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Four Letter Worlds
Love. Hate. Fear. Fate. Four words that define our lives in different ways. Four words that lie at the heart of all our experiences. Four words that have long inspired artists to craft their most resonant work. Four-Letter Worlds examines how these four little words define our individual worlds in very big ways. This brand new anthology features sixteen original short stories by twenty six renowned creators, including Joe Casey, Chynna Clugston-Major, Antony Johnston, Phil Hester, Jim Mahfood, Scott Morse, and Andi Watson.
144 pages, Paperback
First published May 4, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 18, 2022
Some stories are good. Some engender a sad, sometimes, haunting feeling. And some are just I don't understand.
July 26, 2011
I should really stop reviewing anthologies. While the specifics will vary, my final analysis will almost certainly be the same as the last time. And the time before that. Ad infinitum ad nauseum et cetera forever and ever amen. With exceptions that are exceptional, an anthology is going to be Alright. It’s going to have a number of Good stories (perhaps some will be Very Good) and a bunch that are Just Okay and are probably only there to pad out the book’s length, and then maybe one or two that are Just Bad, stories that you’re not sure a) why they were written in the first place and b) how an editor let them into a collection that they might want readers to enjoy. That is the make-up of almost every anthology I’ve read.
Of course, there are exceptions: the books that are really just mostly bad with only a couple mediocre stories to lift them from outright destitution and the far more uncommon books that are just a pile of storytelling goodness. Four Letter Worlds is neither of these and instead plays perfectly to type.
The book’s organizational conceit is worthwhile. The collection holds sixteen stories (each with a four-letter title) and these are divided into four groups of four. Each group is themed around one of four four-letter words. (Literally, not euphemistically.) These are Love, Hate, Fear, and Fate. And each quarter has at least one good story and at least a couple that hit the so-so-and-lower range. Rather than focus on all the negativity, I’ll hit the highlights in each farthing and try to keep cheerful.
Love
LOVE’s opener is its best effort and may even be tied for the anthology’s best as well. “Spin” (written by B. Clay Moore; art by Steve Griffen) is a pitch-perfect story of love and loss explored through a single record’s ownership. I don’t know these characters and their subculture is foreign to me, but I understood them entirely. Moore and Griffen speak across gulfs of age, gender, creed, and taste as they follow a rather clueless music lover through the lifespan of a relationship. The particulars of their narrative thread are unimportant; the evocation of the common experience is everything. Plus it helps that I love Sam Cooke.
LOVE holds one other good story. It’s not as powerful and may even be a little too cute, but Jeff Parker’s addition, “Bear,” is a little bit charming and as one comes to see it for what it is, recognition humps nostalgia and the reader comes away satisfied. The story mostly turns on that moment of realization, so subsequent readings won’t likely find much meat beyond that initial thrill. Which is fine—those stories have their place and purpose.
Hate
HATE also has two good stories. “Junk” (written by Eric Stephenson; art by Mike Norton) examines the character-changing reality that divorce exerts on normally sane people. The story very much resembles a scene from Before Sunrise in that there is no action outside a couple walking from one place to another. The whole strength of the story lies in its conversational nature.
J. Torres and John Bernales provide the other worthwhile bit in HATE, a small tale that comes in the form of anecdote. Whether fictional or non, “Cool” feels real. It has that half-polluted experience of memory by which we call to mind important, earth-shattering, paradigm-shifting moments and get everything wrong while still getting the most important thing right. “Cool” isn’t the story I’ll remember a year from now when the book comes to mind, but I was glad it joined the package and the book is better for its inclusion.
Fear
FEAR is the weakest quarter of the collection. There was only one story I liked and even that wasn’t a very strong addition. Even though I could appreciate the sentiment and experiment of Scott Morse’s “Mano,” it was Steve Lieber’s “Fell” that I thought best accomplished the task of helping me want to keep reading. There wasn’t really much special about Lieber’s story of a rescue-caver getting pooped on (did I read that right?), but it was well-paced and a little funny (did I mention getting pooped on?).
