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61st out of 82 books
—
50 voters
Daybreak (Daybreak)
by
Brian Ralph
AN ART-HOUSE TAKE ON THE CLASSIC ZOMBIE GENRE
You wake up in the rubble and see a ragged, desperate one-armed man greeting you. He takes you underground to a safe space, feeds you, offers you a place to sleep. And then announces that he’ll take the first watch. It’s not long before the peril of the jagged landscape has located you and your newfound protector and is scratch
Hardcover, 160 pages
Published
September 27th 2011
by Drawn and Quarterly
(first published August 30th 2011)
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I think the main success of this graphic novel is the point of view. I am not sure I've read a second person viewpoint graphic novel before, and it works perfectly. It's as if the "camera" for the "movie" is your own eyes, so you experience the characters and the terror as if you're seeing it yourself. It's kind of the equivalent of a found footage horror movie where the camera-man is actually a character. It's creepy and quiet, and has a great ending. Clever, and a must-read for anyone who love...more
Why I picked it up: Honestly, this was a lesser of two evils choice. I'm doing two reading challenges with deadlines at the end of this month, so I need to double-dip if I'm going to finish. One challenge requires a yellow cover; the other is from a specific reading list. There are 2 books with yellow covers on the list: this one and James Patterson's Middle School The Worst Year of My Life. I didn't want to read either, to tell the truth. But the zombie apocalypse beat out Patterson's reworking...more
Told from the point of view (POV) of you, the reader, the book opens with a one armed boy talking to you in a post-apocalyptic landscape surrounded with junk and dirt. You and the boy go on a journey that takes in the rest of this strange world until you realise that the reason why it all went to hell was because people started turning into zombies. That's right, this is an arty comic book version of the zombie apocalypse!
The drawing style is similar to James Kochalka's, which is no bad thing by...more
The drawing style is similar to James Kochalka's, which is no bad thing by...more
The first thing you'll notice about Brian Ralph's clever take on the exhausted zombie genre is the perspective. The entire book is presented in the first person, with the (very) few characters interacting directly with the reader's point of view. The second thing you'll notice is the almost total absence of zombies. They are kept almost entirely on the periphery, with the odd leg, arm, or shadow the only visual representation of the undead until very late in the story. Instead, Ralph keeps the f...more
Ick, ick, ick! I hate zombies!
I have ZERO tolerance for them and so am still creep-ed out by this book.
But if I ignore that for a minute, it was a well written, well drawn book. I know that some reviews I read did not like the 'you are here' view point of the book, but I thought it was effective.
The book opens with the main character "meeting" you. That is he turns, looks right at the viewer, and says hi. So you never see who he is talking to. He's talking to you. The landscape and the problems...more
I have ZERO tolerance for them and so am still creep-ed out by this book.
But if I ignore that for a minute, it was a well written, well drawn book. I know that some reviews I read did not like the 'you are here' view point of the book, but I thought it was effective.
The book opens with the main character "meeting" you. That is he turns, looks right at the viewer, and says hi. So you never see who he is talking to. He's talking to you. The landscape and the problems...more
Originally published in three separate issues from 2006 to 2008, Daybreak, by cartoonist Brian Ralph was published as a graphic novel by Drawn and Quarterly in 2011. The title is Ralph's third published graphic novel. Daybreak debuted at No. 6 on the New York Times Bestsellers List of hardcover graphic books. Daybreak is a unique take on the zombie genre. From the opening pages of the book you become a silent character in the story, where you are taken on a harrowing and adventurous journey in a...more
This book was very strange. (yeah, I know, strange can be a good thing, but... I'm not sure if this was a good or bad kind of strange... just not sure.)
It opens with the main character addressing you, the reader- he's not narrating, tho- YOU are one of the characters.
That's what makes it so ODD to read- you're taken through the book, a post-zombie-apocaylptic scenario, and you have to survive... yet you're the passive reader, so how much can you do? This isn't a choose your own adventure, after...more
The first, Brian Ralph’s Daybreak. Daybreak is a graphic novel about a Zombie apocalypse. I know that you’re thinking: “What’s so interesting about that, plenty of other graphic novels already cashing in on that genre - The Walking Dead, etc.”
