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Phonogram (Collected Editions) #1-3
Complete Phonogram
Collected in a single volume for the first time, the first critically beloved work from the creators of The Wicked + the Divine. Includes RUE BRITANNIA, THE SINGLES CLUB and THE IMMATERIAL GIRL, with RUE BRITANNIA coloured for the first time. The world where Music Is Magic has never looked better.
504 pages, Hardcover
First published April 12, 2017
18 people are currently reading
245 people want to read
About the author
Kieron Gillen
1,211 books1,911 followersKieron Gillen is a comic book writer and former media journalist.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
December 21, 2023
I am a 90s boy, so naturally growing up I festooned my walls with pictures of Lousie Wener and Justine Frischmann, picked a side in the Blur v. Oasis rivalry (I think we all know who – let's face it, Oasis fans aren't sitting around writing fucking book reviews), and am still unable to walk past a piano without banging out the opening bars of ‘Alright’ by Supergrass. So Phonogram is definitely written for me: it's focused very specifically, not on the 90s/00s music scene itself, but on looking back on those years, and trying to unpick the qualities of that scene from the embarrassment of considering our younger selves.
The gimmick here is that most of the central characters are ‘phonomancers’, wielders of a vague, undefined kind of magic which allows them to manipulate the feelings of power and possibility that come with listening to a killer track. The stories in Phonogram take place in indie clubs in London and Bristol, the text is shot through with Britpop quotations (many of which I'm sure I missed), the art borrows liberally from contemporary music videos and album covers, and the cast of characters comprises clubbers, DJs, dancers, wannabe musicians, Friday-nighters, and the general detritus of a British high street at 2 a.m. circa 1997. As someone who was sort of there, it was undeniably nice to see that scene front and centre in a story like this.
That said, I have to admit I don't take it half as seriously as the characters here do, and didn't even at the time. I was not nearly as cool as these people, and most of them, I suspect, would not have given me the time of day. There's a fine line between extolling great art and gatekeeping it and, inevitably, a lot of Phonogram ends up hinging on slagging off bands that the authors apparently don't rate. (One page consists entirely of a DJ's responses to requests. ‘OK…OK, sure. But what period Sugababes?’) You may find this vindicating or annoying, depending on your tastes: they're big on the Long Blondes and Kenickie, very down on Cast, Ocean Colour Scene and:
Don't we all, mate. Jamie McKelvie's art is, for me, functional rather than stunning; it's great to see, in this collected edition, some of the original ‘B-sides’ of the series which were drawn by guest artists – like Emma Vieceli's sensuous, wordless take on Kate Bush:
As for Kieron Gillen's writing, I still find it (as I did in the later, better known The Wicked + The Divine series) a bit unclear, and strangely focused. The magical metaphor in Phonogram never quite coheres as a useful device, and in fact the strongest moments are when it's dropped altogether. I think the best, most affecting piece of storytelling in here is the middle ‘album’, The Singles Club, which examines the events of one night at a club from the perspectives of six or seven different people: here, many of the supernatural effects are abandoned in favour of really heartfelt, powerful character work, and it's great.
Overall I found this a surprisingly heady trip into the past – which is emotional but, let's be honest, isn't always a wholly pleasant process. But it also sent me back to the music from that time, which has been on rotation here for days. Now that's a great side-effect for a comic to have.
April 6, 2017
Oi. Do you like Britpop? Did you like Britpop? Are you familiar with the psychogeographical pitches resonating through the shitholes of Camden? Did you have a dog in the Blur/Oasis fight? Were you mad for it? Did you think Luke Haines was more arch (and better, let's face it) than Brett Anderson?
Oh, and do you like magic(k)?
If the answer to any of those was affirmative, you're gonna love this book. And I mean love.
Phonogram was, sporadically, a three-volume, ten-year project. It roped together magic, goddesses and the deep spiritual power that's exerted when you hear your favourite fucking tune and the hairs on your arms pop up like antennae. Over the course of three volumes, Kieron Gillen's writing and Jamie McKelvie's art told the story of a coven of phonomancers - magicians working with musical tools - and of the ruins they leave in their somewhat stylish wakes.
(Some housekeeping early on: I haven't read this edition. I read (on ComiXology) the three trades that make up this edition. Goodreads didn't seem to have the three listed here when I was trying to keep records, so I opted for this edition. Still, I read the entire run of the series, which is what this hardback presents. Though some cursory research suggests, I'll be buying this version anyway because there's a newly-added Bowie reference. Oh, you pretty things.)
The first volume, Rue Britannia, deals with a falling-apart mage, David Kohl, ten years post-Britpop. The second volume, The Singles Club takes a different narrative approach and shows an evening as a club night Rashomon, reflected through the experiences of various characters in attendance. The third - a volume, The Immaterial Girl, that almost didn't come to be - provides a suitable conclusion to the series, told as a tale of what happens when power and perfection aren't enough.
I really don't want to spoil the narrative drive of the series, because I found myself consuming this with glee, and would hate to rob someone else of a similar joy. Suffice it to say that it's smart - or smartarse - and is more concerned with gettin' old than you would imagine, given the perennially youthful image of Britpop, all terylene and two fingers in the air. There's a lot in here about identity, and about the role music (and videos) play in the formation of same. From a magic viewpoint, there's a sort of Grant Morrison feeling to some of the ideas, but they seem less - well, less self-important than some stuff you'd find in something like The Invisibles, say.
(Though is that Morrison in there, early on, sucking the life-force out of dance floors? Hmm.)
The art is clean and crisp. It's detailed when it needs to be (and displays some finely restrained colouring) and it serves the story well. Honestly, the uniformity of design throughout the run is reassuring - in other comics where artists have rotated in and out, I've sometimes found it hard to fall through the page again; not so, here.
