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Roughneck: Um Tipo Duro
Os dias de glória de Derek Ouelette já acabaram, e a sua carreira de jogador de hóquei terminou em desgraça há mais de uma década, depois de um incidente violento sobre o gelo. Desde então, vive da sua reputação, na pequena vila do Norte remoto do Canadá onde nasceu, sempre a beber demais e a envolver-se em rixas com quem o ofenda. Mas não contou com o regresso da sua irmã Beth, que aparece um dia vinda do nada, a fugir de um namorado abusivo. Os dois irmãos escondem-se numa cabana isolada na floresta, numa tentativa de se voltarem a conhecer, e de exorcizar os terríveis segredos do seu passado... enquanto o ex-namorado de Beth a persegue e se aproxima, ameaçando lançar Derek e Beth de novo numa espiral de destruição para o mundo que eles estão desesperadamente a tentar deixar para trás.
Ao mesmo tempo comovente e angustiante, Roughneck é uma obra-prima de um dos maiores criadores de banda desenhada contemporâneos - uma história profundamente tocante de família e dos seus passados e segredos, e do desejo de quebrar um ciclo de violência, qualquer que seja o preço.
Os leitores portugueses já tiveram a oportunidade de descobrir a obra de Jeff Lemire e a sua imensa versatilidade como escritor de vários géneros, desde super-heróis (Velho Logan ou Black Hammer), passando pelo space opera (Descender) ou pelo terror (Gideon Falls), e com este livro podem descobrir o seu lado mais humano, como cronista da vida do dia a dia nas paisagens vastas da América e do grande norte do Canadá. A acção decorre na isolada e perdida vila canadiana de Pimitamon, que significa na língua Cree “encruzilhada”, palavra que resume de modo perfeito o novelo de escolhas e de caminhos possíveis que os protagonistas terão de resolver, na sua viagem pelo seu passado atormentado, presente angustiante, e possível futuro. Roughneck representou para o autor um regresso aos temas que o tinham tornado famoso no início da sua carreira, com obras como Essex County, e é uma lição magistral de narrativa sequencial, uma história poderosa sobre a tragédia humana, e também sobre a esperança e a redenção sob todas as suas formas.
Ao mesmo tempo comovente e angustiante, Roughneck é uma obra-prima de um dos maiores criadores de banda desenhada contemporâneos - uma história profundamente tocante de família e dos seus passados e segredos, e do desejo de quebrar um ciclo de violência, qualquer que seja o preço.
Os leitores portugueses já tiveram a oportunidade de descobrir a obra de Jeff Lemire e a sua imensa versatilidade como escritor de vários géneros, desde super-heróis (Velho Logan ou Black Hammer), passando pelo space opera (Descender) ou pelo terror (Gideon Falls), e com este livro podem descobrir o seu lado mais humano, como cronista da vida do dia a dia nas paisagens vastas da América e do grande norte do Canadá. A acção decorre na isolada e perdida vila canadiana de Pimitamon, que significa na língua Cree “encruzilhada”, palavra que resume de modo perfeito o novelo de escolhas e de caminhos possíveis que os protagonistas terão de resolver, na sua viagem pelo seu passado atormentado, presente angustiante, e possível futuro. Roughneck representou para o autor um regresso aos temas que o tinham tornado famoso no início da sua carreira, com obras como Essex County, e é uma lição magistral de narrativa sequencial, uma história poderosa sobre a tragédia humana, e também sobre a esperança e a redenção sob todas as suas formas.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published April 18, 2017
46 people are currently reading
2061 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Lemire
1,393 books3,874 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 613 reviews
April 7, 2020
Some of Lemire's best indie, creator-owned non-sci-fi, realistic comics: Essex County, The Underwater Welder, The Secret Path.
Some great sci-fi indie comics: Sweet Tooth, Descender, Trillium.
I love all that stuff, focused as it is very often on relationships, poverty, fathers and sons, family, isolation, grief and loss.
Then there are his Big House sci-fi comics, most of which I really don't like much, though I am now also reading the Black Hammer, and though it features a group of aging superheroes, liking it (it's like a combination of Essex County and superhero comics, in a way).
Roughneck marks a (triumphant!) return to Essex County-type territory. It's about an ex-hockey great, an "enforcer" (which means he's often the most violent player), Derek Ouelette, living in a small town in northern Ontario, Pimitamon (Cree for "Crossroads"), slinging hash, his career cut short for violence, though he's still angry, and a drunk, and still violent.
So Derek is a mess. And one day Derek's sister, Beth, shows up, also a mess, hooked on oxy, having escaped a violent boyfriend, but also pregnant. Together Derek and Beth want to face their messed up past, confront their violent heritage. The odds are clearly against them. This is not a sweet romanticized tale. At one point Beth finds and confronts her (violent and abusive) father. Not pretty, but necessary.
The artwork from Lemire fits his tale perfectly. Some full pages are stunning, many of them wordless, (though the dialogue in this is pitch perfect, also one of its strengths, tight-lipped, noirish talk in a lean, stripped-down environment). One feature of the coloring is that the present is muted, pale blue and gray, but the past! The past is full color, which is to say that it is more real than the present, as it shapes their daily lives every moment, more real than anything. There's wonderful (wordless, quiet) work that Lemire does in painting bleak northern woods settings, double page spreads. There's a dog always pursuing Derek, an image that sort of haunts Derek everywhere. Is it even real?
One full page, featuring the killing of a moose, reverberates through the story and figures in the conclusion, powerfully and evocatively. The story could be seen as just a mess of cliches, but Lemire's images move a simple, sad story into tragic significance, filled with possibilities.
I like minimalistic, dark tales, Raymond Carver-ish, so I loved this. It's dark, but not hopeless, good things happen, around family, around the relationship of Beth and Derek. This is one of my favorite comics of the year, and one of my favorite books of the year, period. A powerful and compassionate literary experience, fully realized in comics, Lemire at the top of his game. And no superheroes required!
Here's one of those publisher videos showing you images from the book:
http://www.simonandschuster.com/books...
Some great sci-fi indie comics: Sweet Tooth, Descender, Trillium.
I love all that stuff, focused as it is very often on relationships, poverty, fathers and sons, family, isolation, grief and loss.
Then there are his Big House sci-fi comics, most of which I really don't like much, though I am now also reading the Black Hammer, and though it features a group of aging superheroes, liking it (it's like a combination of Essex County and superhero comics, in a way).
