Paolo Baron

Jim Lives - The mystery of the Lead singer of The Doors and the 27 club

Arc copy. I had high hopes for this but ultimately was disappointed. I just didn’t like it. I suggest you skip this comic.

The core idea was cool, from there it was all down hill. This graphic novel was fast paced but had little depth.. A 50 year old father searching for his journalist son is embroiled in a plot to hide members of the 27 club, a series of artists and musicians who ‘died’ at the peak of their careers at the age of 27. The journalist son is missing after he finds an old man who may be Jim Morrison, hiding out in a mediterreanean town known and studied for longevity of life.

The art was cool, but it was difficult to view. The rough edges and sharp lines made all of the characters, even the protagonists, appear to be sinister and angry even when they are ‘happy’.

Both story and art together give forth a sub 75 page graphic novel that not only barely skims the surface, it wraps the entire plot into a package and then *spoiler* kills off the organization that enables the 27 club’s existence with some hokey ‘our time is done’ kind of message. *end spolier*

Every 3-5 pages there is a chapter break which wastes another two page layout with next chapter text and blank colored pages.. the last 3-5 pages were ‘blooper’ pages (which I have never seen before), but ultimately were pages that could have furthered the plot..

Through the comic you do see snapshots of artists who are purportedly part of the 27 club, but even those were a disappointment.. While Kurt Cobain pushing a wheelbarrow was strange, Amy Winehouse working her way as a waitress was depressing.… (más)

I will admit to finding great amusement in the "Paul is dead" conspiracy theory, and the more "proof" that's offered up, the more hilarious I find it all.

But a comic that theoretically pulls all that stuff together and presents it to us? Sign me up and take my fucking money!

Or...not.

While this is very pretty to look at, it proves that someone who can make pretty pictures can't always necessarily lay them out in a series of pages to tell a coherent story. That's the case here. The individual Beatles' caricatures are quite well done, but Geoff Emerick, Brian Epstein, and George Martin's are not very good at all, and there were times I was attempting to muddle out if John was talking to Brian or Martin.

So, muddled characters drawn in a muddled story.

What about that story? Yeah, virtually all of the actual conspiracy stuff is completely ignored, and it presents a few hours of the Beatles (mostly John) freaking out over the news that Paul is dead, only to wrap it all up in a few pages.

It seems shocking that a creative team could take the Beatles, place them into the position of losing one of their members, and somehow make it boring, yet that's exactly what you get here.

This is not good. Save your cash.… (más)

One of the most ridiculous conspiracy theories in pop culture is the one that at some point in 1966 Paul McCartney was killed in a car crash and replaced in The Beatles by a look-alike. It’s been the subject of numerous articles, books, and TV shows over the years. Where this graphic novel takes a different approach is considering the reactions of John, George & Ringo to the news of Paul’s supposed passing. Although I’m not a fan of the block, color wash style art work used here it is at times effective in conveying both shock and emotion. But that’s about it, the idea is good but generally the execution is lacking. It’s also a quick and dissatisfying read that feels as if it should be the start of a bigger story.… (más)