At its heart, Phonogram is a cluster bomb, just as the best Pulp songs are. It's at once silly and deeply sad, a world that you don't really belong in but that you understand almost instinctively. It makes you feel shit and great at the same time, and it's that tug-of-war between happiness and sadness that typifies, I think, the best Britpop. It's all over this work. If you've ever believed in the songs that saved your life, then you're a phonomancer too, kid.
Hop to it.
Oh, and do you like magic(k)?
If the answer to any of those was affirmative, you're gonna love this book. And I mean love.
Phonogram was, sporadically, a three-volume, ten-year project. It roped together magic, goddesses and the deep spiritual power that's exerted when you hear your favourite fucking tune and the hairs on your arms pop up like antennae. Over the course of three volumes, Kieron Gillen's writing and Jamie McKelvie's art told the story of a coven of phonomancers - magicians working with musical tools - and of the ruins they leave in their somewhat stylish wakes.
(Some housekeeping early on: I haven't read this edition. I read (on ComiXology) the three trades that make up this edition. Goodreads didn't seem to have the three listed here when I was trying to keep records, so I opted for this edition. Still, I read the entire run of the series, which is what this hardback presents. Though some cursory research suggests, I'll be buying this version anyway because there's a newly-added Bowie reference. Oh, you pretty things.)
The first volume, Rue Britannia, deals with a falling-apart mage, David Kohl, ten years post-Britpop. The second volume, The Singles Club takes a different narrative approach and shows an evening as a club night Rashomon, reflected through the experiences of various characters in attendance. The third - a volume, The Immaterial Girl, that almost didn't come to be - provides a suitable conclusion to the series, told as a tale of what happens when power and perfection aren't enough.
I really don't want to spoil the narrative drive of the series, because I found myself consuming this with glee, and would hate to rob someone else of a similar joy. Suffice it to say that it's smart - or smartarse - and is more concerned with gettin' old than you would imagine, given the perennially youthful image of Britpop, all terylene and two fingers in the air. There's a lot in here about identity, and about the role music (and videos) play in the formation of same. From a magic viewpoint, there's a sort of Grant Morrison feeling to some of the ideas, but they seem less - well, less self-important than some stuff you'd find in something like The Invisibles, say.
(Though is that Morrison in there, early on, sucking the life-force out of dance floors? Hmm.)
The art is clean and crisp. It's detailed when it needs to be (and displays some finely restrained colouring) and it serves the story well. Honestly, the uniformity of design throughout the run is reassuring - in other comics where artists have rotated in and out, I've sometimes found it hard to fall through the page again; not so, here.
At its heart, Phonogram is a cluster bomb, just as the best Pulp songs are. It's at once silly and deeply sad, a world that you don't really belong in but that you understand almost instinctively. It makes you feel shit and great at the same time, and it's that tug-of-war between happiness and sadness that typifies, I think, the best Britpop. It's all over this work. If you've ever believed in the songs that saved your life, then you're a phonomancer too, kid.
Hop to it.
August 25, 2018
Do you feel music can transport your soul to another plane? That it has a kind of magic? That's what Gillen and McKelvie are trying to capture here. What if that feeling you had in your teens and twenties when you loved a song so much it made your heart ache? When you had to just put it on repeat and listen to it over and over, it had a kind of magic. And what if people could tap into that magic?
This book is very British. I love a lot of Britpop and I still didn't get all the references. But that's the way with music, especially when the internet wasn't around to traverse those vast distances. Not everything made it to America, even to those searching for more. However, this is still about the love of music, and that's what I liked about it. Even as the characters hit their thirties and the passion dies a bit as one grows up and moves on to career and family.
Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson are an artistic dream team. Wilson takes McKelvie's crisp, clean lines and doesn't overdue it, providing just the right amounts of subtle colors.
This book is very British. I love a lot of Britpop and I still didn't get all the references. But that's the way with music, especially when the internet wasn't around to traverse those vast distances. Not everything made it to America, even to those searching for more. However, this is still about the love of music, and that's what I liked about it. Even as the characters hit their thirties and the passion dies a bit as one grows up and moves on to career and family.
Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson are an artistic dream team. Wilson takes McKelvie's crisp, clean lines and doesn't overdue it, providing just the right amounts of subtle colors.
February 13, 2021
Tapping out after the first six-issue story arc. My first time not finishing a book in...a LONG time. (Years?) This is just short of unbearably pretentious, though. At least the art was nice...
September 10, 2017
I have no idea what was going on during large parts of this book thanks to tons of insider references to obscure British pop stars and bands, an ill-defined magic system based on a devotion to music, and a lorry-load of British vernacular, but the dialogue and art still drew me along. This compendium peaks in the center volume, The Singles Club, which ditches the bizarre and pretentious plotting of the other sections for a series of fascinating character studies.
October 15, 2017
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.5 of 5
I read a fair number of graphic novels but I don't subscribe to any online sites or magazines that keep me informed of comic book and graphic novel trends or releases. The ARCs I receive tend to be my only source of information on what is out there. I've become pretty surprised at the quality of the graphic novels I've been reading and I've come across some unusual and stunning works. Case in point: The Complete Phonogram.
This 500+ page volume is certainly not for the graphic novel newbie. This book collects a large body of work written by Kieron Gillen and illustrated by Jamie McKelvie, all centered around the pop music world. And magic.
Imagine being a phonomancer - a person with the ability to manipulate music - to create magic through sounds. Now follow these people with this ability as they weave through the world, spells of music being cast and relationships built and dashed to a soundtrack of magic.
I was instantly caught in the spell of this book and I really seemed to identify with one of our central characters, David Kohl, who has passed his prime in the industry but still holds a reputation and interest in the music scene.
The music scene here tends to be the British pop club scene, but, while it might offend the Brits to say so, it's not really all that different from what I remember when I went to clubs on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood in the 1980's.