Fate
While I earlier said that LOVE’s “Spin” was probably the best story of the collection (and it probably is), my favourite would have to be Chynna Clugston’s “Anew.” I am, incurably, a romantic and stories that scratch that itch without devolving into trite sentimentalism or contrived pap will always stoke the fires of my enjoyment (note my earlier mention of and unmentioned adoration for Before Sunrise). The first story in FATE, Clugston’s diner-set tête-à-tête shows her typical strength for building relationship drama in a manner sweet yet not cloying. It’s only too bad that Clugston’s story was not posted last in the anthology for then it would have gone out with a bang instead of the whimper we get.
While I’ve certainly read worse collections, that’s really not a great recommendation for any published work. Some of these stories are certainly worth your time, but whether five or six decent-to-good shorts are worth thirteen bucks to you? That’s something you can take up in argument with your anthropomorphized wallet.
[review courtesy of Good Ok Bad]
Of course, there are exceptions: the books that are really just mostly bad with only a couple mediocre stories to lift them from outright destitution and the far more uncommon books that are just a pile of storytelling goodness. Four Letter Worlds is neither of these and instead plays perfectly to type.
The book’s organizational conceit is worthwhile. The collection holds sixteen stories (each with a four-letter title) and these are divided into four groups of four. Each group is themed around one of four four-letter words. (Literally, not euphemistically.) These are Love, Hate, Fear, and Fate. And each quarter has at least one good story and at least a couple that hit the so-so-and-lower range. Rather than focus on all the negativity, I’ll hit the highlights in each farthing and try to keep cheerful.
Love
LOVE’s opener is its best effort and may even be tied for the anthology’s best as well. “Spin” (written by B. Clay Moore; art by Steve Griffen) is a pitch-perfect story of love and loss explored through a single record’s ownership. I don’t know these characters and their subculture is foreign to me, but I understood them entirely. Moore and Griffen speak across gulfs of age, gender, creed, and taste as they follow a rather clueless music lover through the lifespan of a relationship. The particulars of their narrative thread are unimportant; the evocation of the common experience is everything. Plus it helps that I love Sam Cooke.
LOVE holds one other good story. It’s not as powerful and may even be a little too cute, but Jeff Parker’s addition, “Bear,” is a little bit charming and as one comes to see it for what it is, recognition humps nostalgia and the reader comes away satisfied. The story mostly turns on that moment of realization, so subsequent readings won’t likely find much meat beyond that initial thrill. Which is fine—those stories have their place and purpose.
Hate
HATE also has two good stories. “Junk” (written by Eric Stephenson; art by Mike Norton) examines the character-changing reality that divorce exerts on normally sane people. The story very much resembles a scene from Before Sunrise in that there is no action outside a couple walking from one place to another. The whole strength of the story lies in its conversational nature.
J. Torres and John Bernales provide the other worthwhile bit in HATE, a small tale that comes in the form of anecdote. Whether fictional or non, “Cool” feels real. It has that half-polluted experience of memory by which we call to mind important, earth-shattering, paradigm-shifting moments and get everything wrong while still getting the most important thing right. “Cool” isn’t the story I’ll remember a year from now when the book comes to mind, but I was glad it joined the package and the book is better for its inclusion.
Fear
FEAR is the weakest quarter of the collection. There was only one story I liked and even that wasn’t a very strong addition. Even though I could appreciate the sentiment and experiment of Scott Morse’s “Mano,” it was Steve Lieber’s “Fell” that I thought best accomplished the task of helping me want to keep reading. There wasn’t really much special about Lieber’s story of a rescue-caver getting pooped on (did I read that right?), but it was well-paced and a little funny (did I mention getting pooped on?).
