Alabaster: The Good, the Bad, and the Bird

Dancy Flammarion #4

by Caitlín R. Kiernan, Daniel Warren Johnson (Illustrations)

A year after her death in a burning barn, Dancy's Flammarion's now finds herself in a Hell of her own creation. A new evil haunts the sun-scorched back roads and ghost towns of the American South - murderous twins who command a legion of ghouls. Once again, Dancy must face down demons, those who walk the world unchallenged and those in her own shattered mind.

Collects The Good, the Bad, and the Bird #1-5

Praise for the work of Caitlín R.
"Caitlín R. Kiernan is the poet and the bard of the wasted and the lost." -Neil Gaiman
"One of our essential writers of dark fiction . . . a cartographer of lost worlds." -The New York Times

"Kiernan's richly evocative prose vividly portrays her twisted characters as well as it illustrates their eerie, kudzu-infested, Deep South surroundings." -Booklist

"Kiernan imbues the tales with disquieting gothic imagery and envelops them in rich, evocative prose that conveys cohesiveness beyond their fragmentary plots." -Publisher's Weekly

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

128 pages, Hardcover

First published September 13, 2016

About the author

Caitlín Rebekah Kiernan is an Irish-born American published paleontologist and author of science fiction and dark fantasy works, including ten novels, series of comic books, and more than two hundred and fifty published short stories, novellas, and vignettes.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark fantasy, one in a series focused on Dancy Flammarion, who happens to be dead, and. . . resurrected. I just picked it up at the library because I am looking for strong woman characters, and I had read Rachel Rising, which also just happens to deal with resurrected murdered women. This is actually a little more brutal, and a little more foul-mouthed than that series.

This one also ouija boards, murderous twins, werewolves, ghouls and other creatures, lesbian romance, and a side-kick bird. American Southern Gothic with religious overtones. There's redemption in it, but man, it is gritty and bloody, with a side of Lovecraft.

[Milo · Rating 3 out of 5]

At one point we had four lesbians in the same room and I was bored. There was even a short break of 3 entire pages away from a knife/gun standoff so we could watch the bird fly. Bonus cheap ending. I wish I could like this; it has moments of pure poetry.

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up from the library after seeing that Daniel Warren Johnson illustrated it. I had no idea that it was part of a larger series, and I assumed that it was just somewhat poorly written. So, while it’s not quite as bad as I thought, it’s still not great. As great as an artist as DWJ is, even he cannot overcome the fact that three of the four main characters are too similar looking, that one of them talks primarily in Bible verses (with citations??), and that the filth main character is an obnoxious talking bird.

[Romeo · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was some good parts in the book, I thought, but the story seemed a little bit rushed at times and disjointed. Maybe it was me, there might be another series I should have read before this one. I'm not sure.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading and enjoying The Tinfoil Dossier trilogy by Caitlín R. Kiernan, having completed the 1st two books. I decided to check out some of her other work and glommed onto her Alabaster graphic novels. I have to say I've kind of found it difficult to know what order to read them in or even to find copies but I did get Alabaster: The Good, the Bad, and the Bird.

There is a bit of a back story. The main character, an albino girl, Darcy Flammarion (Dancy) finds herself dead in 'hell', a white maze of sorts. She recalls how she died, at the hands of Maisie. It appears Dancy is some sort of demon fighter? That's not clear. There are five interlinked stories in this particular book. Maisie is recovering from her actions against Dancy and has a companion, a talking black bird. She's trying to make ends meet by pretending to commune with spirits to get money from the grieving.

There are two twins who want to bring Dancy back from the Dead to help them get a key. This key was acquired by the guhl (werewolves?) in their ancient battles with the Djin. (Got it?). They do manage to bring Dancy back. Dancy reunites with Maisie and the blackbird, but during the night the twins kidnap Maisie and use her as bait to get what they need with the assistance of Dancy.