The sense that there's magic in music is not so far-fetched and this graphic novel takes that idea and pushes the envelope, making that magic just a little more real and a little more enticing.
The art here fits the story very nicely. It's not über realistic and it's not overly stylized. It's something in-between that catches the theme and works well with it.
This book was a real surprise for me. I knew nothing about it, but when I saw that it dealt with the music theme I knew it was something I wanted to look into. The size of it (504 pages) was daunting, and it did take me awhile to get through it, but part of that was because I really wanted to be able to give it my full attention.
I'll have to admit that there were times I didn't entirely understand what was going and I'd have to backtrack - it usually involved magic and who was wielding it and why.
Overall, this was a really wonderful voyage into what graphic novels can be - full of wild and weird and fun ideas. It is highly recommended.
Looking for a good book? The Complete Phonogram is a graphic novel that centers around music and magic and all that can happen within both, when humans are involved. It is weird and delightful and absorbing.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I read a fair number of graphic novels but I don't subscribe to any online sites or magazines that keep me informed of comic book and graphic novel trends or releases. The ARCs I receive tend to be my only source of information on what is out there. I've become pretty surprised at the quality of the graphic novels I've been reading and I've come across some unusual and stunning works. Case in point: The Complete Phonogram.
This 500+ page volume is certainly not for the graphic novel newbie. This book collects a large body of work written by Kieron Gillen and illustrated by Jamie McKelvie, all centered around the pop music world. And magic.
Imagine being a phonomancer - a person with the ability to manipulate music - to create magic through sounds. Now follow these people with this ability as they weave through the world, spells of music being cast and relationships built and dashed to a soundtrack of magic.
I was instantly caught in the spell of this book and I really seemed to identify with one of our central characters, David Kohl, who has passed his prime in the industry but still holds a reputation and interest in the music scene.
The music scene here tends to be the British pop club scene, but, while it might offend the Brits to say so, it's not really all that different from what I remember when I went to clubs on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood in the 1980's.
The sense that there's magic in music is not so far-fetched and this graphic novel takes that idea and pushes the envelope, making that magic just a little more real and a little more enticing.
The art here fits the story very nicely. It's not über realistic and it's not overly stylized. It's something in-between that catches the theme and works well with it.
This book was a real surprise for me. I knew nothing about it, but when I saw that it dealt with the music theme I knew it was something I wanted to look into. The size of it (504 pages) was daunting, and it did take me awhile to get through it, but part of that was because I really wanted to be able to give it my full attention.
I'll have to admit that there were times I didn't entirely understand what was going and I'd have to backtrack - it usually involved magic and who was wielding it and why.
Overall, this was a really wonderful voyage into what graphic novels can be - full of wild and weird and fun ideas. It is highly recommended.
Looking for a good book? The Complete Phonogram is a graphic novel that centers around music and magic and all that can happen within both, when humans are involved. It is weird and delightful and absorbing.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
September 9, 2019
I really wanted to like this. Fortunately, it likes itself enough for both of us.
May 25, 2020
Sadly did not work for me. I liked the second half better but overall didn’t connect or even understand a lot of it.
May 10, 2021
Si tengo que valorar a los autores de cómics que más me gustaron en los últimos años en los que coleccioné grapas y en los que llevaba los cómics de Marvel y DC al día, probablemente los que más me llamaron la atención fueron Jonahan Hickman y Kieron Gillen. De Hickman he comentado SHIELD, Cuatro Fantásticos, y ahora estoy con Vengadores, y de Gillen me parecieron muy chulas sus etapas en Thor, Viaje al Misterio y sobre todo en Jóvenes Vengadores. Pero es verdad que en estos años que han pasado desde Secret Wars me he desentendido bastante de los cómics, me he limitado a comprar material antiguo (Green Lantern, JSA, la Biblioteca Morrison...).Hasta DIE. Y leyendo algunas de las entrevistas de Kieron Gillen en DIE, la verdad es que me picó el gusanillo de leer algunas de las cosas que había escrito al margen de sus trabajos más superheróicos. Por supuesto, se trataba de Phonogram y de The Wicked + The Divine; y realmente a través de DIE también de forma tangencial he vuelto a leer otros cómics más nuevos, no superheróicos, pero sí recientes, como ya habéis ido viendo por las colecciones relacionadas con Sandman. El caso es que el otro día fui a mi librería de cabecera (Alcalá Cómics, por supuesto), y allí estaba Phonogram en la estantería, llamándome. Y caí.
Caí tanto que me he leído la colección completa en el fin de semana, y eso que el primer tomo, Rue Britannia, lo he leído dos veces. Porque me costó entrar, voy a ser sincero. Me costó entrar, leí casi hasta el final de Rue Britannia y volví a leerlo de nuevo desde el principio para continuar con los otros dos tomos siguientes, Singles Club y The Inmaterial Girl. Y me ha gustado muchísimo, a pesar de que sé que me estoy perdiendo mucho del contenido del cómic debido las continuas referencias musicales a un tipo de música que no entiendo de todo, el britpop de los años 90, que para mí, como víctima de los retromantes, se resume en Oasis y Blur. En fin.
