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72nd out of 87 books
—
100 voters
Night Fisher
R. Kikuo Johnson has created an intimate and compelling graphic novel-length drama of young men on the cusp of adulthood. First-rate prep school, S.U.V., and a dream house in the heights: This was the island paradise handed to Loren Foster when he moved to Hawaii with his father six years ago. Now, with the end of high school just around the corner, his best friend, Shane,...more
Paperback, 144 pages
Published
November 17th 2005
by Fantagraphics
(first published November 1st 2005)
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This graphic novel was a short and stunning look at life in Hawaii, but more important, teen drug use and its causes and consequences. I was torn while reading this book, wondering about what parents might say to have their teenager take home a book that shows drug use and at points has some rather bad language. But I'm realizing that these things seem somehow worse when shown in a visual format as opposed to simply being described in a traditional book. And ultimately, the book is a very dramat...more
This is a dark graphic novel. It takes place in Hawaii, and explores the lives of some rich prep school teenage guys who get together and smoke crystal meth. Then they steal stuff in order to afford their next hit. They eventually end up in jail for stealing a generator from a building site. The kids are really disaffected and seemingly out of touch with anything really important. They’re bored and they have nothing better to do then get high. It’s sad and scary. They don’t seem to care much abo...more
A graphic novel about teens doing crystal meth in Hawaii. I enjoyed the drawings of Hawaii but the storyline was blah.
I read this in one sitting. It's short, reading as the middle of a larger picture. It's a slice of a high school kid's life. He's shy, but has the loudest friends. He's nervous, but he does crystal meth. He's ambitious, but he doesn't really attempt anything. He's just Loren, some student with glasses and a reluctant taste for crystal methish "batu" on one of the Hawaiian islands. He wants to impress his father and he wants his friends to think he's cool, but he's sort of indifferent to it all t...more
Moody, pretty, brief.
Lalala comic book binge. Um, this had great artwork, and the makings of a great story, and captured the spirit of teenage misguidness/viciousness/lostness. But in the end it didn't tie them all together and I get a little tired of books where I can't clearly separate character identities from each other. It made me think fondly of Hawai'i, but I thought the invasive species message, whatever that was, was unnecessary slash meh. But I'd recommend it on the basis of the precise artwork alone.
I just don't get the whole brooding, self-destructive adolescent machismo thing. Johnson's illustrations are undeniably beautiful—visually, NIGHT FISHER is of the Jessica Abel school of chiaroscuro brushstrokes. But narratively, these characters reveal so little emotion that it's difficult for me to be sympathetic. The redeeming scene of this story is when Loren, the protagonist, wanders through the Filipino market after his arrest. It's only in this mess of babies and breadfruit that the story...more
This would be a better book if the best panels were just blown-up and presented as a picture book.
Comparisons to Blankets are apt: quasi-autobiographical; high school; contemporary regional Americana; often killer brushwork; often lame story, occasionally great comics grammar, occasionally weak comics grammar. Like Craig Thompson, he'll probably do a great book one day if his writing catches up with his drawing.
But at least Night Fisher isn't overly long.
Comparisons to Blankets are apt: quasi-autobiographical; high school; contemporary regional Americana; often killer brushwork; often lame story, occasionally great comics grammar, occasionally weak comics grammar. Like Craig Thompson, he'll probably do a great book one day if his writing catches up with his drawing.
But at least Night Fisher isn't overly long.
This graphic novella has several very evocative panels, like using haloed bees buzzing around ears to show a 'high' and the 'map' birthmark on the girl's back. Nice visual style overall. But it was hard to get invested in the teenage boy characters I couldn't tell apart, and the ending was a cop-out: a lyric moment instead of a resolution of multiple hanging threads. More of the dad character, please.
This comic novella may not be for everyone, but if you enjoy these realistic and unapologetic looks at adolescence I recommend giving Night Fisher a read. Even if the story doesn’t resonate with you, the skilled ink drawings will make you appreciate everything that R. Kikuo Johnson has put into this work.
Read the whole review here: http://www.hawaiibookblog.com/article...
Read the whole review here: http://www.hawaiibookblog.com/article...
Pretty lame. Saying anything else would just be wasting my breath. Characters are lifeless, uninteresting, predictable, and not really all that deep; and neither is the plot for all that matter. From the crappy plot to the even crappier ending I have no idea how this crap got published. The art-work is pretty I guess though. Two thumbs down.
This is a graphic novel about a nerd living on Maui who gets caught up with some dope smoking punks. He has a lot of mental gymnastics to perform to see who he is, where he fits, and what he wants. The art work is superb, and the plot is engaging although it goes nowhere. Just ends with a young man trying to get his bearings.
Sequential art poetry about feeling left behind, lost and jaded. The visual storytelling and economic dialogue is great at creating empathy without ever hitting you over the head. I would not recommend this book for those who need exposition or resolution, but it's great for those who love subtlety and painterly slice of life stories. The beautiful artwork doesn't hurt.
Story about a smart kid who lives on one of the Hawaiian islands. Gets involved in drugs and other crimes. I'm sure there's a connection here about the human experience, I just never cared or wanted to care about it. I feel kinda bad giving three stars to all of these new graphic novels I'm reading.
Loren goes to a fancy prep school on Maui, fretting over his grades by day and smoking "batu"--a kind of meth--at night with his friend Shane and some kids not from his "side of town." A muddled visual style made it hard to understand, for me--and I was left asking "so what?"
I don't know what it was... This book just didn't do it for me. How's that for a vague review!? The art was great; I enjoy a book most when I can feel something for the characters, like or dislike, sadness or anger. I didn't really care what happened to anyone in this one.
The story was a bit hard for me to enjoy since I don't like seeing good kids get involved in drugs. Personal preference. But the imagery is striking. It did not seem so when I first flipped through the pages, but during reading I found the art to be beautiful
we've entered a period of dark comic art. the drawings are crisp and a little surreal with word balloons often heading off the edge of the page. dark, unfunny, but interesting. recreational drug abuse and unfairness of life feature as sub-plots...
Night Fisher's somewhat self-indulgent storyline is carried admirably by Johnson's drawings. His craft creates a book that is both subtle and resonant - it's a story that I've thought back to many times but can never quite seem to retell.
A straightforward story that takes some unexpected turns. Very engaging, with a consistent tone and a line quality very much like a toned-down Paul Pope.
I want to read more by Johnson.
I want to read more by Johnson.
Very poorly organized. I had a hard time keeping track of who was who and what exactly was going on. Okay for a debut but definitely room for improvement. Pretty cover.
Nov 05, 2011
Paul
added it
Review at asianamlitfans.
I really liked the art and content, but the story didn't seem complete.
No thank you. A lame book about being bored and using crystal meth. Blah.
How crystal-meth / "ice" affects the life of a teen living on Maui
Really great illustrations in here. Set in Hawaii.
I don't even know what this was supposed to be about.
A moody look at a culture I know nothing about.
three and the half
Bleak.
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R. Kikuo Johnson grew up in Hawaii on the island of Maui. For generations, native Hawaiians have told tales of the shape-shifting shark god Kamohaoali'i; The Shark King is the artist's version of one such tale about the insatiable appetite of Kamohoali'i's son, Nanaue. Kikuo's 2005 graphic novel Night Fisher - also set in Hawaii - earned him both a Harvey Award and the Russ Manning Award for best...more
More about R. Kikuo Johnson...
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