I mean, that's the story at its simplest. Consider it fantastical horror. The drawing is graphic, dark, gritty. Even without a back story telling more about Darcy Flammarion, it still draws you in and leaves you wanting to find out more. It has made me try to find more of the series. I'll keep you posted about it as well as about the final Tinfoil Dossier book. 😎👍 (3.5 stars)

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this from Edelweiss and Dark Horse comics in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't what I expected it to be, but that may be to its benefit. The concept of Dancy Flammarion is so intoxicatingly original that I read Alabaster as soon as I could find a copy of it. I loved it. However, Wolves was a bit disappointing to me (plus I found the artwork to be rather dull and ugly), and Grimmer Tales was just bad. It took me almost a full year since the second graphic novel to get around to reading this one, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.

For one thing, the artwork here is gorgeous, which was a nice improvement. But I liked the less direct, more surreal storytelling as well. When I first got to the end, I thought two things: 1) I wish it had been much longer, and 2) the cryptic, almost nonending felt like an anticlimax.

However, after I sat with it for a bit, I decided the ending not only worked, but needed to end the way it did. (No spoilers here!) I also liked the addition of Greek mythology to the largely Judeo-Christian angelology that the world of Alabaster has always been built around.

A fitting end (probably?) to Dancy Flammarion's story.

[OmniBen · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review)
Once again the reviewers here on Goodreads go and get it completely wrong again. This volume has the lowest rating of the series, although it is unquestionably the bets by a good god damn way. Quite how anyone thought the depressingly underwhelming Grimmer Tales was better than this much tighter, more honed effort is beyond me. Seriously, despite the shift in narrative focus in the initial issues of the story, this reads like a bloody good horror noir. A bloody good horror noir that had me questioning why the rest of the series couldn't have been written in a similar vein, with a similar level of competence. Past efforts had their moments, although were largely disappointing affairs, given the excellent possibilities of the title. At last an Alabaster story that didn't leave me questioning my intelligence for picking it up on a whim. One out of three is hardly great odds, although I'm glad to have finished this series on a high. If you haven't started the series yet, I would suggest avoiding for the most part. Though if you are hell bent on diving in, then at least start with the strongest effort. 4/5


OmniBen.

[Jean-Luc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dancy Flammarion is dead. She died at the end of the last book. (Which I know I own but somehow seem to have missed reviewing...) She's in heaven now. Haha, no she isn't. Have knife, will stab? Well she ain't stabbing no more, not with her being dead and all. Maisie the undead werewolf isn't doing much better. She and blackbird are running cons to stay alive.

So what happened to Dancy's knife? Therein lies a tale...

We've seen The Baliff before in Alabaster: Pale Horse, but Hunter and Carson appear to be new characters.

Daniel Warren Johnson is new to this series. Not familiar with his work, but it's good here. Carlos Badilla has done plenty of work for Dark Horse before, so everything is colored perfectly. Never any confusion about what's going on.

This is a great book, and I really hope it doesn't end here.

[Danijel Jedriško · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Alabaster" had so much potential, but it isn't fulfilled. Why is that? First of all, I'd like to think that every character has its motives, meaning and purpose if we're looking story as a whole. However, here characters are victims of their own mental processes and, if we're speaking about storytelling, their actions don't have any sense. We've seen much better stories about victims, demons and hell. Hell, we've seen much better stories about personal hell too.

Alabaster is pleasant summer read, just isn't one of the good ones.

[Drew Canole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read because it's an early Daniel Warren Johnson comic, 2 years before Extremity. It's good artwork, at times great, but mostly just professional level without much of the flair I associate with DWJ.

The story? There's too much going on. Some thugs out of a Tarantino movie resurrect an albino girl from the underworld. The girl works as a fake medium using her intelligent blackbird to help with the ruse. The thugs kidnap her girlfriend in order to get something from her. A background of Greek mythology. There's two previous books so I was understandably a bit lost.

[M.i. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am unsure how to describe this book. It feels familiar, as does many books based on the South, in areas and places where the occult, makes for good stories. But it seems like there's so much backstory needed to make this truly effective, and in turn, we have gotten a snippet of what should be a larger piece.