The beautiful thing about Daybreak is that the main protagonist, an unnamed one-armed survivor speaks to the reader/survivor directly. An off screen character is addressed by this survivor as he takes you to a safe-house, provides you with food, information...more
The beautiful thing about Daybreak is that the main protagonist, an unnamed one-armed survivor speaks to the reader/survivor directly. An off screen character is addressed by this survivor as he takes you to a safe-house, provides you with food, information...more
Ralph has a deceptively masterful pen, it seems to me. Even though his characters have stick arms and their guns are brown scribbles, they have a real weight and dimension. They turn and run, frozen dynamically in time with each frame. The quiet action story draws the eye, feels welcoming and light, but in fact is highly crafted, paced, and thought-out. The King Cat-style drawing might seem cheap if done by a different artist, but Ralph really makes his six-frame pages feel art-filled.
I don't kn...more
I don't kn...more
bibliovermis.com Illustrated Review
rated 4.5 stars
Illustrated review of Daybreak, by Brian Ralph:
rated 4.5 stars
Illustrated review of Daybreak, by Brian Ralph:
This book was a lot like The Walking Dead for me. I really liked the idea of this book; I really wanted to enjoy reading it; I convinced myself that I really did like it through most of it. But once I stepped away from it, I didn't really have a lot of desire to go back.
The idea of creating a graphic novel in the second person--as if you're looking out from the protagonist's eyes and see and hear only what he sees and hears--is brilliant and creepy. I'm still not sure whether I think everyone w...more
The idea of creating a graphic novel in the second person--as if you're looking out from the protagonist's eyes and see and hear only what he sees and hears--is brilliant and creepy. I'm still not sure whether I think everyone w...more
i think i would've like this more without the 1st person gimmick. it's kind of interesting, but i'm not feeling like it increases the readers involvment any. and while i like the approach the story takes, and the relationships between the characters, i never actually feel like the zombies are much of a threat. even though they obviously are, there's no real sense of peril. maybe that's because i couldn't see the main character's face? maybe that's because the zombies are so abstract (visually re...more
"An art house take on classic zombie genre" This quote on the back cover practically had me drooling for "brains" like a zombie myself. So exciting. So full of promise.
And that's about it.
No "Brains" here.
Yeah it was o.k. the POV was very clever,
but handled in way that was trite.
In fact the whole book felt and looked like a Jeffrey Brown book, and I am sorry to say that is not a good thing.
"The Walking Dead" taught us that there could be more to a good zombie story than just fear,
and the exci...more
And that's about it.
No "Brains" here.
Yeah it was o.k. the POV was very clever,
but handled in way that was trite.
In fact the whole book felt and looked like a Jeffrey Brown book, and I am sorry to say that is not a good thing.
"The Walking Dead" taught us that there could be more to a good zombie story than just fear,
and the exci...more
I was waiting around in the bookstore and decided to pick up this book because of the cover. At first I wasn't interested, but the way the book was told it was pretty cool, so I kept reading. After a few minutes I was pretty much done with the book. I admit it was cut pretty short, but it told a story in an effective way.
Basically the book allows you to follow a teen's life post-apocalypse. You don't really know what happened and why it happened, but all you know is that Zombies are roaming aro...more
Basically the book allows you to follow a teen's life post-apocalypse. You don't really know what happened and why it happened, but all you know is that Zombies are roaming aro...more
"Art house take on the zombie genre." That is not necessarily a good thing. Yes, the point of view is an innovative thing, but it does not work very well for readers who want to feel engaged. And other than that, the comic is mostly a progression of scenery with minimal characters. The ending is just left hanging, which is about right for the zombie apocalypse genre. Basically, this is one of those minimalist comics with little to no words in it. If nothing else, it is a very quick read. However...more
I'm not a zombie hobbyist: zombie movies scare hell out of me. I'm not into this whole zombie-mania that's afflicting everyone. But if the promise of a new perspective is going to make me remove my blinders and earphones, it had better be good.
Like 28 Days Later<\i> and Return of the Living Dead<\i>, this book is one of those worthy entries that transcends. It's done in that audience POV style like that Blair Witch<\i> thing or that Vietnam war flick ('twas horribly disappointi...more
Like 28 Days Later<\i> and Return of the Living Dead<\i>, this book is one of those worthy entries that transcends. It's done in that audience POV style like that Blair Witch<\i> thing or that Vietnam war flick ('twas horribly disappointi...more
In a sea of zombie fiction, this one does a good job of standing out from the crowd a little.
For one thing, it's done in sort of a POV format, so as the reader the characters in the book are talking to you directly. Not an easy thing to pull off without having the one-way dialogue seem awkward or putting in a pair of hands or something.
With the exception of video games, I can't really think of a lot of situations that use this method successfully. Well, or course, except for the motion picture D...more
For one thing, it's done in sort of a POV format, so as the reader the characters in the book are talking to you directly. Not an easy thing to pull off without having the one-way dialogue seem awkward or putting in a pair of hands or something.
With the exception of video games, I can't really think of a lot of situations that use this method successfully. Well, or course, except for the motion picture D...more
This graphic novel is billed as "An art-house take on the classic zombie genre" but there is really nothing hyper-stylized about it. Its cleverly drawn from a first person perspective and contains all the elements of popularized zombie horror tales. The dialog and landscape are sparse. There are marks of gallows humor throughout. There is more focus on psychological horror than literal - if you hope to see lots of zombies or blood and guts, there isn't much. And I personally loved the ending, th...more
Nov 27, 2011
Brandy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
2011,
boy-books,
dystopian-post-apocalyptic,
comics,
library,
speculative-fiction,
teen,
creepy-scary
Somehow, a zombie apocalypse has taken place. We never find out how we got there, but it's there. The few humans who survive are all so unused to seeing actual people that they nearly off each other on sight.
Told in the more-or-less second person (it's kind of a first-person perspective, in which the reader is the first person), the reader/viewer/whatever follows a one-armed teen who has offered shelter and food. Mostly the kid has good instincts. Sometimes they're less good.
Very quick read, ill...more
Told in the more-or-less second person (it's kind of a first-person perspective, in which the reader is the first person), the reader/viewer/whatever follows a one-armed teen who has offered shelter and food. Mostly the kid has good instincts. Sometimes they're less good.
Very quick read, ill...more
Great great stuff. I could read this again and again.
Though, that said, I was annoyed when they collected the original books into this smaller hardcover with a new additional ending. It's a beautiful book, nicely done, and I'm glad it's making this stuff available to a wider audience, but I hate getting double-dipped.
Anyway, this is a great piece of storytelling. Second person, which I usually think feels kind of contrived, but it works here, and the "cute" drawing style complements the not so...more
Though, that said, I was annoyed when they collected the original books into this smaller hardcover with a new additional ending. It's a beautiful book, nicely done, and I'm glad it's making this stuff available to a wider audience, but I hate getting double-dipped.
Anyway, this is a great piece of storytelling. Second person, which I usually think feels kind of contrived, but it works here, and the "cute" drawing style complements the not so...more
This was an interesting take on the zombie genre, a worm's eye view of an undead apocalypse rendered in first person. Like the best works in this horror genre, the focus is on human interactions in an extreme situation, rather than on blood, guts and gore (of which there is actually very little). I think it's the first graphic novel I've read that's rendered in first-person. This would be a fantastic text for building inferencing skills, as half of the dialogue - and much of the action - takes p...more
Daybreak by Brian Ralph and Broxo by Zack Giallongo
Why did I read it?
Daybreak: I referenced this book in my Teen Literature class for my Master's in Information and Library Science.
Broxo: It was an advanced reader copy that looked interesting.
What happened?
Daybreak: Your eyes snap open and you see a one-armed man walking toward you. He mentions that you don't want to be out in the open when night falls, so you follow him. After grabbing some food and meeting his dog, you settle in for the nigh...more
Why did I read it?
Daybreak: I referenced this book in my Teen Literature class for my Master's in Information and Library Science.
