramente nella trama. Un grande peccato.
MA ho trovato la struttura narrativa confusionaria, i personaggi non approfonditi e tutto molto poco chiaro, tanto che mi è risultato impossibile immergermi veramente nella trama. Un grande peccato.
May 5, 2015
This gets two stars for good art (and yet I expected more from a one shot book. This is not something that was coming out once a month, with understandably crammed deadlines. Some of the art looks really unpolished considering) and decent tech. Also for not having an anti-technology aesop as so many speculative fiction works from Italy tend to.
But the author clearly doesn't know how to tell a story.
None of the characters had any development, growth or depth (the one attempt to give an antagonist depth was so stupid it was borderline embarrassing to read. Also you shouldn't devote pages to making your antagonists "morally grey" when not even your main character has a real personality).
There was no suspense at all, as soon as anything was hinted at we got (mind-boggingly boring) exposition telling us everything about it. I haven't tried to get actual figures but I'd say rather more than half the dialogue was devoted to exposition. Instead of, you know, actual character interactions. The dialogues felt incredibly stunted because of this. Most of the time it was a character monologuing about whatever, and the other one(s) barely interjecting except when needed to move the exposition on to a different topic. This also resulted in nonsense reactions from characters (like Steno gets kidnapped and is like "ok I guess it's fine" until he runs away to be helpful completely out of the blue because we get literally zero of his thoughts, there's not even a line of internal monologue from him, the Actual Protagonist, in all 280 pages).
Also some lines read like they had been badly translated despite this being an Italian comic originally written in Italian. (Un esempio su tutti, lo so che in inglese si dice "corporations", ma in italiano tendiamo a chiamarle aziende o multinazionali, LRNZ, non corporazioni. Cioè già sapere l'italiano sarebbe un ottimo punto di partenza per scrivere come mestiere. Poi, se a te la parola non veniva, editor non c'è n'erano nei paraggi? Tra l'altro dalla BAO, che di solito le traduzioni fatte con Google le evita, non mi aspettavo così poca cura nell'editing).
Still, this could have been good. While most great stories are character-driven, there are sometimes books or movies that manage to thrive off plot only (never with characters quite this flat, though, I'm afraid). But the story is so crammed it barely makes sense (or does it?). Nothing is dwelt upon, nothing is expanded because there isn't space. At times it feels like a series of action episodes strung together in one book, with no connecting moments. It helps that the action scenes are awesome to look at, but they needed a sense of struggle, of overreaching fight behind them. And to give depth to fights you usually need to make the reader care about what the characters are fighting for, but we never even got real characters in here. Nothing has real meaning because we don't even begin to see its impact on characters or the wider world (I'll get back to this later). If some of the characters had died I probably wouldn't even have noticed.
The story is a basic ass "rebelling against dystopic society" tale told in a rush, giving it nothing to stand out against a genre that has expanded to oversaturation in the last years. And it's not that the setting was badly thought out per se, because the idea of a world controlled by corporations is realistic, but the book hadn't even the space to tell the story as it deserved to be told, let alone explore the setting and society. But from what we've seen, despite all the constantly plugged in advanced technology, society worked pretty much as it does now. Lazy worldbuilding, bad.
One thing that ticked me off immensely is how culturally and ethnically homogeneous this eurasian federation looked. All the surnames given were super Italian. All the characters save a few, even in extras in backgrounds, were light skinned. I'm very afraid the artist thought Asian=Japanese, maybe Han Chinese and Korean (and even with these three nationalities they're not all light skinned), and forgot that his super world power would have had mostly brown people in it. Also there were no explicitly LGBT characters, which of course made me sad, but of course the characters were barely fleshed out and most didn't show interest in anyone (they didn't show interest at all mostly) so I can headcanon away.
Many reviewers mention that the aesop felt childish and populist, but was there even one? I couldn't pinpoint a moral message at all. It feels like the author wanted to draw some cyberpunk shit (with some Miyazaki-ish sequences thrown in) and thought he had to include rebellion and politics because this genre usually does, but couldn't think up a theme so he just put them in there casually hoping to cobble up a meaning before the book was printed. Sadly, he didn't. (Also who do I have to murder to get slice of life cyberpunk/dystopia)
But the author clearly doesn't know how to tell a story.
None of the characters had any development, growth or depth (the one attempt to give an antagonist depth was so stupid it was borderline embarrassing to read. Also you shouldn't devote pages to making your antagonists "morally grey" when not even your main character has a real personality).