Fate
While I earlier said that LOVE’s “Spin” was probably the best story of the collection (and it probably is), my favourite would have to be Chynna Clugston’s “Anew.” I am, incurably, a romantic and stories that scratch that itch without devolving into trite sentimentalism or contrived pap will always stoke the fires of my enjoyment (note my earlier mention of and unmentioned adoration for Before Sunrise). The first story in FATE, Clugston’s diner-set tête-à-tête shows her typical strength for building relationship drama in a manner sweet yet not cloying. It’s only too bad that Clugston’s story was not posted last in the anthology for then it would have gone out with a bang instead of the whimper we get.
While I’ve certainly read worse collections, that’s really not a great recommendation for any published work. Some of these stories are certainly worth your time, but whether five or six decent-to-good shorts are worth thirteen bucks to you? That’s something you can take up in argument with your anthropomorphized wallet.
[review courtesy of Good Ok Bad]
May 9, 2015
There were some really lovely moments in this collection, but overall, I didn't find it completely captivating at any point. A lot of the stories felt incomplete or rushed. I would've liked to see a little more detail.
March 20, 2018
16 short stories, four dealing with each of the following words: Love, Hate, Fear and Fate.
Fate had probably the strongest overall stories, highlighted by the book's highwater mark, Jamie Rich and Andi Watson's extremely involving tale of lies and the nature of the truth. Antony Johnston also turns in a charming, fun tale of fate and his image crisis. Chynna Clugston turns in an over-written, melodramatic piece that suffers from serious sweetness overdose. Yech. She usually balances the schmaltz in Blue Monday with a good bit of dark humor and sardonic attitude. Not here. Too bad.
The other three themes were a mixed bag - with nobody really leaping out at me (several of the Fear chapters were only vaguely about fear), but none of them being truly bad. Just a decent anthology. I wouldn't go out of my way for it, but if you like Scott Morse, Joe Casey, Matt Fraction, Mike Hawthorne, Chynna Clugston, Phil Hester (great job by Hester on the art in his chapter!), Mark Ricketts or any of the other contributors, it'll probably be worth your time.
Fate had probably the strongest overall stories, highlighted by the book's highwater mark, Jamie Rich and Andi Watson's extremely involving tale of lies and the nature of the truth. Antony Johnston also turns in a charming, fun tale of fate and his image crisis. Chynna Clugston turns in an over-written, melodramatic piece that suffers from serious sweetness overdose. Yech. She usually balances the schmaltz in Blue Monday with a good bit of dark humor and sardonic attitude. Not here. Too bad.
The other three themes were a mixed bag - with nobody really leaping out at me (several of the Fear chapters were only vaguely about fear), but none of them being truly bad. Just a decent anthology. I wouldn't go out of my way for it, but if you like Scott Morse, Joe Casey, Matt Fraction, Mike Hawthorne, Chynna Clugston, Phil Hester (great job by Hester on the art in his chapter!), Mark Ricketts or any of the other contributors, it'll probably be worth your time.
November 29, 2024
Some stories were great, others were bad. Overall - good concept, average content.
March 7, 2017
3.5 stars. Come on goodreads, give us half star rating options.
December 3, 2016
This book is an anthology of 16 short stories. There are four main sections: love, hate, fear, and fate. Each of these sections contains four stories related to the theme.
For the most part, I enjoyed the stories. The writing and the art vary quite a bit, which is both a strength and a weakness of this type of book. It makes it possible for a reader to be exposed to an array of creators and content, sampling small amounts that might launch them into a creator's other works.
None of the stories in this anthology were awful. The only one that really impressed me was "Spin" because it is able to tell a story and show the connection to a theme without using any dialogue or exposition. The art conveys everything the reader needs to know and does so wonderfully.
The book exists in a sort of limbo for me. I like the concept behind it, and most of the stories are pretty good. But it didn't leave much of an impression on me.
For the most part, I enjoyed the stories. The writing and the art vary quite a bit, which is both a strength and a weakness of this type of book. It makes it possible for a reader to be exposed to an array of creators and content, sampling small amounts that might launch them into a creator's other works.