Roughneck marks a (triumphant!) return to Essex County-type territory. It's about an ex-hockey great, an "enforcer" (which means he's often the most violent player), Derek Ouelette, living in a small town in northern Ontario, Pimitamon (Cree for "Crossroads"), slinging hash, his career cut short for violence, though he's still angry, and a drunk, and still violent.
So Derek is a mess. And one day Derek's sister, Beth, shows up, also a mess, hooked on oxy, having escaped a violent boyfriend, but also pregnant. Together Derek and Beth want to face their messed up past, confront their violent heritage. The odds are clearly against them. This is not a sweet romanticized tale. At one point Beth finds and confronts her (violent and abusive) father. Not pretty, but necessary.
The artwork from Lemire fits his tale perfectly. Some full pages are stunning, many of them wordless, (though the dialogue in this is pitch perfect, also one of its strengths, tight-lipped, noirish talk in a lean, stripped-down environment). One feature of the coloring is that the present is muted, pale blue and gray, but the past! The past is full color, which is to say that it is more real than the present, as it shapes their daily lives every moment, more real than anything. There's wonderful (wordless, quiet) work that Lemire does in painting bleak northern woods settings, double page spreads. There's a dog always pursuing Derek, an image that sort of haunts Derek everywhere. Is it even real?
One full page, featuring the killing of a moose, reverberates through the story and figures in the conclusion, powerfully and evocatively. The story could be seen as just a mess of cliches, but Lemire's images move a simple, sad story into tragic significance, filled with possibilities.
I like minimalistic, dark tales, Raymond Carver-ish, so I loved this. It's dark, but not hopeless, good things happen, around family, around the relationship of Beth and Derek. This is one of my favorite comics of the year, and one of my favorite books of the year, period. A powerful and compassionate literary experience, fully realized in comics, Lemire at the top of his game. And no superheroes required!
Here's one of those publisher videos showing you images from the book:
http://www.simonandschuster.com/books...
June 7, 2017
Derek Ouelette is a has-been hockey goon. Thrown out of professional hockey for allowing his rage to get the better of him, Derek lives in a small Canadian town spending most of his time surly drunk and picking fights with anybody. When his estranged junkie sister Bethy drops by, pregnant and addicted with a shiner from her drug-dealing boyfriend, the two must confront their shared past trauma together to find their future.
Yeah, fucking grim, eh? Roughneck is also Jeff Lemire’s best book in years.
Lemire entered comics with a fine debut in Lost Dogs but rightly made his name with the Essex County trilogy, a series of quietly compelling slice-of-life dramas strongly imbued with the character of his native Canada. They’re still my favourite Lemire comics and, after many years since then working for Marvel, DC and Image producing books of, ahem, varying quality (“Extraordinary X-Men” – what an ironic title!), I’m delighted that he’s returned to the style and genre of storytelling that he’s best at so successfully with this book. It’s probably because Roughneck could easily be a lost chapter to Essex County that I enjoyed it so much. That said, you needn’t have read anything by this guy before to appreciate it by itself – Roughneck is a standalone.
Lemire slowly peels back the layers of the story masterfully, introducing us to our thug protagonist and then showing us how he came to be, gradually making him a real and sympathetic person. Taken by themselves, the story is full of dramatic clichés – the deadbeat father, the drinking, the regret, the strained family relationships, abuse of many kinds – but Lemire skilfully combines these aspects, reconstituting them into something unique here. The beats of the story, the juggling between the past and the present, is brilliantly handled, effortlessly draws you in, holds the attention and is never boring.
I really liked the two small ambiguities subtly woven into the narrative that are left up to the reader’s interpretation: the dog who seems to haunt Derek could simply be a wild dog but could also represent his dead mother’s spirit, his spirit animal (he’s half-First Nation Aborigine), or something else – a representative of his true self? And the ending: did he die after all that or did he survive? The beauty of that ending though is that it doesn’t really matter; either way Derek found peace at last.
Roughneck also has some of Lemire’s finest art yet. The book is full of splash pages of gorgeous rural landscapes filled with moody, piercing watercolours that perfectly complement the tale, switching to full colour for the vivid flashbacks to match their intensity.
I loved it. It’s a sad but wholly satisfying and unputdownable read by an enormously gifted creator at the top of his game. Whatever my opinions on his work-for-hire, when it comes to his own books like Roughneck it’s undisputable that Jeff Lemire is a true master of the art-form, a powerfully original and singular voice and one of the most talented storytellers working in comics today. Roughneck is his latest masterpiece and easily one of the best comics of the year.
Yeah, fucking grim, eh? Roughneck is also Jeff Lemire’s best book in years.
Lemire entered comics with a fine debut in Lost Dogs but rightly made his name with the Essex County trilogy, a series of quietly compelling slice-of-life dramas strongly imbued with the character of his native Canada. They’re still my favourite Lemire comics and, after many years since then working for Marvel, DC and Image producing books of, ahem, varying quality (“Extraordinary X-Men” – what an ironic title!), I’m delighted that he’s returned to the style and genre of storytelling that he’s best at so successfully with this book. It’s probably because Roughneck could easily be a lost chapter to Essex County that I enjoyed it so much. That said, you needn’t have read anything by this guy before to appreciate it by itself – Roughneck is a standalone.
Lemire slowly peels back the layers of the story masterfully, introducing us to our thug protagonist and then showing us how he came to be, gradually making him a real and sympathetic person. Taken by themselves, the story is full of dramatic clichés – the deadbeat father, the drinking, the regret, the strained family relationships, abuse of many kinds – but Lemire skilfully combines these aspects, reconstituting them into something unique here. The beats of the story, the juggling between the past and the present, is brilliantly handled, effortlessly draws you in, holds the attention and is never boring.
I really liked the two small ambiguities subtly woven into the narrative that are left up to the reader’s interpretation: the dog who seems to haunt Derek could simply be a wild dog but could also represent his dead mother’s spirit, his spirit animal (he’s half-First Nation Aborigine), or something else – a representative of his true self? And the ending: did he die after all that or did he survive? The beauty of that ending though is that it doesn’t really matter; either way Derek found peace at last.
Roughneck also has some of Lemire’s finest art yet. The book is full of splash pages of gorgeous rural landscapes filled with moody, piercing watercolours that perfectly complement the tale, switching to full colour for the vivid flashbacks to match their intensity.