Phonogram es una obra de magia urbana que nos habla de los fonomantes, hechiceros capaces de utilizar la música para obrar sus prodigios, pero que a su vez ven su propia personalidad definida por esa música que les da poder. Y para David Kohl, el protagonista de Rue Britannia y nuestro guía en el universo de Phonogram, esa música es, como he dicho, el pop británico de los años 90. Y ojo, no es que David sea un tipo especialmente simpático, quizá porque en ese movimiento han estado personajes tan desquiciantes como los hermanos Gallagher o Pete Doherty. Pero simpático o no, David Kohl es nuestro guía en este mundo de magos escondidos a plena vista, y en Rue Britannia, vamos a seguirle en su búsqueda de Britania, la encarnación del espíritu de la propia Gran Bretaña, una búsqueda encomendada por la propia Diosa, encarnación de todo lo femenino, y que es lo opuesto del falócrata David Kohl, lo que plantea ya el tipo de juego que nos van a presentar Kieron Gillen y su compañero, el dibujante James McKelvie (no hay palabras para decir lo bueno que es McKelvie en este tipo de historias, de verdad). A la búsqueda de David Kohl en el volumen 1 de la colección, le sigue un recopilatorio de siete historias cortas, Singles Club, en el que todas las historias tienen lugar una noche de domingo en un club cuya tercera norma es que nada de magia. Y aunque recupera a David Kohl, queda claro que Phonogram no es ni mucho menos la historia de David, sino que hay muchos más personajes con historias que contar: la bailarina Penny B, Mark "el Marqués", Lloyd (nunca será Logos), Laura Black, y los tres personajes que vienen de Rue Britannia, David, Emily y Chico con Cuchillo, nos muestran como es una noche de fonomantes en una trama que es un auténtico homenaje a la música en general y al britpop en particular; y que expresa aun mejor que cualquier historia larga qué es lo que Gillen y McKelvie nos están contando en Phonogram; y donde McKelvie tiene la posibilidad de hacer experimentos de lo más interesante. Y la historia acaba en The Inmaterial Girl, que se centra en Emily, personaje al que ya habíamos conocido en los números anteriores y que amplía el homenaje realizado por los autores al fascinante mundo de los primeros videoclips, con un especial peso en Take on Me, de A-Ha, y que es una cosa que me llamó mucho la atención de la contraportada del tomo, ya que es una canción y un vídeo que me encantan.
No quiero contar mucho más, porque creo que cada uno debe leer Phonogram desde su perspectiva, desde sus conocimientos y descubrirla poco a poco, trasladando sus propios sentimientos sobre la música a lo que está leyendo, y es que creo que sobre todo, Kieron Gillen y Jamie McKelvie nos están contando una historia épica y mágica sobre lo único mágico a lo que podemos mantener en el día a día... y que es la música.
Caí tanto que me he leído la colección completa en el fin de semana, y eso que el primer tomo, Rue Britannia, lo he leído dos veces. Porque me costó entrar, voy a ser sincero. Me costó entrar, leí casi hasta el final de Rue Britannia y volví a leerlo de nuevo desde el principio para continuar con los otros dos tomos siguientes, Singles Club y The Inmaterial Girl. Y me ha gustado muchísimo, a pesar de que sé que me estoy perdiendo mucho del contenido del cómic debido las continuas referencias musicales a un tipo de música que no entiendo de todo, el britpop de los años 90, que para mí, como víctima de los retromantes, se resume en Oasis y Blur. En fin.
Phonogram es una obra de magia urbana que nos habla de los fonomantes, hechiceros capaces de utilizar la música para obrar sus prodigios, pero que a su vez ven su propia personalidad definida por esa música que les da poder. Y para David Kohl, el protagonista de Rue Britannia y nuestro guía en el universo de Phonogram, esa música es, como he dicho, el pop británico de los años 90. Y ojo, no es que David sea un tipo especialmente simpático, quizá porque en ese movimiento han estado personajes tan desquiciantes como los hermanos Gallagher o Pete Doherty. Pero simpático o no, David Kohl es nuestro guía en este mundo de magos escondidos a plena vista, y en Rue Britannia, vamos a seguirle en su búsqueda de Britania, la encarnación del espíritu de la propia Gran Bretaña, una búsqueda encomendada por la propia Diosa, encarnación de todo lo femenino, y que es lo opuesto del falócrata David Kohl, lo que plantea ya el tipo de juego que nos van a presentar Kieron Gillen y su compañero, el dibujante James McKelvie (no hay palabras para decir lo bueno que es McKelvie en este tipo de historias, de verdad). A la búsqueda de David Kohl en el volumen 1 de la colección, le sigue un recopilatorio de siete historias cortas, Singles Club, en el que todas las historias tienen lugar una noche de domingo en un club cuya tercera norma es que nada de magia. Y aunque recupera a David Kohl, queda claro que Phonogram no es ni mucho menos la historia de David, sino que hay muchos más personajes con historias que contar: la bailarina Penny B, Mark "el Marqués", Lloyd (nunca será Logos), Laura Black, y los tres personajes que vienen de Rue Britannia, David, Emily y Chico con Cuchillo, nos muestran como es una noche de fonomantes en una trama que es un auténtico homenaje a la música en general y al britpop en particular; y que expresa aun mejor que cualquier historia larga qué es lo que Gillen y McKelvie nos están contando en Phonogram; y donde McKelvie tiene la posibilidad de hacer experimentos de lo más interesante. Y la historia acaba en The Inmaterial Girl, que se centra en Emily, personaje al que ya habíamos conocido en los números anteriores y que amplía el homenaje realizado por los autores al fascinante mundo de los primeros videoclips, con un especial peso en Take on Me, de A-Ha, y que es una cosa que me llamó mucho la atención de la contraportada del tomo, ya que es una canción y un vídeo que me encantan.
No quiero contar mucho más, porque creo que cada uno debe leer Phonogram desde su perspectiva, desde sus conocimientos y descubrirla poco a poco, trasladando sus propios sentimientos sobre la música a lo que está leyendo, y es que creo que sobre todo, Kieron Gillen y Jamie McKelvie nos están contando una historia épica y mágica sobre lo único mágico a lo que podemos mantener en el día a día... y que es la música.
March 24, 2018
I really could not have cared less about this in general, but the "Immaterial Girl" arc was pretty enjoyable.
July 13, 2017
It took me just over a month to read this since I've been really busy with work and home life lately. I'm kind of glad I did read it in small bites. I think if I read it in a few straight shots, I would have given less stars, or not appreciated the story as much. I decided to read this solely because I loved this teams work with Wicked & Divine. You can clearly see some elements carried over from this earlier work to Wicked/Divine.
The Complete Phonogram includes three stories, each running 6-7 comics long. This is the type of comic you can read and everything goes over you. I'm not going to lie, I probably missed a lot of the inside jokes/comments but I'm fairly well versed with music Britpop and otherwise to have enjoyed enough of the stories. I would say all three stories are well done, equally as enjoyable, and work hand in hand in building the universe Gillen imagined. I have yet to be disappointed by Gillen (I've read his work with Wicked/Divine, Angela, Loki and Darth Vader and have loved it all).
Back to my earlier point...reading it in bits rather than one straight go...this helped me appreciate the stories quite a bit. I would think about the characters and narrative when I didn't have the book in my hands...I often had an 'aha' moment, realizing something I missed earlier. This made me enjoy the stories more and increased my anticipation every time I dove back in.
All in all, I would recommend this to someone who enjoys stories where you have to think. If you like being spoon fed everything, maybe give this a pass. I don't give away 5 stars easily, but for me this was an experience. I will definitely re-read this again.
The Complete Phonogram includes three stories, each running 6-7 comics long. This is the type of comic you can read and everything goes over you. I'm not going to lie, I probably missed a lot of the inside jokes/comments but I'm fairly well versed with music Britpop and otherwise to have enjoyed enough of the stories. I would say all three stories are well done, equally as enjoyable, and work hand in hand in building the universe Gillen imagined. I have yet to be disappointed by Gillen (I've read his work with Wicked/Divine, Angela, Loki and Darth Vader and have loved it all).
Back to my earlier point...reading it in bits rather than one straight go...this helped me appreciate the stories quite a bit. I would think about the characters and narrative when I didn't have the book in my hands...I often had an 'aha' moment, realizing something I missed earlier. This made me enjoy the stories more and increased my anticipation every time I dove back in.
All in all, I would recommend this to someone who enjoys stories where you have to think. If you like being spoon fed everything, maybe give this a pass. I don't give away 5 stars easily, but for me this was an experience. I will definitely re-read this again.
May 16, 2021
In the world of Phonogram music is a kind of magic and power that shape who people are and their world. It takes the idea that a song can change your life, the love, passion and transformational potential of those moments, and spins it into something marvelous.
With all that said I didn't love reading this collection. It took a couple of attempts to get into the rhythm of the story, and even then I found I had to go backwards and forward to weave the narratives together. There was a lack of coherence and details that was a barrier to me really connecting.
Still there was something in Phonogram that had immediate appeal. It's a story I want to be drawn into, something in it calls to the reader. I suspect a further reading will offering me a richer experience.
With all that said I didn't love reading this collection. It took a couple of attempts to get into the rhythm of the story, and even then I found I had to go backwards and forward to weave the narratives together. There was a lack of coherence and details that was a barrier to me really connecting.
Still there was something in Phonogram that had immediate appeal. It's a story I want to be drawn into, something in it calls to the reader. I suspect a further reading will offering me a richer experience.
January 13, 2022
It's an amazing way to talk about music, magic, changes and how is to grow up
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2022
Rue Britannia. I long passed Phonogram by, because I felt it likely that its Britpop focus would leave me stranded and confused. And, that's partly true: there's a lot of pop reference that is absolutely impenetrable. But, there's also an intriguing world of music magicians and modern-day goddesses that is very much of a piece with W+D, making this an interesting precursor. But, that's all a bit impenetrable too! [3+/5].
The Singles Club. This is every indie movie ever: a set of seven intersecting stories, all meeting with each other at a dance club. It's clever, it has interesting revelations, and it reveals these characters. But it's also got absolutely no plot [3/5].
The Immaterial Girl. This volume has a clearer conceit than the others, and it's kind of neat: woman gives up half her personality and realizes she's the half that's been given up. But it really doesn't go anywhere fast and eventually descends into the the abstract touchey-feeley nonsense that destroys a lot of stories that focus on magic. I loved the ending but it was a long time getting there [2+/5].
B-Sides. Largely pointless shorts [2/5].
I didn't read this for years because I thought I probably wasn't the audience, and having read it, I'm now certain that's the case. There's obviously magic for some readers in this, but I just got more and more bored by it the further I went. Alas.
The Singles Club. This is every indie movie ever: a set of seven intersecting stories, all meeting with each other at a dance club. It's clever, it has interesting revelations, and it reveals these characters. But it's also got absolutely no plot [3/5].
The Immaterial Girl. This volume has a clearer conceit than the others, and it's kind of neat: woman gives up half her personality and realizes she's the half that's been given up. But it really doesn't go anywhere fast and eventually descends into the the abstract touchey-feeley nonsense that destroys a lot of stories that focus on magic. I loved the ending but it was a long time getting there [2+/5].
B-Sides. Largely pointless shorts [2/5].
I didn't read this for years because I thought I probably wasn't the audience, and having read it, I'm now certain that's the case. There's obviously magic for some readers in this, but I just got more and more bored by it the further I went. Alas.
October 13, 2020
I loved “The Wicked + The Divine,” so naturally I wanted to check out “Phonogram.” It’s unmistakably the work of the same artists. I enjoyed this but I felt like I was missing some reference points to really get into it. In the first volume particularly, “Rue Brittania,” it launches right into the weirdness without prepping the reader for what to expect or what the rules of the world are. I also think an encyclopedic knowledge of rock music (and specifically Britpop) between 1980 and 2005 is borderline mandatory for understanding the emotional thrust of the series. I have a pretty decent knowledge of music, but many of the references left me scratching my head. There’s some lip service paid to decrying gatekeeping in music taste (echoes of “High Fidelity”) but ultimately the way Gillen et al present this story is its own form of gatekeeping.
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August 3, 2022You can start to see where WicDiv was born, in style, obsessions, and tics, but WicDiv wears it better. A little shaky on story, on magic, on flow, but some wonderful moments for the type of person who was obsessed with music. Probably a little better if you're as versed in a certain type of music as Gillen, otherwise there are a lot of references that will leave empty spots in the reading. Immaterial Girl was probably best of the sections.
May 30, 2019
First volume was tedious to read, I'm glad I checked out the complete series so I made myself keep going. The art and character development improved for the rest of it, so it became something more than a music snob inside joke.
March 2, 2020
I read the book The Complete Phonogram by Gillen Mckelvie Wilson Cowles. I decided to choose this book because it looked interesting and looked like it would be a good book to read. The author likely wrote this book because the same thing could have happened to him or because it would be interesting for the story.
This book was mostly about how this dude is trying to find or get back the love of his life and try to figure out ways to do that with magic and going to other dimensions. At the beginning, He tries to go into a club dosse finds a friend of his and they go out to explore for her. Towards the middle of the book a lot of pokky magic stuff goes down and there like possessed and luke the go to different dimensions. I don’t want to give away the ending, but you should know he still keeps on searching for her and others to get back to be with them.
I liked how this book was written because I could easily comprehend the book and it wasn't a very hard book. A line from the book that highlights this style of writing is “ I’m a mutation “ (pg.1 ). This line captures this writing style because that's what the whole book is about and how they want to get other people back. This book is similar to Deadpool (book, movie or other experience in your life) because they have a mutant and have to fight to save people and others.
I, personally, liked this book because it has multiple different stories and is different from other graphic novels and it is for mature people so i picked it and liked it because it was interesting and funny to have. Another reason I liked this book is because of all the facts and it pulls me in the redaer to give me the attention of the pictures and book and all the stories in that one book have a meanning and them. You should read this book if you like mysteries people with powers and some graohic stuff you should pick this book..
This book was mostly about how this dude is trying to find or get back the love of his life and try to figure out ways to do that with magic and going to other dimensions. At the beginning, He tries to go into a club dosse finds a friend of his and they go out to explore for her. Towards the middle of the book a lot of pokky magic stuff goes down and there like possessed and luke the go to different dimensions. I don’t want to give away the ending, but you should know he still keeps on searching for her and others to get back to be with them.
I liked how this book was written because I could easily comprehend the book and it wasn't a very hard book. A line from the book that highlights this style of writing is “ I’m a mutation “ (pg.1 ). This line captures this writing style because that's what the whole book is about and how they want to get other people back. This book is similar to Deadpool (book, movie or other experience in your life) because they have a mutant and have to fight to save people and others.
I, personally, liked this book because it has multiple different stories and is different from other graphic novels and it is for mature people so i picked it and liked it because it was interesting and funny to have. Another reason I liked this book is because of all the facts and it pulls me in the redaer to give me the attention of the pictures and book and all the stories in that one book have a meanning and them. You should read this book if you like mysteries people with powers and some graohic stuff you should pick this book..
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2021
"It's magic, Kohl. It only needs to make sense to me- and even then, only enough sense to get me out of bed in the morning."
Phonogram is a work that is wholly Kieron Gillen, for better or worse. It starts out incredibly niche and unapproachable, but with some bitter self-loathing humour and with its heart in the right place. Rue Britannia sets the pace for everything Gillen will do going forward- the idea of a cultural identity and the frightening prospect of aging are things that will occur again and again throughout his work. Then you have The Singles Club, an incredible series that takes a look at one night out at the club from seven different perspectives- each of them see music in a different way. If Rue Britannia was niche and hard to relate to, The Singles Club is a showcase of all the differeny things music can be. An escape, a crutch, an anchor, a good time... it's all of it! Then years later the team reunites for The Immaterial Girl which is one of the finest things Kieron Gillen has ever written. The glitz and glammer of the 80s, the regretful feeling that you've wasted your life, the joys of discovering something new (music, life experiences, whatever). Everything comes together in the end.
Phonogram isn't perfect- far from it. But it's imperfect in the same way that friendships are imperfect. The way any sort of relationship is imperfect. I love it all the more for its flaws, and it will always be there to help me up when I'm down. I'll hate it sometimes, but I'll always respect it and enjoy revisitting them and playing catch-up after all those months apart.
Phonogram is a work that is wholly Kieron Gillen, for better or worse. It starts out incredibly niche and unapproachable, but with some bitter self-loathing humour and with its heart in the right place. Rue Britannia sets the pace for everything Gillen will do going forward- the idea of a cultural identity and the frightening prospect of aging are things that will occur again and again throughout his work. Then you have The Singles Club, an incredible series that takes a look at one night out at the club from seven different perspectives- each of them see music in a different way. If Rue Britannia was niche and hard to relate to, The Singles Club is a showcase of all the differeny things music can be. An escape, a crutch, an anchor, a good time... it's all of it! Then years later the team reunites for The Immaterial Girl which is one of the finest things Kieron Gillen has ever written. The glitz and glammer of the 80s, the regretful feeling that you've wasted your life, the joys of discovering something new (music, life experiences, whatever). Everything comes together in the end.
Phonogram isn't perfect- far from it. But it's imperfect in the same way that friendships are imperfect. The way any sort of relationship is imperfect. I love it all the more for its flaws, and it will always be there to help me up when I'm down. I'll hate it sometimes, but I'll always respect it and enjoy revisitting them and playing catch-up after all those months apart.
November 6, 2017
Sometimes you meet a character, say, and that character strikes you as being a bit of an ass but you stick with it and before long you find yourself thinking that the character maybe isn't too bad. Then, by the end of the book you think he's great and then he hits you with a reference to Hole's "Beautiful Son" and you're like, "Dammit. I knew I liked you."
And that kind of sums up a lot of my feelings about Phonogram.
I know that I missed a lot because my musical knowledge is lacking and rusty but I also got enough to be heavily entertained. What do I know about Britpop? Not a whole hell of a lot but that didn't detract from my enjoyment, it just added some Googling in and I am all for learning stuff while I read.
Phonogram is a collection of comics built around phonomancers, who are basically music magicians. And while this system of magic is never really explained or gone into in any depth, that's absolutely fine. We all know that music can be magic and it's cool to see it actually portrayed that way. What you end up with are some stories about how much music matters and how things change and, really, about moving on and growing up a bit.
Yes, I grew to love Phonogram as much as I grew to love David Kohl and extra kudos for the mentions of my favorite band.
And that kind of sums up a lot of my feelings about Phonogram.
I know that I missed a lot because my musical knowledge is lacking and rusty but I also got enough to be heavily entertained. What do I know about Britpop? Not a whole hell of a lot but that didn't detract from my enjoyment, it just added some Googling in and I am all for learning stuff while I read.
Phonogram is a collection of comics built around phonomancers, who are basically music magicians. And while this system of magic is never really explained or gone into in any depth, that's absolutely fine. We all know that music can be magic and it's cool to see it actually portrayed that way. What you end up with are some stories about how much music matters and how things change and, really, about moving on and growing up a bit.
Yes, I grew to love Phonogram as much as I grew to love David Kohl and extra kudos for the mentions of my favorite band.
March 14, 2018
I found this collected comic very enjoyable. What a great way to experience a time and place in the great history of music and the countless ways youth may neglect the un-ageing monuments of intellect. It was light and playful with the mojo - the phonomancers and retromancers - if the whole thing was taken as a big series of ironic jokes, the results are lush. I don't know anything about Britpop. I think it's funny that part of the narrative, is 'why didn't we span the globe?' and I listened to many of the groups for the first time to get a sense of it. What probably happened is American music industry got sick of sharing airspace with UK acts and built a protectionist wall. I don't think much of any of it reached us. Business wants to be the only service, not the best and most comprehensive or competitive! That was fun. It's always a win when I can't truly relate to any of the characters but still find the story interesting and reflective. Feeling is where the mutuals dance. Part showing how memory is a kind of dream material, and at the same time, it was a fully adult memoir.
August 28, 2018
I read this on a recommendation from a friend, who usually has pretty good taste. I've read Wicked+Divine, so I was going in with high hopes.
As someone who knows little to nothing about music, I think that I missed out on a lot here. Out of the myriad of bands listed in this book, I think I've heard of about three of them. So already, a lot of stuff is going over my head.
Also, there's never a clear explanation of how this magic works or really what a phonomancer is. Clearly, someone with music magic. But.....they never really use their magic? Except when they want to get into clubs or have someone play their request. I have no idea how the magic system works in this world, and no, I never take "it's just magic," as an answer.
My favorite story would have to be The Singles Club, where it focuses on different characters over the course of one evening. It was a more low key story that was more about fleshing out these characters than telling an enticing story.
I really wished I liked this story more, considering I kept my friend's copy for more than a year and a half.
As someone who knows little to nothing about music, I think that I missed out on a lot here. Out of the myriad of bands listed in this book, I think I've heard of about three of them. So already, a lot of stuff is going over my head.
Also, there's never a clear explanation of how this magic works or really what a phonomancer is. Clearly, someone with music magic. But.....they never really use their magic? Except when they want to get into clubs or have someone play their request. I have no idea how the magic system works in this world, and no, I never take "it's just magic," as an answer.
My favorite story would have to be The Singles Club, where it focuses on different characters over the course of one evening. It was a more low key story that was more about fleshing out these characters than telling an enticing story.
I really wished I liked this story more, considering I kept my friend's copy for more than a year and a half.
January 31, 2018
Kieron Gillen is one of those writers who normally frustrates me. He'll start off brilliantly (Uber, The Wicked and the Divine) and then things get kinda repetitive. Phonogram is a complete story arc. I didn't get what was going on in the first read-through. On the second, things clicked into place including the reasons for Britpop being the driving force. I was not familiar with Britpop before I read this and went on YouTube to find out more. There is some really great music there--The Pipettes "Pull Shapes" and "It's not Love (but it's a feeling)", Long Blondes' "Once and Never Again." A pretty enjoyable read even if the references may mean more to Britons in their thirties. There are long leaps forward and backward that make sense in the context of the story and the art does a good job of providing the visual clues to tell you when you are. In all, a pleasant surprise--although most of the characters are thorny and morose, they seem suited to the tale.
October 13, 2017
so, starting is the hardest part. and starting here is difficult because it signifies that it's over. and truthfully i didn't want it to end. it's why it took me so long. i kept going back and rereading, re-digesting, just staring at some of the art. making instagram posts from the book. this has truly become my favorite graphic novel. and that's saying a great deal because stuff like Blankets and Kabuki exists. for years i've been trying to create a story that so effortlessly integrated music into the plot(of course i was trying to do it inside a time travel plot) but Phonogram does that gracefully by inovking memory as a kind of time travel. really beautiful. and if you're a fan of music and comics then there really isn't anything else for you. this is it. magic!
January 16, 2018
https://osrascunhos.com/2018/01/15/th...
Eis o predecessor do The Wicked + The Divine! Reunindo a mesma equipa explora os poderes que advém da música criando magos e deuses urbanos capazes de manipular o pequeno conjunto de adoradores que consegue reunir. Não só manipulam como os seus próprios poderes divinos advém deste grupo de seguidores.
Depois de uma curta aventura de um dos principais magos da música que acaba com as sombras de uma deusa mal reencarnada, é-nos apresentado um conjunto de diferentes perspectivas sobre uma mesma noite. Cruzam-se influências e poderes diferentes, mostrando-se como alguns se mantém presos nas suas capacidades enquanto seguem, como sombras as dos outros.
A maioria dos episódios são acompanhados por letras de música que se contextualizam na história e lhe conferem um pouco da sua própria força – temos alguma música pop, alguma música alternativa ou indie. Não faltam as referências obscuras a canções que dão novos sentidos à história e que aconselho a ouvir em paralelo com a leitura.
Ainda que possua todos estes elementos, não foi uma leitura que me tivesse agradado especialmente. O ambiente é soturno e as personagens são um conjunto de manipuladores egoístas que têm algum motivo para todas as acções que efectuam. As excessivas referências exteriores tornam, por vezes, a leitura lenta ou, caso não se tentem perceber, desinteressante.
Existem algumas experiências narrativas interessantes, como a percepção de um mesmo episódio por diferentes perspectivas, ou, no final, a apresentação de pequenas histórias, paralelas, centradas em personagens menores. A história tem alguns momentos que me captaram, sobretudo na forma como usa a música e as várias vertentes que a envolvem (como a dança) para gerar poder e manipulação mas, no conjunto, está longe de ser uma grande leitura.
Eis o predecessor do The Wicked + The Divine! Reunindo a mesma equipa explora os poderes que advém da música criando magos e deuses urbanos capazes de manipular o pequeno conjunto de adoradores que consegue reunir. Não só manipulam como os seus próprios poderes divinos advém deste grupo de seguidores.
Depois de uma curta aventura de um dos principais magos da música que acaba com as sombras de uma deusa mal reencarnada, é-nos apresentado um conjunto de diferentes perspectivas sobre uma mesma noite. Cruzam-se influências e poderes diferentes, mostrando-se como alguns se mantém presos nas suas capacidades enquanto seguem, como sombras as dos outros.
A maioria dos episódios são acompanhados por letras de música que se contextualizam na história e lhe conferem um pouco da sua própria força – temos alguma música pop, alguma música alternativa ou indie. Não faltam as referências obscuras a canções que dão novos sentidos à história e que aconselho a ouvir em paralelo com a leitura.
Ainda que possua todos estes elementos, não foi uma leitura que me tivesse agradado especialmente. O ambiente é soturno e as personagens são um conjunto de manipuladores egoístas que têm algum motivo para todas as acções que efectuam. As excessivas referências exteriores tornam, por vezes, a leitura lenta ou, caso não se tentem perceber, desinteressante.
Existem algumas experiências narrativas interessantes, como a percepção de um mesmo episódio por diferentes perspectivas, ou, no final, a apresentação de pequenas histórias, paralelas, centradas em personagens menores. A história tem alguns momentos que me captaram, sobretudo na forma como usa a música e as várias vertentes que a envolvem (como a dança) para gerar poder e manipulação mas, no conjunto, está longe de ser uma grande leitura.
November 24, 2025
Music is magic.
In the phonogram series we see what it’s like to use music as your source of magic. We meet a variety of characters that do just that. Some worship pop stars like gods, others dance til they can’t soak up anymore energy. I think my favorite part of this series was the different types of self discovery and recovery. I think you do need to know a bit of the early 2000s indie music scene or 80s music videos to understand the references. But if you keep an open mind, and ear, this series can do a lot of wild things for ya. Art was great, writing was great. My only complaint was more about the book format than anything else. I wish that the one off stories were aligned with the original issue they were in instead of back matter…
In the phonogram series we see what it’s like to use music as your source of magic. We meet a variety of characters that do just that. Some worship pop stars like gods, others dance til they can’t soak up anymore energy. I think my favorite part of this series was the different types of self discovery and recovery. I think you do need to know a bit of the early 2000s indie music scene or 80s music videos to understand the references. But if you keep an open mind, and ear, this series can do a lot of wild things for ya. Art was great, writing was great. My only complaint was more about the book format than anything else. I wish that the one off stories were aligned with the original issue they were in instead of back matter…
February 4, 2018
Wow! A multi-faceted dive into a world where music is magic, and the story of how a group of characters use that magic for sometimes selfish, sometimes altruistic reasons. What's super fascinating about this collected volume is watching the writer and artist grow more confident in their storytelling over the years - by the time you get to the last arc, The Immaterial Girl, they are firing on all cylinders and come up with as perfect an ending as such a loose "series" could probably pull off. This is probably the closest thing I've read to Grant Morrison's Invisibles, and that is the highest praise I can give it.
May 5, 2023
Definitely fun to read something like this and see the writer improve as time goes by. Kieron Gillen is nothing if not breathlessly enamoured with the things he writes about, and the ever growing nostalgia across Phonogram certainly adds to the frenetic insistence that everything happening in its pages carries Deep Significance. Maybe I only allowed this the full three stars because the period it's jonesing after was deeply formative to me.
Overall, this reads like a first draft of what would eventually become WicDiv. Certainly, all the pieces are there. The Immaterial Girl arc is far and away the best thing here but make sure to read everything else so it makes sense first.
Overall, this reads like a first draft of what would eventually become WicDiv. Certainly, all the pieces are there. The Immaterial Girl arc is far and away the best thing here but make sure to read everything else so it makes sense first.
March 29, 2023
The more i read this thing, the more i love it. Idk what it is about this or about me but the main idea behind it, the simple plot point of "Music IS magic." gets it so right in this comic. From how the hipster better than thou music wizards behave, judging and scoffing at everyone else's bad tastes while they themselves grow older every day, trying to hold on to a time and music escaping them; to the younger generation of music obsessives, creating new haunts and incantations to get through their youth unscathed, and hope to the music gods that they don't end up like THEM.
Woo-hoo.
Woo-hoo.
June 18, 2017
I bet if I read this at any other time before the last couple of years, you know, while in my current music funk, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more. Although, I did listen to a lot of Britpop during that first volume, and the playlist for Volume 2 that Gillen posted. I just think 2006 me would have been all over this and its very subtle music references, while current me just does not have the time for it. That said, still love the dream team of Gillen/McKelvie.
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