[Justin Labelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s beautifully drawn and hauntingly poetic but I feel like I was dropped halfway through a much longer story and had little idea as to what was going on other than someone being stuck in a cycle, forced to reckon with the death of a loved one and a whole bunch of creatures and critters who can talk.

[Carson Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this because Daniel Warren Johnson did the artwork. Didn’t realize it was part of a series and definitely felt lost reading it. It has its moments, perhaps I’d rate it high having read the earlier books but also after reading this I’m not rushing out to look for the other books.

[Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting and seemingly without coherence. I had to pick up the next volume.

[Art · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess I'd go to a 3.5. Not quite a 4 for me. Maybe I need to go back and read the original prose stories that started this.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down to 3 stars. I enjoyed the story, I'm just not certain I understand it, and that's bugging me a little bit.

[Hannah]

The train has run off the tracks.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was unfamiliar with the Alabaster series when I read this. I was somewhat lost at first as it feels like we're starting off in the middle of a story and not the beginning of one. The art was great, nice and moody, fits perfectly into the tone of the story. This felt like a stopover in a larger story as opposed to a full story with a beginning, middle and end. But I am intrigues enough to seek out more of the series.

Received an advance copy from Dark Horse and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

[Silence · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can find this and other reviews at: owlsandvowels.org

Plot: Ever since Dancy died in a fire she’s been battling personal demons and trying to make her way towards some peace.

Review: Let’s do a pros and cons breakdown.

Pros:

It’s uniquely poetic. One thing that I really enjoy about Dark Horse is that they are not afraid to breakaway from the usual and take chances on a comic. Kiernan’s series isn’t your average bear, and I appreciate that. She is trying to breathe poetry, music, religion, and higher thought into her series. It isn’t easy to pull off in a comic, but she gives you some serious food for thought.
Kiernan has stellar taste in music. One little gem I enjoyed in this one was Kiernan’s musical Easter eggs. Throughout the volume she tags each segment with the music she has written it to. High five for adding First Aid Kit. I adore them.
It tackles the concept of grief. Grief is this messy thing that everyone approaches differently. It’s also something that I feel people don’t talk about as much as they should. Dancy’s saga rings true, and Kiernan handles this difficult topic with and openness and honesty that is to be admired.
Cons:

You really need to read the previous volumes. If you are new to Alabaster, this isn’t the place to start. Kiernan doesn’t dive into Dancy’s past enough to bring on new readers, nor is there any indication that there was an established before. You just have to be in the know.
The world building is off. This really ties into my previous comment about the necessity to read works that came before in the series. Throughout the course of the volume, we follow Dancy as she remembers her passing and her unwillingness to be called back once more. We see that there is a love interest that put her in the ground, and we see some psycho sisters with a mysterious agenda. What we don’t get is an explanation. It can be very hard to puzzle out who Dancy is or where she is going if you aren’t familiar with the series. Traditionally, writers will include some background to catch a new reader up to speed (and perhaps this will be in the final print, but I’m reading an ARC), but as it stands, you are simply thrown into her world. It makes it hard to connect and sympathize.
The artwork was hard to follow. Johnson has skill as an illustrator, and I liked his style, but the characters didn’t stand out as individuals to me. It left me having to double back and figure out who I was looking at.
As a whole, I like Kieran’s writing, and Dancy is a highly intriguing character, but this volume would be better served with the addition of content that will help new readers acclimate.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Who Should Snag It: Fans of Kiernan and Johnson’s previous works, or those who are invested fans of the series will enjoy this more than others.

*I would like to thank Edelweiss and the publisher for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review*

[Lizzy Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This makes me want to read other books about Dancy. Review forthcoming for Monster Librarian.

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

i definitely feel like this is a low point for the series, but then again i hate the particular style of plot twist they pulled at the end in literally any form of media. it was pretty good up until the last issue but i felt like she just didn't know how to end it and i would have rather had a real ending and maybe a 10 issue run or something like that rather than just rush through it.

[The Lost Dreamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sad story, but a really powerful tale. I really enjoyed the characters.