None of the stories in this anthology were awful. The only one that really impressed me was "Spin" because it is able to tell a story and show the connection to a theme without using any dialogue or exposition. The art conveys everything the reader needs to know and does so wonderfully.
The book exists in a sort of limbo for me. I like the concept behind it, and most of the stories are pretty good. But it didn't leave much of an impression on me.
June 18, 2016
Love. Hate. Fear. Fate.
Several artists and writers take on these four little four letter words.
This was a real mixed bag. Some of the stories seemed pointless, while I didn't want some of the others to end.
While I didn't like everything, I did enjoy the wide variety of comic-art styles. A good showcase for all, and an excellent introduction to some new talent.
Several artists and writers take on these four little four letter words.
This was a real mixed bag. Some of the stories seemed pointless, while I didn't want some of the others to end.
While I didn't like everything, I did enjoy the wide variety of comic-art styles. A good showcase for all, and an excellent introduction to some new talent.
June 4, 2009
A collection of short comic works, four each on four themes of four-letter words: love, hate, fear, and fate. Some creators I'd never heard of, and some were creators I already love (i.e., Chynna Clugston). All were excellent. The story that stands out the most in my mind is the one where Fate is drug into a meeting with God's new marketing team, who have decided that he needs a new image. HILARIOUS. Also, the first story in love, which has no dialogue at all, just artwork, was fabulous and sweet and poignant - I was very impressed by that. Loved Chynna's stuff, as always, and also Andi Watson's. Good collection, easy to read, fun stuff!
June 5, 2007
For all its excellent intentions, "Four Letter Worlds" is still just an idea in search of execution. The idea itself is brilliant: four stories each from mostly unknown artists about love, hate, fear, and fate. Numerologically, it succeeds, and there are some well-written and well-illustrated pieces here (though none that are both). Sadly, the book lacks the star power (and in the comics world, artists are usually stars for good reason) of a Dark Horse compilation, or the expansiveness and color of the other Image comp. series, "Flight".
August 29, 2008
A comicbook anthology built on the flimsiest of unifying premises (stories revolving around 4 letter words like 'Love', 'Hate', etc.) and filled with work so half-assed I thought I was flipping through people's private sketchbooks of unpublished doodles/story ideas. Another book in a long line of garbage coming out of Oni Press.
July 23, 2016
A lot of mediocre stories in here, as there always will be in anthologies. But it has a few really good pieces, as well: Jeff Parker's beautifully subtle BEAR, Jay Faerber's LOUD, J. Torres' surprisingly moving little story COOL, Jamie Rich's probably-about-me TRUE, and Antony Johnston's hilarious HYPE. There are also a few bad stories. Overall, this is probably a very standard anthology.
August 31, 2016
Better than average anthology. Might be that the topics are pretty broad, but there is a decent collection of creators represented here, even if only two of them are women. But this was published in 2005 and there is a lot more awareness of such inequities these days.
December 14, 2007
This is another collection of comics that I read in a comic reading frenzy; now can't remember anything about it. Sigh.
December 31, 2008
As with any collection, some hits, some misses. Not a bad read, but not one I'm likely to pass along to everyone I meet, either.
October 9, 2012
Nice concept, but of the sixteen stories, only three or four of note.
December 5, 2012
Had it fine moments
May 13, 2015
Some of the stories are okay, but most of them are dull. The best of the bunch is "Bear."
June 7, 2015
As with most anthologies, there were a couple really good ones here and a few that I just didn't like/understand.
September 21, 2022
1 star
Very uneven collection.
Very uneven collection.
February 25, 2021
16 short stories, all with a 4 letter word theme.
Some hits, some blah.
Entertaining al around.
A great story and interesting take on Winnie the Pooh, which was amazing.
Some hits, some blah.
Entertaining al around.
A great story and interesting take on Winnie the Pooh, which was amazing.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews