The Jodorowsky Library: Book Two: Son of the Gun • Pietrolino

by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Georges Bess, Olivier Boiscommun

The Jodorowsky a collection of deluxe matching volumes showcasing the iconic works of the legendary Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Included in this volume are the modern-day spiritual western SON OF THE GUN (illustrated by Georges Bess) and the heartwrenching tale of a mime in Nazi-occupied France, PIETROLINO (illustrated by Olivier Boiscommun).

Genres: Comics

328 pages, Paperback

Published February 22, 2022

About the author

Also credited as Alexandro Jodorowsky

Better known for his surreal films El Topo and The Holy Mountain filmed in the early 1970s, Alejandro Jodorowsky is also an accomplished writer of graphic novels and a psychotherapist. He developed Psychomagic, a combination of psychotherapy and shamanic magic. His fans have included John Lennon and Marilyn Manson.

Reviews

[Paul]

Really enjoyed Pietrolino.

[Oliver Bateman]

Jodorowsky & Bess's Son of the Gun is worth the price of admission here. It's dense and complicated enough to have been a Jodo film, which it was intended to be, but works extremely well in this format. Narratively, it's compact and tight. My problem with Jodo's Incal and Metabarons stuff is that his text often overwhelms the excellent art - though these tight, text-laden layouts seem to be fairly common with European comics - but here you've got something that, owing to the richness of its influences and complexity of Jodo's intended meaning, looks like a (much better illustrated) Vertigo comic from the late 90s yet ranks right up there with the best magic realist works (there's loads of "rough stuff" in here, at least superficially, but all of it serves some larger metaphorical purpose, so one doesn't get bogged down thinking about it). Recommended.

Pietrolino, the other work in this volume, is fine, even if it doesn't live up to the dedication to Marcel Marceau. Boiscommun's art is solid, and the plot (thankfully) isn't some Life Is Beautiful-style clown in Nazi prison work (this is merely a brief plot point, and perhaps should've been omitted altogether). The ending is a bit strange and comes out of nowhere, but it redeems a rather pedestrian narrative. Good for what it is. They can't all be home runs!

[Landon Schmidt-Warnecke]

Son of the Gun
Score: 77
Art: 19/20
Story: 14/20
Characters: 15/20
World-building: 14/20
Writing: 15/20

Pietrolino
Score: 81
Art: 16/20
Story: 16/20
Characters: 18/20
World-building: 15/20
Writing: 16/20

[Al Capwned]

Son of the Gun is an incredible story. Pietrolino is more mediocre, so a 4/5 rating is probably the best option here.

[Paul Becker]

I thought the stories were better than Book 1 but you aren't gonna find as much bonus material and extras that Book 1 came with. The Afterword by Claude Ecken and summary by Phillipe Rouyer for Son of the Gun are highlights that can expand upon the story. Pietrolino is a throw-in story but it makes sense because neither really fit in Jodorowsky's Sci-Fi world.