There was no suspense at all, as soon as anything was hinted at we got (mind-boggingly boring) exposition telling us everything about it. I haven't tried to get actual figures but I'd say rather more than half the dialogue was devoted to exposition. Instead of, you know, actual character interactions. The dialogues felt incredibly stunted because of this. Most of the time it was a character monologuing about whatever, and the other one(s) barely interjecting except when needed to move the exposition on to a different topic. This also resulted in nonsense reactions from characters (like Steno gets kidnapped and is like "ok I guess it's fine" until he runs away to be helpful completely out of the blue because we get literally zero of his thoughts, there's not even a line of internal monologue from him, the Actual Protagonist, in all 280 pages).
Also some lines read like they had been badly translated despite this being an Italian comic originally written in Italian. (Un esempio su tutti, lo so che in inglese si dice "corporations", ma in italiano tendiamo a chiamarle aziende o multinazionali, LRNZ, non corporazioni. Cioè già sapere l'italiano sarebbe un ottimo punto di partenza per scrivere come mestiere. Poi, se a te la parola non veniva, editor non c'è n'erano nei paraggi? Tra l'altro dalla BAO, che di solito le traduzioni fatte con Google le evita, non mi aspettavo così poca cura nell'editing).
Still, this could have been good. While most great stories are character-driven, there are sometimes books or movies that manage to thrive off plot only (never with characters quite this flat, though, I'm afraid). But the story is so crammed it barely makes sense (or does it?). Nothing is dwelt upon, nothing is expanded because there isn't space. At times it feels like a series of action episodes strung together in one book, with no connecting moments. It helps that the action scenes are awesome to look at, but they needed a sense of struggle, of overreaching fight behind them. And to give depth to fights you usually need to make the reader care about what the characters are fighting for, but we never even got real characters in here. Nothing has real meaning because we don't even begin to see its impact on characters or the wider world (I'll get back to this later). If some of the characters had died I probably wouldn't even have noticed.
The story is a basic ass "rebelling against dystopic society" tale told in a rush, giving it nothing to stand out against a genre that has expanded to oversaturation in the last years. And it's not that the setting was badly thought out per se, because the idea of a world controlled by corporations is realistic, but the book hadn't even the space to tell the story as it deserved to be told, let alone explore the setting and society. But from what we've seen, despite all the constantly plugged in advanced technology, society worked pretty much as it does now. Lazy worldbuilding, bad.
One thing that ticked me off immensely is how culturally and ethnically homogeneous this eurasian federation looked. All the surnames given were super Italian. All the characters save a few, even in extras in backgrounds, were light skinned. I'm very afraid the artist thought Asian=Japanese, maybe Han Chinese and Korean (and even with these three nationalities they're not all light skinned), and forgot that his super world power would have had mostly brown people in it. Also there were no explicitly LGBT characters, which of course made me sad, but of course the characters were barely fleshed out and most didn't show interest in anyone (they didn't show interest at all mostly) so I can headcanon away.
Many reviewers mention that the aesop felt childish and populist, but was there even one? I couldn't pinpoint a moral message at all. It feels like the author wanted to draw some cyberpunk shit (with some Miyazaki-ish sequences thrown in) and thought he had to include rebellion and politics because this genre usually does, but couldn't think up a theme so he just put them in there casually hoping to cobble up a meaning before the book was printed. Sadly, he didn't. (Also who do I have to murder to get slice of life cyberpunk/dystopia)
May 5, 2016
Read review at: http://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.gr...
The plot of Golem was typical of a post-apocalyptic scenario. It had every important element of such story: an all-knowing government, a rebellious team living on the outskirts of the city and a young boy that possesses the key to a powerful technology. Steno, our young protagonist, had trouble sleeping and that was why he had dark circles under his eyes. This was his most distinctive feature. He was witness to an attack by the rebels and they took him in their hideout. And then everything got complicated. Steno's father was a scientist on the verge of a scientific breakthrough and because he refused to let it be used for military purposes he was murdered by the government. But before dying he had planted this technology on his son. It was a story with great potential, but ultimately it left many things unanswered. Towards the end, things kept happening without a clear reason. How the technology was awakened from Steno is still a mystery to me.
An interesting aspect of Golem that I really want to underline is the fact that the rebels terrorized the society by writing things about the government on the walls. They had created some sort of family and they seemed happier than all of the people that lived in the futuristic society.
As I've already stated, the cover was a significant reason for me to pick up this graphic novel. And from the first pages that I read, I was genuinely impressed. But as I was progressing the story, I found out that the illustrations were suffering. So, on the one hand, there were pages so beautiful that I would want them as posters on my walls, and on the other hand, there were pages that the art was somewhat generic and poorly made. It was a shame, though, because the main plot was under the shadow of Steno's nightmares because I only wanted to look at the latter.
Golem was a graphic novel with great potential. The story had ideas that would guarantee an intriguing plot with plenty room for thought. Also, the talent of the creator was evident, as the nightmares were more than gorgeously illustrated. I only wish that the execution would be better, both storywise and in the illustration. I would recommend it with caution because it was interesting enough, but with a lot of problems.
