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Product Description
Book Description
In his grandfather's seaside arcade, a young boy encounters a mysterious Punch & Judy man with a dark past and a woman who makes her living playing a mermaid. As their stories unfold, the boy must confront family secrets, strange puppets and a nightmarish world of violence and betrayal. Second printing. Graphic novel format.
About the Author
Neil Gaiman is world famous for his extraordinary stories told in graphic novel and traditional forms. He lives in the USA with his family. Dave McKean similarly is held in the highest regard as an artist and film maker. He lives in Kent, England with his family.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful and haunting read,
By
This review is from: Mr. Punch (Paperback)
It's common knowledge around these parts (that is, my house) that I am not a fan of dolls. This includes those cute (to some) little baby dolls girls get when they're little, marionettes and puppets, expensive porcelain figurines or angels, and basically any kind of a doll in photographs or books. They're all creepy to me.I'm crazy, I know. There was one instance I remember, back when I was just a wee gal, where I actually cried and cried because my best friend's grandma hand-made a doll for me. Nope, no thank you from me, just crying, crying, crying. Naturally, I hesitated when I cracked open Neil Gaiman's graphic novel, The Comical Tragedy or Tragical Comedy of Mr. Punch. Right from the get-go, the little marionette Mr. Punch doll freaked me out. Of course, for the sake of literature, I put that all aside and read the darn thing. And you know what? I liked it. Being currently in the midst of reading Gaiman's Sandman series, I had come to know what to expect when it came to his works: darkness, mystery, suspense, intrigue, fantasy, and a great story. Mr. Punch tells the story of a young boy who was sent to stay with his grandparents at their seaside home while his mother is in the hospital giving birth to his new sibling. While staying with his grandparents, he comes across a tent on the beach at his grandfather's arcade where the Mr. Punch show is performed. Through this show and the Punch& Judy man, he learns secrets of his family and sees horrors not meant for young eyes. I was intrigued right from the start. The story is flowing and intriguing, dark and mysterious. Definitely nightmarish. Dave McKean's illustrations only add to the awesomeness that is the story and, while I have faith in Neil Gaiman's writing ability, I don't think the story would be so amazing without the illustrations. Now, when I say illustrations, these aren't your typical, run-of-the-mill children's books illustrations. There's no cutesy when it comes to Dave McKean (at least, not that I've found). In fact, these illustrations aren't like any of the Dave McKean illustrations I've seen in any of the Gaiman works I've read. He seems to use a lot of mixed medium, incorporating drawings, paintings, photos, and who knows what else (I'm not an artist, obviously) in his portrayal of the story, and boy does it work. Put the illustrations and the words together (the words, I must add, are in a wonderful, complimentary font, rather than a tried-and-true too-normal font) and you get one heck of a story'one heck of a frightening story. Mr Punch is a must-read. It might be a little too intense for smaller audiences, but it's something most people will be able to appreciate.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Games of memory,
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Mr. Punch (Paperback)
I will openly admit that I have never seen the Punch and Judy story, and I haven't got the faintest idea how it goes.So I was a little nervous going into "The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch," but it turns out that there was nothing to worry about. It's a vaguely nightmarish, jewel-toned story told like a series of serial photographs -- and rather than a retelling of the story of Punch, it's a boy's reflections on the world. A boy and his grandfather go to the beach to fish. Eventually, the kid wanders away and finds a strange little tent neaby... only to have Punch and Judy puppets emerge and do their grisly little performance. This sets the child to thinking about the past, his ancestors and the way that young children are both intimidated by adults and filled with magical ideas. Then his grandfather meets the puppeteer who was on the beach, an old friend who still sees the magic in the old "Punch and Judy" performances. The old man reintroduces the boy to a world of magic and wonder, and reconnects him to the past of his family. "The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch" is a very striking story -- Gaiman weaves together stories within stories, interlocking and spiraling inward like a seashell's chambers. And though the story centers on a young, rather disillusioned boy who is watching the older generations fade, even as he looks on his own life. And Gaiman's writing is quietly beautiful here -- he fills the story with wooden puppets, faux mermaids, pebbled beaches, and thoughts of childhood's scary magical qualities. There are little shreds of weirdness speckling the main story, like when the boy reflects that his aunt claimed she had a tail. Of course, he had to check. And Dave McKean's art is... weird. A little weirder than the story merits, actually -- half the time the panels are normal, and the rest of the time they look like strange surreal photographs. We have wire boys, comedy masks, rich jewel tones, puppets that look like they were snapped with a camera, and written letters running under the rough-hewn sketches. It's like having your head shoved into a beautiful, surreal junk drawer. "The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch" has a rather deceptive title, but Neil Gaiman's dark spiderweb of a tale is well worth the reading.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderfully moody and oh so atmospheric,
By Sibelius (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mr. Punch (Paperback)
Neil Gaiman delivers yet another knockout in the realm of the graphic novel with his wonderfully dark and hallucinatory 'Mr. Punch.' A tale of dark and gloomy childhood flashbacks, 'Mr. Punch,' is a great read for those looking for something oozing with chilly atmosphere. The mixed-media (enhanced photos and pencils) artwork by Dave McKean is astounding as well and visually evokes a feeling of helplessness confronting a child when stuck in a grim and depressing environment that amplifies all of his little fears. While this book is nowhere near the epic grandeur of Gaiman's, 'Sandman,' series - as a standalone, 'Mr. Punch,' is a visual and narrative treat not to be missed.
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