I loved it. It’s a sad but wholly satisfying and unputdownable read by an enormously gifted creator at the top of his game. Whatever my opinions on his work-for-hire, when it comes to his own books like Roughneck it’s undisputable that Jeff Lemire is a true master of the art-form, a powerfully original and singular voice and one of the most talented storytellers working in comics today. Roughneck is his latest masterpiece and easily one of the best comics of the year.
January 19, 2019
Roughneck is cold, bleak, and borderline noir. It's drama with a crime fiction sensibility. Like Fargo in Canada. Lemire knocked it out of the park with this one.
Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but I can identify (probably too much) with Derek Oulette and his sister Beth. I was never an addict, never a fighter, but I do consider myself, upon difficult reflection, unsuccessful in my life so far. Not a failure, because that implies that my dreams have come and gone. But especially when you live in a small town, see the same people, you realize when you're the only one standing still.
This is not a happy book. It's not a total downer, but it's dark, violent, and forces you to reflect upon your own mistakes and shortcomings. But there's light at the end of the tunnel and the writing and rough illustrations are incredible.
September 5, 2017
Many of you might snicker at the fact that I've been reading comic books lately. Or at least just straight-up ignore the reviews. But those serious readers of rural grit lit authors like Daniel Woodrell, Benjamin Whitmer, and Ron Rash would definitely do well by checking out this recent graphic novel by the inimitable Jeff Lemire.
This multi-faceted work of art is a focused and personal drama focusing on Derek Ouellette, a disgraced hockey player turned violent, lonely drunk, and his efforts to reconnect with his estranged drug addict sister after she stumbles back into his life.
I'm so damn impressed by how much Lemire can do with so little. One of the things I LOVED LOVED LOVED the most about Roughneck was its lack of any narration, which is a convention used in almost every comic book/graphic novel I've read, and is mostly used too much as a crutch to help convey backstory and inner thought, since prose is usually not an option. But Lemire doesn't take the easy route and gives us just the amount of info we need through dialogue, expressions, and most important: imagery. It was so refreshing. And speaking of the imagery, Lemire really knows how to tell a story in visuals. There are great motifs here and the Canadian landscapes are rendered in cold, gray/blue tones, only broken by elements of memory, the past, by the things that haunt the characters, all depicted in saturated color.
Roughneck is about the choices you make: the choices in the past and the ones in the present, how they're intrinsically related, and how the time will come when you must come to terms with them. Pimitamon, the name of the fictional town where the book takes place, is the Cree word for "crossroad." Jeff Lemire seems to basically is in a class of his own in the comic book world and shows everyone else how to do it.
This multi-faceted work of art is a focused and personal drama focusing on Derek Ouellette, a disgraced hockey player turned violent, lonely drunk, and his efforts to reconnect with his estranged drug addict sister after she stumbles back into his life.
I'm so damn impressed by how much Lemire can do with so little. One of the things I LOVED LOVED LOVED the most about Roughneck was its lack of any narration, which is a convention used in almost every comic book/graphic novel I've read, and is mostly used too much as a crutch to help convey backstory and inner thought, since prose is usually not an option. But Lemire doesn't take the easy route and gives us just the amount of info we need through dialogue, expressions, and most important: imagery. It was so refreshing. And speaking of the imagery, Lemire really knows how to tell a story in visuals. There are great motifs here and the Canadian landscapes are rendered in cold, gray/blue tones, only broken by elements of memory, the past, by the things that haunt the characters, all depicted in saturated color.
Roughneck is about the choices you make: the choices in the past and the ones in the present, how they're intrinsically related, and how the time will come when you must come to terms with them. Pimitamon, the name of the fictional town where the book takes place, is the Cree word for "crossroad." Jeff Lemire seems to basically is in a class of his own in the comic book world and shows everyone else how to do it.
June 10, 2017
This is the type of Jeff Lemire that I love most: the intimate and unabashedly Canadian. Lemire's storytelling in Roughneck harkens back to the best of his seminal work, Essex County, even if it never quite reaches the highs of that trilogy.
Set in the rural northern Ontario town of Pimitamon, Roughneck follows former NHL player Derek Ouelette fallen on hard times. He's been kicked out of the NHL and spends his nights drinking at the local Pit Stop and picking fights with anyone who crosses him. Lemire does some great work capturing the gruff, frustrating, and violent nature of Derek in a way that at first makes him off-putting but gives way to sympathy as the story progresses. It's when Derek's long-lost sister returns to Pimitamon fleeing her abusive boyfriend that the story really begins to take off.
Though the entire graphic novel took no more than 90 minutes to get through, its retail value is in its re-readability and appreciation of Lemire's art. I remember Essex County having a much starker palette and heavier line-work than Lemire's latest. Roughneck sees Lemire stretching his talent in new directions, using rougher lines and playing with some great looking watercolour. Though most of the book takes place in shades of blue, I'd guess that 15-20% is in the complete colour saved for flashbacks.
Though I don't have my copy of Essex County at hand, I'd hazard a guess that this is the prettier book. Lemire's years of experience show through his ability to create some of the most kinetic pan-ins I've seen in quite some time (see above). I also love the way in which Lemire uses repetition of Derek cracking eggs to covey drudgery, but also uses the same technique over the entire graphic novel to slowly build symbolism through imagery alone. Here again, Lemire shows off his comfort with long silences. I found that this made for a more engaging reading experience: when I saw Derek repeatedly stare down a dog throughout the story I contemplated what could be going through his mind using only Lemire's art.
This story of perpetual familial violence is also one of healing. There is an non-oppressive undertone of Indigenous rights in Canada that adds to the story without making it the graphic novel's sole focus. Derek's struggle to break free of the cycle of toxic masculine violence is mirrored and inverted by his sister Beth's struggles. Amidst our two leads are the other compelling denizens of Pimitamon, and they too help to make the world a believable one.
I love Lemire's art, but I love this return to form much more. I was a fan of his run on Animal Man, and am presently enjoying his creator-owned Descender, but this is the type of Lemire story I most want to read. If you're a fan of Essex County you owe it to yourself to check this one out.
November 1, 2017
Lemire returns to both his indie comic and Canadian roots. Roughneck is reminiscent of other works like Essex County. It's the story of a washed up NHL enforcer and his runaway druggie sister. How they deal with a lifetime of abuse and loss. Lemire keeps the colors very muted except for flashbacks which are presented in full color. This thing is a tome and probably could have been edited down a few pages, but all in all, pretty snazzy.