The plot of Golem was typical of a post-apocalyptic scenario. It had every important element of such story: an all-knowing government, a rebellious team living on the outskirts of the city and a young boy that possesses the key to a powerful technology. Steno, our young protagonist, had trouble sleeping and that was why he had dark circles under his eyes. This was his most distinctive feature. He was witness to an attack by the rebels and they took him in their hideout. And then everything got complicated. Steno's father was a scientist on the verge of a scientific breakthrough and because he refused to let it be used for military purposes he was murdered by the government. But before dying he had planted this technology on his son. It was a story with great potential, but ultimately it left many things unanswered. Towards the end, things kept happening without a clear reason. How the technology was awakened from Steno is still a mystery to me.
An interesting aspect of Golem that I really want to underline is the fact that the rebels terrorized the society by writing things about the government on the walls. They had created some sort of family and they seemed happier than all of the people that lived in the futuristic society.
As I've already stated, the cover was a significant reason for me to pick up this graphic novel. And from the first pages that I read, I was genuinely impressed. But as I was progressing the story, I found out that the illustrations were suffering. So, on the one hand, there were pages so beautiful that I would want them as posters on my walls, and on the other hand, there were pages that the art was somewhat generic and poorly made. It was a shame, though, because the main plot was under the shadow of Steno's nightmares because I only wanted to look at the latter.
Golem was a graphic novel with great potential. The story had ideas that would guarantee an intriguing plot with plenty room for thought. Also, the talent of the creator was evident, as the nightmares were more than gorgeously illustrated. I only wish that the execution would be better, both storywise and in the illustration. I would recommend it with caution because it was interesting enough, but with a lot of problems.
April 7, 2015
LRZN è il sogno di ogni brand, un illustratore dal disegno pulito ed accattivante come nella miglior tradizione del manga giapponese contemporaneo (qua e là si registrano dejavù potenti) unito a una colorazione sensuale dal cromatismo estetizzante, da far invidia ai grandi delle pin up cover dei comics statunitensi. Insomma, la grafica tra tavole pittoriche, personaggi cool e la riuscitissima brandizzazione del world building è da quattro stellette.
I contenuti e la loro narrazione però peccano di una grande ingenuità che rendono il risultato finale mediocre. Idee utopiche solo superficialmente analizzate, risoluzioni banali e l'intera seconda parte del volume affrettata, confusa e mai davvero problematizzata. Ho più volte avuto il dubbio di essere di fronte ad un prodotto destinato a un pubblico di giovanissimi, e nemmeno dei più riusciti. Due stelle scarse.
I contenuti e la loro narrazione però peccano di una grande ingenuità che rendono il risultato finale mediocre. Idee utopiche solo superficialmente analizzate, risoluzioni banali e l'intera seconda parte del volume affrettata, confusa e mai davvero problematizzata. Ho più volte avuto il dubbio di essere di fronte ad un prodotto destinato a un pubblico di giovanissimi, e nemmeno dei più riusciti. Due stelle scarse.
April 1, 2016
Beautifully rendered, this graphic novel depicts a near-future dystopian Italy in which the Eurasian Union in firmly in the control of 4 corporations. Freedom and democracy are facades bolstered by entrenched and rampant consumerism and corrupt politicians. Science that would better mankind is suppressed if it threatens said consumerism. A band of freedom fighters rally to upend the unsustainable State.
The message outshines the story's telling, and the art easily trumps both. Many artistic styles are utilized, but the bulk verges on Manga. As beautiful as the art is, the story is lost within the panels. Not all is clear. The sheer amount of symbolism and allusion to mythos is laudable and the research commendable, but a clearer tale remains my preference.
The message outshines the story's telling, and the art easily trumps both. Many artistic styles are utilized, but the bulk verges on Manga. As beautiful as the art is, the story is lost within the panels. Not all is clear. The sheer amount of symbolism and allusion to mythos is laudable and the research commendable, but a clearer tale remains my preference.
January 8, 2021
Disegni bellissimi ma trama difficile da seguire
December 18, 2016
Golem by Lorenzo Ceccotti is a graphic sci-fi/ fantasy novel, more in the manga type style. It is set in the future in a Eurozone Italy during a time when capitalism is everything. No one cooks, sews, and everything is bought. Nothing is done by hand. The nano tech is there to help the public make life easier but it has been hidden so business can rule the people. A band of people are trying to change this but are labeled "terrorist". The boy of the story, Steno, is key to the change. The plot is good, the art is great. The story is unique and colorful. I enjoyed it. I received this book from NetGalley for a honest review and it in no way effected my review or rating.
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