Broxo: It was an advanced reader copy that looked interesting.
What happened?
Daybreak: Your eyes snap open and you see a one-armed man walking toward you. He mentions that you don't want to be out in the open when night falls, so you follow him. After grabbing some food and meeting his dog, you settle in for the nigh...more
DAYBREAK has been kicking around for some time in one form or another, so I think most people who are thinking Brian Ralph is jumping on the zombie bandwagon need to check their facts. He actually was ahead of the curve on this one. But the thing about Brian Ralph's work is that you don't even really need to worry about who is doing what trend because he will always surprise and bring a new twist to whatever the de rigeur trend is.
Here, he utilizes an intriguing narrative conceit that reminded...more
Here, he utilizes an intriguing narrative conceit that reminded...more
This graphic novel takes an interesting perspective. The reader, instead of being a voyeur to the story, is actually a part of the novel. The pages are the world from the reader's POV. The various characters look directly at the reader, the zombies reaching from the page towards you.
I'm not sure if this perspective is what made me more invested in these characters, but I found myself attached to the one-armed man who through the story becomes the reader's only trusted friend and ally and I was s...more
I'm not sure if this perspective is what made me more invested in these characters, but I found myself attached to the one-armed man who through the story becomes the reader's only trusted friend and ally and I was s...more
Ok. I know that I act like I love zombies, but they terrify me. Zombies are scary because they are the most real of all horror creatures (zombie ants are a thing and so are diseases that eat your brain. I can go on and on about the likelihood of non-novel-esque zombies, but that's not the point.)
However, I was intrigued by the second person POV of the book and the very artsy depiction of it all. It took a little getting used to, but I found myself interested throughout. Still, zombies are scary...more
However, I was intrigued by the second person POV of the book and the very artsy depiction of it all. It took a little getting used to, but I found myself interested throughout. Still, zombies are scary...more
The whole non-speaking first person thing is interesting, but ultimately little more than a gimmick. I don't know that it really adds anything to the story. Maybe if the artwork were a bit easier to follow, it would all hold together a bit more, but this was something of a disappointment after seeing this book listed in a couple of "best of" lists of 2011 comics/graphic novels.
You are dropped into the middle of the zombie apocalypse. But don't worry, you immediately meet a helpful, one-armed youth who walks you through survival reassuringly. Despite its simplicity, there are several moments of (moral) ambiguity. Given the style of art and temperament of the artist, still one of the least grisly depictions of zombies ever, without being cutesy.
The second-person/passive narrative style was completely novel for me. I felt badly when "I" did things as a character I didn't want to do, and it was scary/lonely when "I" left the company of other characters.
The storyline in a zombie tale is always the same. (Survive.) But this one does a good job of creating a lot of character sympathy in a short amount of time.
The storyline in a zombie tale is always the same. (Survive.) But this one does a good job of creating a lot of character sympathy in a short amount of time.
I'm not a huge zombie fan, but Daybreak's incorporation of the reader into the story caught my attention. That element gave the story an immediacy which is always my favorite part of an apocalypse tale. What surprised me about Daybreak was the cartoonish, but not juvenile, artwork. It would seem like a zombie tale should have hyper-realistic art, complete with heaps of gore. But Ralph creates just as much tension using characters that are definitely of comic origin -- rounded and almost cute --...more
Zombie book, told from a sort of second person perspective, as you are assumed to be a character in the book... not many zombies, not much blood, but the threat of killing (ala Hitchcock, vs slasher movies) is the key... I would say that this dude is no Joe Hill, and no Jeff Lemire, but he is good, interesting mainly for the pt of view approach here....
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Brian Ralph (born 1973) is a U.S. alternative cartoonist. His illustrations have appeared in Wired and the New York Post. His debut graphic novel Cave-In was nominated for three Harvey Awards, one Eisner Award, and listed as one of the Comics Journal's "five best comics of 1999". His second graphic novel Climbing Out was awarded a Xeric Grant in 2001.
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Jan 18, 2013 10:22am
Jan 18, 2013 10:23am