July 21, 2017
Lemire strikes again! Brilliant book. This one goes right up there with Essex County as one of his best works, hands down. Beautiful, sad, devastating, and yet hopeful. Comic of the year? It may very well be.
April 10, 2017
Set in a cold and bleak Canadian town, Roughneck is the story of a retired hockey player trying to put his life back together.
The e-ARC I received is mostly black and white, (except for the first 15 pages or so, which have this nice, light blue, cold feeling to them), but from what I've read the final copy will be in color. For me though, the black and white worked quite well.
Derek Ouellette is trying to drown his sorrows in alcohol. Being that he already is a tough guy, the drinking doesn't bring out the best in him. Then, when his long lost sister Bethy shows up, (on the run from her latest abusive boyfriend), things get even worse. Derek tries to do the right thing, but can he make it happen? You'll have to read Roughneck to find out.
I've not heard of Jeff Lemire before, but I requested an ARC of this graphic novel based on the description alone. I'm so glad I did! I enjoyed the artwork, the isolation of the setting, and the realistic view of the characters. I'm not sure if there are going to be more books about Derek and his sister in the future, but if there are? Count me in!
Recommended for fans of cold, bleak settings and tough guy ex-NHL players that can drop the gloves and go in a second's time!
*Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery books for the free e-ARC of this graphic novel in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*
The e-ARC I received is mostly black and white, (except for the first 15 pages or so, which have this nice, light blue, cold feeling to them), but from what I've read the final copy will be in color. For me though, the black and white worked quite well.
Derek Ouellette is trying to drown his sorrows in alcohol. Being that he already is a tough guy, the drinking doesn't bring out the best in him. Then, when his long lost sister Bethy shows up, (on the run from her latest abusive boyfriend), things get even worse. Derek tries to do the right thing, but can he make it happen? You'll have to read Roughneck to find out.
I've not heard of Jeff Lemire before, but I requested an ARC of this graphic novel based on the description alone. I'm so glad I did! I enjoyed the artwork, the isolation of the setting, and the realistic view of the characters. I'm not sure if there are going to be more books about Derek and his sister in the future, but if there are? Count me in!
Recommended for fans of cold, bleak settings and tough guy ex-NHL players that can drop the gloves and go in a second's time!
*Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery books for the free e-ARC of this graphic novel in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*
March 7, 2025
PT Lemire já não deixa grandes dúvidas: qualquer trabalho seu parte com a garantia de qualidade.
Não é diferente neste "Roughneck", onde mais uma vez demonstra a sua mestria na narrativa visual.
Derek Ouelette é um tipo duro, filho de um pai violento, que aprendeu a resolver os seus problemas à força dos punhos. Quando a sua irmã reaparece na sua vida, carregando um novo fardo, ele tenta ajudá-la da única forma que conhece.
Apesar da sua violência, Derek é um homem de bom coração – apenas nunca lhe ensinaram outra maneira de enfrentar o mundo. No final, talvez nos surpreenda a todos.
Mais um excelente romance gráfico de Jeff Lemire. Como sempre, adoro as cores e a simplicidade do seu traço!
--
EN Lemire no longer leaves much room for doubt: any work of his comes with a guarantee of quality.
It’s no different with "Roughneck", where he once again showcases his mastery of visual storytelling.
Derek Ouelette is a tough guy, the son of a violent father, who learned to solve his problems with his fists. When his sister reappears in his life, carrying a new burden, he tries to help her in the only way he knows how.
Despite his violent nature, Derek has a good heart—he was simply never taught another way to face the world. In the end, he might just surprise us all.
Another excellent graphic novel by Jeff Lemire. As always, I love the colours and the simplicity of his linework!
Não é diferente neste "Roughneck", onde mais uma vez demonstra a sua mestria na narrativa visual.
Derek Ouelette é um tipo duro, filho de um pai violento, que aprendeu a resolver os seus problemas à força dos punhos. Quando a sua irmã reaparece na sua vida, carregando um novo fardo, ele tenta ajudá-la da única forma que conhece.
Apesar da sua violência, Derek é um homem de bom coração – apenas nunca lhe ensinaram outra maneira de enfrentar o mundo. No final, talvez nos surpreenda a todos.
Mais um excelente romance gráfico de Jeff Lemire. Como sempre, adoro as cores e a simplicidade do seu traço!
--
EN Lemire no longer leaves much room for doubt: any work of his comes with a guarantee of quality.
It’s no different with "Roughneck", where he once again showcases his mastery of visual storytelling.
Derek Ouelette is a tough guy, the son of a violent father, who learned to solve his problems with his fists. When his sister reappears in his life, carrying a new burden, he tries to help her in the only way he knows how.
Despite his violent nature, Derek has a good heart—he was simply never taught another way to face the world. In the end, he might just surprise us all.
Another excellent graphic novel by Jeff Lemire. As always, I love the colours and the simplicity of his linework!
May 27, 2017
A nice effort, but not particularly original or substantial. Sad and broken people live sad and broken lives punctuated by occasional violence and depressing flashbacks.
June 6, 2017
Yes. Everything I love about Lemire's work. Minimalist, rough style, and characters filled with human frailties.
10/10
10/10
February 8, 2024
Roughneck is a beautifully told standalone tale of a brother and sister’s quest to reconnect with one another and their cultural identity written and illustrated by the talented Jeff Lemire.
The story opens in the fictional small town of Pimitamon in northern Ontario, Canada, which means “crossroads” in Cree. This detail is important as it is symbolic of the theme of the story and recognizes the heritage of the main characters. We meet Derek Ouellette, a hulking former NHL player, who was kicked off his professional team for excessive violence on the ice. While he is a local legend, he is always on the defense for he is often baited by antagonistic men, eager to brag that they fought with the drunken brawler.
Derek has the support of Ray, a former childhood friend now turned police officer, and Al an older man who manages the ice rink in town. He will desperately need their help when his sister Beth comes back into town as she is addicted, pregnant and on the run from an abusive boyfriend. The siblings reconnect after many years apart, as teenage Beth had run away when Derek left to join the NHL. When Beth’s drug addiction issues come to a head, Al lets the siblings use his hunting cabin out in the bush, so Beth can detox. Alone for the first time in years, Derek and Beth reminisce about their childhood with a Cree mother and a drunken white father. Tragedy in their family shaped them into who they are now as adults, but both want to break free of the violence and despair that engulf them, thus the symbolic crossroads from earlier comes into play.
Lemire handles the storyline of Derek and Beth’s Cree heritage with grace and respect. The siblings began to appreciate their heritage and take some steps in reconnecting with their mother’s family. The reality of native families becoming disenfranchised from their cultural heritage is mirrored in the excellent book The Outside Circle, which also deals with First Nation individuals whose circles of community were broken which led to fragmenting generations of people with no connection to their tribe anymore. The ending is open to interpretation, and while I at first looked at it one way, re-reading it I see a more melancholy but poignant way of concluding the story.
The artwork is trademark Lemire, with sketchy and minimalist lines. Most of the story is in black and white with overlays of blue wash, which effectively shows the icy coldness of Canadian winters. There will be an occasional splash of red, showing the blood that Derek beats out of others. When the story has flashbacks to the sibling’s youth, more color is introduced, but with soft water-colored hues. He captures the feel of small towns with their varied local inhabitants and showcases the beauty of rural landscapes.
I enjoy much of Lemire’s work for Marvel, DC & Image, but it is his stories in Essex County and Roughneck that truly show his skill as an outstanding storyteller.
This review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2017/10/2...
The story opens in the fictional small town of Pimitamon in northern Ontario, Canada, which means “crossroads” in Cree. This detail is important as it is symbolic of the theme of the story and recognizes the heritage of the main characters. We meet Derek Ouellette, a hulking former NHL player, who was kicked off his professional team for excessive violence on the ice. While he is a local legend, he is always on the defense for he is often baited by antagonistic men, eager to brag that they fought with the drunken brawler.
Derek has the support of Ray, a former childhood friend now turned police officer, and Al an older man who manages the ice rink in town. He will desperately need their help when his sister Beth comes back into town as she is addicted, pregnant and on the run from an abusive boyfriend. The siblings reconnect after many years apart, as teenage Beth had run away when Derek left to join the NHL. When Beth’s drug addiction issues come to a head, Al lets the siblings use his hunting cabin out in the bush, so Beth can detox. Alone for the first time in years, Derek and Beth reminisce about their childhood with a Cree mother and a drunken white father. Tragedy in their family shaped them into who they are now as adults, but both want to break free of the violence and despair that engulf them, thus the symbolic crossroads from earlier comes into play.
Lemire handles the storyline of Derek and Beth’s Cree heritage with grace and respect. The siblings began to appreciate their heritage and take some steps in reconnecting with their mother’s family. The reality of native families becoming disenfranchised from their cultural heritage is mirrored in the excellent book The Outside Circle, which also deals with First Nation individuals whose circles of community were broken which led to fragmenting generations of people with no connection to their tribe anymore. The ending is open to interpretation, and while I at first looked at it one way, re-reading it I see a more melancholy but poignant way of concluding the story.
The artwork is trademark Lemire, with sketchy and minimalist lines. Most of the story is in black and white with overlays of blue wash, which effectively shows the icy coldness of Canadian winters. There will be an occasional splash of red, showing the blood that Derek beats out of others. When the story has flashbacks to the sibling’s youth, more color is introduced, but with soft water-colored hues. He captures the feel of small towns with their varied local inhabitants and showcases the beauty of rural landscapes.
I enjoy much of Lemire’s work for Marvel, DC & Image, but it is his stories in Essex County and Roughneck that truly show his skill as an outstanding storyteller.
This review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2017/10/2...
June 13, 2017
This book takes me back to 2007 when I bought 'Tales from the Farm', a touching graphic novel by a Canadian newcomer. After reading that book I mailed Lemire to get my hands on his self-published debut 'Lost Dogs' (which arrived two days later at my Belgian front-door accompanied by a beautiful drawing of the main character). I never could have imagined that he would achieve what he dreamed of : making comic books for DC (and eventually Marvel). Most of his output is crafted with love and dedication, this man knows how to make readers live the adventure along with the characters.
Anyway.... it's great to see that he can still pull off what made me fall in love with Lemire's work : the silent pain, the great characterization, the sparse but perfect dialogue,....man, it's Essex County all over again.
Anyway.... it's great to see that he can still pull off what made me fall in love with Lemire's work : the silent pain, the great characterization, the sparse but perfect dialogue,....man, it's Essex County all over again.
December 15, 2016
From the characters and the plot, to the setting and the atmosphere, "Roughneck" is unapologetically Canadian. Jeff Lemire's art is so distinct and humanistic, his voice and purpose so authentic, that it's hard to not be engaged and be emotionally affected by what he's conveying. A simple story of kinship and belonging, and of breaking out of a prescribed societal mold, "Roughneck" shows that life can be tough but there is a light at the end of the tunnel - fight for it.
January 23, 2025
I hate this comic. I love it, but I hate it at the same time. I hate how easy Lemire makes it look. I hate how he so easily makes you fall for these characters even with a measly 270 pages. And I especially hate how he can do it and put so many other comic book creators to shame. Lemire shows with Roughneck that you don't need over the top theatrics or superheroics to create a compelling piece of sequential art. Roughneck is Lemire in top form here, and it could be one of his greatest yet.
The main draw of Roughneck proves to be its characters, I am impressed in how Lemire can create such vivid characters and a well realized setting in such a short amount of time. Lemire has always had a thing for broken, haunted characters and the characters who populate this book are no different. Trauma and how people deal with it is a recurring theme in this book, and we see how even after we escape abusive situations, we have a harder time letting go of the abusive tendencies towards ourselves.
Yet where Roughneck is often at its most powerful is how it explores trauma's lasting effects on people. As much as Derek flies off the handle and beats anyone half to death who even mildly irritates him, it's clear that he's abusing himself. His pain has such deep claws in him that he's unable to express himself in any other way rather than violence, and he's too stuck in his ways to truly let go of his immense temper. Beth is probably more obvious with her trauma, as she keeps getting into bad situation after bad situation because of the lasting damage from her childhood. Yet unlike Derek, she seems to want to make a change and is aware that if she keeps at where she's at, it'll be far too late to back out.
If there is a message to be gleamed from Roughneck, it is how we face trauma through connecting with others and ultimately accepting that while the past can't be changed, the future can be. It is certainly a message that has been explored before, yet Lemire explores these themes with such depth and empathy that you remember why these stories are so good and are often powerful. Lemire's focus is always with the characters, and he never gets sappy or melodramatic with them. He allows these characters and their silly little struggles and lives to get us invested in them and reveals a strength that even they didn't know they had before.
Lemire's art style remains idiomatic. While I don't know if he's a skilled draughtsman as some of his collaborators such as Sorrentino and Nguyen, Lemire's style remains unique. I am particularly enamored with how he uses watercolor, which he played with in some of his other comics such as Royal City and The Underwater Welder, but I find he really perfected it here. The blue color palette adds to the melancholic atmosphere of the story, and how he uses full colors in the flashback sequences was truly impressive. I suppose there's nothing that beats the inspired artist.
Yet while this story mostly stays in the realism territory, Lemire introduces a slight element of the surreal into Roughneck, particularly with the ghostly dog that haunts Derek throughout the story. It's not quite as obvious as it was in The Underwater Welder, but Lemire always has a tight balance between the surreal and real in his work, and it never feels forced here. One could compare Lemire's style to David Lynch, though Lemire has a lighter touch with the surreal than Lynch. I could easily see this comic being turned into an excellent and preferably indie film (and if it does, be sure to get Nick Cave and Warren Ellis (the musician) to do the score for it.)
I remember not being as satisfied with the ending at first. I thought of his great work Sweet Tooth, and remembered how it had ended on such a perfect note, to the point where there was nothing else to say. The ending of Roughneck is more oblique, yet the more I thought about it over the years, I've grown to realize that it was the ending that this story deserved. For all of Derek and Beth's struggles and angst about the past, it was only fitting that they ended it by putting the past to rest and moving on to a better future, though ultimately Lemire leaves us to wonder what that future will be. After all art is never finished, only abandoned.
If I could compare it to something, it would likely be Blankets. Though while Thompson's masterwork is a gently heartbreaking look into first love and religious angst, Roughneck is a far darker beast. It's far more pensive, and its colors empathize the ever-encroaching chills of the setting. It's a great read for the winter, and when you want something that's cold but ultimately affirming.
I find that Roughneck, much like Sweet Tooth, best encapsulates his style and why he's one of my favorite creators working today. There's a heaviness and darkness to Lemire's world, but in his eyes, the one hope we have is in the connections we make with others. Yet the most important thing to find from Lemire is his heart. By God, you can't deny his heart.
The main draw of Roughneck proves to be its characters, I am impressed in how Lemire can create such vivid characters and a well realized setting in such a short amount of time. Lemire has always had a thing for broken, haunted characters and the characters who populate this book are no different. Trauma and how people deal with it is a recurring theme in this book, and we see how even after we escape abusive situations, we have a harder time letting go of the abusive tendencies towards ourselves.
Yet where Roughneck is often at its most powerful is how it explores trauma's lasting effects on people. As much as Derek flies off the handle and beats anyone half to death who even mildly irritates him, it's clear that he's abusing himself. His pain has such deep claws in him that he's unable to express himself in any other way rather than violence, and he's too stuck in his ways to truly let go of his immense temper. Beth is probably more obvious with her trauma, as she keeps getting into bad situation after bad situation because of the lasting damage from her childhood. Yet unlike Derek, she seems to want to make a change and is aware that if she keeps at where she's at, it'll be far too late to back out.
If there is a message to be gleamed from Roughneck, it is how we face trauma through connecting with others and ultimately accepting that while the past can't be changed, the future can be. It is certainly a message that has been explored before, yet Lemire explores these themes with such depth and empathy that you remember why these stories are so good and are often powerful. Lemire's focus is always with the characters, and he never gets sappy or melodramatic with them. He allows these characters and their silly little struggles and lives to get us invested in them and reveals a strength that even they didn't know they had before.
Lemire's art style remains idiomatic. While I don't know if he's a skilled draughtsman as some of his collaborators such as Sorrentino and Nguyen, Lemire's style remains unique. I am particularly enamored with how he uses watercolor, which he played with in some of his other comics such as Royal City and The Underwater Welder, but I find he really perfected it here. The blue color palette adds to the melancholic atmosphere of the story, and how he uses full colors in the flashback sequences was truly impressive. I suppose there's nothing that beats the inspired artist.
Yet while this story mostly stays in the realism territory, Lemire introduces a slight element of the surreal into Roughneck, particularly with the ghostly dog that haunts Derek throughout the story. It's not quite as obvious as it was in The Underwater Welder, but Lemire always has a tight balance between the surreal and real in his work, and it never feels forced here. One could compare Lemire's style to David Lynch, though Lemire has a lighter touch with the surreal than Lynch. I could easily see this comic being turned into an excellent and preferably indie film (and if it does, be sure to get Nick Cave and Warren Ellis (the musician) to do the score for it.)
I remember not being as satisfied with the ending at first. I thought of his great work Sweet Tooth, and remembered how it had ended on such a perfect note, to the point where there was nothing else to say. The ending of Roughneck is more oblique, yet the more I thought about it over the years, I've grown to realize that it was the ending that this story deserved. For all of Derek and Beth's struggles and angst about the past, it was only fitting that they ended it by putting the past to rest and moving on to a better future, though ultimately Lemire leaves us to wonder what that future will be. After all art is never finished, only abandoned.
If I could compare it to something, it would likely be Blankets. Though while Thompson's masterwork is a gently heartbreaking look into first love and religious angst, Roughneck is a far darker beast. It's far more pensive, and its colors empathize the ever-encroaching chills of the setting. It's a great read for the winter, and when you want something that's cold but ultimately affirming.
I find that Roughneck, much like Sweet Tooth, best encapsulates his style and why he's one of my favorite creators working today. There's a heaviness and darkness to Lemire's world, but in his eyes, the one hope we have is in the connections we make with others. Yet the most important thing to find from Lemire is his heart. By God, you can't deny his heart.
September 21, 2025
Really good and honestly surprised all the way until the end. Might have been the most ‘normal’ book by him also.
January 22, 2018
Oh boy, it’s one of those comics that would be a 5-star... if I didn’t have just one problem with it.
What’s it about?
There’s this hockey player who doesn’t play anymore, he just gets angry, drunk and in fights usually. Now his sister is having some problems and he has to help her.
Pros:
The story is very interesting which is something I’m pretty surprised to say because yes, Lemire is a good writer but I am not into slice of life sorta comics, Lemire does it right.
The characters are very well written and interesting.
The art is great, I’m always a fan of Lemire’s art! I like the way the coloring is done in this one.
There’s some good fights, that’s always a good thing.
This is not predictable at all.
Why not 5 stars?
The ending really bothers me. It’s unclear, I had to read those last few pages a few times and once I understood what happened I was disappointed.
Overall:
Great comic I would recommend even with the troublesome ending. Slice of life stuff usually seems kinda boring but not when Lemire takes over! It kinda reminds me of Gran Torino but I like that movie and I think this comic is a bit better so yeah, highly recommended it.
4/5
What’s it about?
There’s this hockey player who doesn’t play anymore, he just gets angry, drunk and in fights usually. Now his sister is having some problems and he has to help her.
Pros:
The story is very interesting which is something I’m pretty surprised to say because yes, Lemire is a good writer but I am not into slice of life sorta comics, Lemire does it right.
The characters are very well written and interesting.
The art is great, I’m always a fan of Lemire’s art! I like the way the coloring is done in this one.
There’s some good fights, that’s always a good thing.
This is not predictable at all.
Why not 5 stars?
The ending really bothers me. It’s unclear, I had to read those last few pages a few times and once I understood what happened I was disappointed.
Overall:
Great comic I would recommend even with the troublesome ending. Slice of life stuff usually seems kinda boring but not when Lemire takes over! It kinda reminds me of Gran Torino but I like that movie and I think this comic is a bit better so yeah, highly recommended it.
4/5
July 6, 2017
A bleak, macho soap opera.
July 20, 2017
Love Jeff Lemires creator owned work, especially his graphic novel work that he writes and draws himself. They're usually pretty simple stories but always feel personal from the author
October 19, 2017
A conventional but evocative story of rough-around-the-edges redemption and recovery set in a Canadian winter so skillfully conveyed that I shivered throughout. Lemire's coloring is masterful here, as he uses a very limited blue-based palette except for certain key details--blood, a particularly ominous plaid shirt, and, most interestingly, memories. Unlike the convention that would put the present in color and flashbacks in black-and-white, Lemire illustrates the collapse of his characters' lives by often coloring in their memories while leaving the present washed-out and limited.
The story is pretty basic, though it does pack an archetypal punch. Lemire's protagonist is a former NHL player whose aggressive violence on the ice ruined his career, and now he exists in a fog of drink and depression that gets punctuated only by the low but pleasurable sensation of beating the shit out of someone who's provoked him. Then his little sister, her own life just as scarred, returns to town on the run from an abusive ex-boyfriend, and the two have to figure out what they're going to do with their pasts and their futures. While all the while the terrible ex closes in to provide the crucible on which our roughneck will be tested.
You know approximately where this all will go, and there weren't any real surprises for me, but Lemire handles the material well and movingly, adding in a nice subplot about Derek and Beth moving towards reconnecting with their mother's First Nations heritage, which is a nice and subtle illustration of their progress towards being able to look back on their past honestly enough to see the good along with the bad.
The story is pretty basic, though it does pack an archetypal punch. Lemire's protagonist is a former NHL player whose aggressive violence on the ice ruined his career, and now he exists in a fog of drink and depression that gets punctuated only by the low but pleasurable sensation of beating the shit out of someone who's provoked him. Then his little sister, her own life just as scarred, returns to town on the run from an abusive ex-boyfriend, and the two have to figure out what they're going to do with their pasts and their futures. While all the while the terrible ex closes in to provide the crucible on which our roughneck will be tested.
You know approximately where this all will go, and there weren't any real surprises for me, but Lemire handles the material well and movingly, adding in a nice subplot about Derek and Beth moving towards reconnecting with their mother's First Nations heritage, which is a nice and subtle illustration of their progress towards being able to look back on their past honestly enough to see the good along with the bad.
November 26, 2019
Lemírův Rváč je konečně dílo, které mě od něj bavilo dějově ale hlavně vizuálně. Příběh je poměrně jednoduchý, další ukázka vesnického dna žití obyčejných lidí a najdete v něm poměrně klasické šablony (na obecné poměry). Ale i tak je to příběh dobře napsaný. S čím se tady ale Lemire vymazlil je vzhled. Příběh má pocitově tak sto stran, jak to že jich má komiks reálně dvaapůlkrát tolik? Protože vizuál. Perfektně rozplánované scény a prostup skrze panely, skvělé celostránkové ilustrace a perfektní zachycení ledové atmosféry sněhem pokrytého zapadákova. Dokonce tak důkladné, že jediné, co je trochu teplé jsou vzpomínky (které jsou vyvedeny v barvě, na rozdíl od přítomnosti, která je kolorovaná převážně modře). I když mi Lemire zase neprodal "živoucí" svět - ten pocit několika lokací v kulisovém městečku je i u Rváče silný, tady to není v podstatě takový kaz jako třeba u Sladkozuba (Sweet Tooth). Už jen tím, že celý Rváč působí velmi filmově, v podstatě jako hodně pečlivě rozpracovaný filmový storyboard. A to je super.
Comics Centrum tomu opět dalo exkluzivní, pomalu restaurátorskou péči, takže vše vypadá vlastně lépe jak v originálním vydání a i překlad názvu mi hodně sedl. Jasný, výstižný a úderný Rváč. Pro mě je to ze stáje Jeffeto Límajr velmi příjemné překvapení a doporučení lidem, kteří mají rádi tady ty "těžké lidské" příběhy a zejména těm, co se rádi každou stránkou kochají.
Comics Centrum tomu opět dalo exkluzivní, pomalu restaurátorskou péči, takže vše vypadá vlastně lépe jak v originálním vydání a i překlad názvu mi hodně sedl. Jasný, výstižný a úderný Rváč. Pro mě je to ze stáje Jeffeto Límajr velmi příjemné překvapení a doporučení lidem, kteří mají rádi tady ty "těžké lidské" příběhy a zejména těm, co se rádi každou stránkou kochají.
April 17, 2017
Jeff Lemire's creator-owned content always knocks my socks off. Roughneck hit home for me - I grew up in a small Manitoban town and the characters in this book are very relatable for me.
This is a dark, noir(ish) feeling story of failure and overcoming the vicious cycle of repeatedly doing the wrong thing. I read it in one big gulp and was completely absorbed with the words and the pictures. In fact - I think this might be my favorite art from Lemire so far. The starkness of his drawings, the scratchy lines, and scribbles really matched the story that he was trying to tell.
I am pretty sure, however, that I probably say that every time I finish a new Jeff Lemire book.
Anyways...I loved it! From start to finish it was everything that I have come to expect from an artist and writer that I have respected and admired for so long now.
Bravo, good sir. Thanks for the book!
This is a dark, noir(ish) feeling story of failure and overcoming the vicious cycle of repeatedly doing the wrong thing. I read it in one big gulp and was completely absorbed with the words and the pictures. In fact - I think this might be my favorite art from Lemire so far. The starkness of his drawings, the scratchy lines, and scribbles really matched the story that he was trying to tell.
I am pretty sure, however, that I probably say that every time I finish a new Jeff Lemire book.
Anyways...I loved it! From start to finish it was everything that I have come to expect from an artist and writer that I have respected and admired for so long now.
Bravo, good sir. Thanks for the book!
February 7, 2017
Jeff Lemire, you've done it again. First with Essex County, then again with Sweet Tooth, Lemire has broken my heart in the best way possible, and now Roughneck joins these ranks. Though it didn't resonate with me as strongly as Essex County, it was still an important, timely and powerful read.
November 26, 2019
Meh...not bad, but nothing special. After hearing all the praise, I was expecting something that will touch me, shock me or surprise me. But that didn't happened. Story is kind of expectable variation and mix of themes, that were here before. And art is not really my style, not ugly in particullar, but nothing I would enjoy either.
August 24, 2024
4,5*
Ninguém desenha como Jeff Lemire e não sei se há alguém que consiga caracterizar de forma tão humana e imparcial homens fechados e carrancudos. É uma história muito simples, sem grandes reviravoltas e aventuras, mas a arte faz o seu trabalho magistralmente, não só em dar-nos tempo para absorver as personagens e o que elas estão a sentir, como a maravilhar-nos.
Ninguém desenha como Jeff Lemire e não sei se há alguém que consiga caracterizar de forma tão humana e imparcial homens fechados e carrancudos. É uma história muito simples, sem grandes reviravoltas e aventuras, mas a arte faz o seu trabalho magistralmente, não só em dar-nos tempo para absorver as personagens e o que elas estão a sentir, como a maravilhar-nos.
June 22, 2018
Una bellissima graphic novel che mi è stata consigliata da un amico.
Cruda, sia nello stile dei disegni sia per le tematiche che affronta: violenza domestica, dipendenze... E' una storia di dolore, rabbia, violenza ma anche di redenzione e di seconde possibilità.
Ve la consiglio ^-^
Cruda, sia nello stile dei disegni sia per le tematiche che affronta: violenza domestica, dipendenze... E' una storia di dolore, rabbia, violenza ma anche di redenzione e di seconde possibilità.
Ve la consiglio ^-^
July 21, 2022
The story in Jeff Lemire’s Roughneck is straightforward. Derek Ouelette is a former (Canadian) hockey player who gets banned from the sport for his rough tactics. He is frustrated, and perpetually angry. He spends his time wandering aimlessly around Pimitamon, the rural Canadian town where he lives, getting into drunken brawls. One day, his sister Beth turns up, pregnant and shivering from both the cold and fright. She has run away from her abusive boyfriend and has nowhere else to go. Derek needs to pull up his socks now and the two of them must find a way to stand up to the world.
It's a bleak story, no doubt, and highlights themes of abuse and poverty. And this is reflected in the desolate, snowed in landscape as well. And yet, there was always something that pulled me along and up without sinking into depression with the main characters. I felt that this was all going to be sorted out. Perhaps, it was the presence of Derek’s helpful friend. An understanding policeman. A kind server at the restaurant where Beth straggles into.
I also liked how the story is not rushed through. Lemire leaves it at its own pace to develop and infuses it with flashbacks of his fall from a hockey legend to a roughneck. We learn more about his parents too. Their father was an absent presence through their childhood and while Derek does not want anything to do with him, Beth wants to meet him one last time. In different ways like this, Lemire weaves in themes of healing and forgiveness. And while he skilfully brings out the oppressive atmosphere, there are places where we sense new beginnings too.
That brings me to Lemire's excellent artwork. I liked the minimalist sketches and the largely blue palette which aptly complemented the story. In between, he infuses some colour to portray certain elements, which makes the scene more vivid.
I got this book from my library and I am hoping to find more of Lemire’s work.
It's a bleak story, no doubt, and highlights themes of abuse and poverty. And this is reflected in the desolate, snowed in landscape as well. And yet, there was always something that pulled me along and up without sinking into depression with the main characters. I felt that this was all going to be sorted out. Perhaps, it was the presence of Derek’s helpful friend. An understanding policeman. A kind server at the restaurant where Beth straggles into.
I also liked how the story is not rushed through. Lemire leaves it at its own pace to develop and infuses it with flashbacks of his fall from a hockey legend to a roughneck. We learn more about his parents too. Their father was an absent presence through their childhood and while Derek does not want anything to do with him, Beth wants to meet him one last time. In different ways like this, Lemire weaves in themes of healing and forgiveness. And while he skilfully brings out the oppressive atmosphere, there are places where we sense new beginnings too.
That brings me to Lemire's excellent artwork. I liked the minimalist sketches and the largely blue palette which aptly complemented the story. In between, he infuses some colour to portray certain elements, which makes the scene more vivid.
I got this book from my library and I am hoping to find more of Lemire’s work.
May 19, 2019
Absolutely brilliant!! The artworks as well as the story are just marvelous! Touching, raw and true. For me there are two amazingly talented creators in the comic book world Alan Moore and Jeff Lemire!! If you love comic you should check out the works of those two tremendous artists!
December 23, 2018
I gotta admit, I'm kind of tired of Jeff Lemire's stories of Canadian families living in a colorless present, haunted by the ghosts of the past. And maybe I would have had a better reaction to the tight storytelling of Roughneck if I hadn't just read the sprawling, complex storytelling of Royal City, but they hit so many of the same tropes and themes that reading them together just feels ... repetitive.
This is a fine story of a man and his sister. Great character portraits. Good use of color for that ever-present theme of the more colorful past. But I've seen it all before.
This is a fine story of a man and his sister. Great character portraits. Good use of color for that ever-present theme of the more colorful past. But I've seen it all before.
January 3, 2018
Loved this story about an ex-hockey thug reuniting with his sister and how the cycle of violence that ruled their lives is broken. Great story about friendship, too. Brutally violent but with surprising touches. Told exclusively with dialog and imagery and done so expertly I didn't even miss the lack of narration and voiceovers that this form usually relies on. The blue-ice color scheme fits perfectly and captures the beauty of the frozen north.
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