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33rd out of 87 books
—
98 voters
Sloth
Troubled teenager Miguel Torres has had it with life. The only alternative he sees is to willfully slip into a coma. But one year later, Miguel becomes a walking urban legend after he wakes up virtually unchanged -- except for his sloth-like pace. Soon, a haunted lemon orchard, the mysterious goat man, and murder will collide as Miguel, his girlfriend Lita and their best f...more
Hardcover, 128 pages
Published
July 6th 2006
by Vertigo
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Dude. Yes! My girlfriend has a total boner for Love & Rockets so I bought her this. I was like, 'Isn't Gilbert the one you like better?' She had a fever. She was like, 'No.'
So anyway then I went to bed and read it the next morning and it totally rules. Comparisons to that movie Lost Highway are kind of inevitable, because of... um, not to give anything away, but because of some things that happen to some folks' identities. It's a little more explained here than it is in Lost Highway, though...more
So anyway then I went to bed and read it the next morning and it totally rules. Comparisons to that movie Lost Highway are kind of inevitable, because of... um, not to give anything away, but because of some things that happen to some folks' identities. It's a little more explained here than it is in Lost Highway, though...more
A narrative twist halfway through this story ended up rescuing it from utter mediocrity. As a recent reader of Gilbert Hernandez's work, I'm not at all familiar with his Love and Rockets work, and have picked up his latest noir novels and mini-series for publishers other than Fantagraphics. What I found so far is a style that's mildly reminiscent of Archie comics, expanded and rather darkened by cinematic composition and genre experimentation. Stories like Sloth or Speak of the Devil actually bu...more
Sloth is the story of a teen named Miguel who escapes his depression and suburbia-induced boredom by inexplicable falling into a coma three months into the eleventh grade. When he wakes up a year later, he learns that he has become an urban legend for having willed himself into a coma, being called "Sloth," which was also the name of his band. He continually has nightmares about falling lemons, owing to his jailed father's suspected involvement in the "lemon orchard murders," which his mother ma...more
I liked this short graphic novel following the unexplained coma of Miguel Serra, a suburban youth who, with his friends, embark on an exploration of the dark, metaphysical margins of contemporary life. The plot is simple enough to be digested with a single read, yet enough symbolism exists to warrant another look. On the other hand, the plot can be bit hard to follow with its abrupt shifts and dearth of explanation, but I personally enjoy these.
On the other hand, I really appreciated the feelin...more
On the other hand, I really appreciated the feelin...more
This was a strange one, but oddly appealing. It follows three teen characters - Romeo, Miguel, and Lita - who all seem to find a way of escaping the hum-drum monotony of suburbia by willing themselves into comas (and then willing themselves out). In the opening, Miguel has just surfaced from a self-imposed 1-year coma and reconnects with his girlfriend (Lita) and his friend/bandmate (Romeo). Part-way through, the story shifts and twists to tell the story of Lita who awakens from her self-imposed...more
Given that it had been years during which the Hernandez Brothers seemed M.I.A., "Sloth" got my attention. Writing about Gilbert and Jaime's drawings is akin to writing about music, and I am a fool to attempt it, but here goes:
A coma-theme serves up an allegory, while the likable characters in the story are ultimately unknowable. But as is the curse of an impressive body of work, all Hernandez Brothers' new offerings will forever be compared with their past graphic novels. You're only as good as...more
A coma-theme serves up an allegory, while the likable characters in the story are ultimately unknowable. But as is the curse of an impressive body of work, all Hernandez Brothers' new offerings will forever be compared with their past graphic novels. You're only as good as...more
an interesting suburban legend with a switch-up that makes it more interesting. plus, haunted lemon orchards are cool.
I've heard really good things about Love & Rockets but never read any of the series ... it just seems too long and daunting, like the comix equivalent of Proust! I was told this is not Hernandez's best work, and unfortunately I have to agree. The topics explored were fascinating--teens falling into mysterious, seemingly willed comas, the urban legend of the Goat Man--but he didn't succeed in bringing all these elements together into a cohesive story. I found myself really thrown when, halfwa...more
Gilbert Hernandez has won critical acclaim with his Love & Rockets comic series. With Sloth, Hernandez attempts to take readers on a metaphysical journey of sleep, comas, and reality, all intertwined. After a look at how teenagers can fail to cope with the stress of their existence, we are introduced to Miguel - who has awoken one year after willing himself into a comatose state. Attempting to reconnect with his life is proving odd at best, as Miguel finds himself at odds with band member/be...more
Sloth is a graphic novel about Miguel, who lives with his grandparents since his mother abandoned him when he was four. Miguel was in a coma for a year and has been in a slowed-down state ever since he woke up. The story follows him and his friends Lita and Romeo as they investigate Miguel's suspicion that his mom was murdered and buried in the lemon orchard in town.
Perhaps it is because I am not too familiar with graphic novels, but I found this book to be highly confusing. In the beginning, Mi...more
Perhaps it is because I am not too familiar with graphic novels, but I found this book to be highly confusing. In the beginning, Mi...more
A sort of suburban 'Mulholland Drive' by the Great Gilbert; a love story about twisting identities, alternate realities, the allure of lemon groves, and the gentle beauty of being in a coma; all tightly packed into 150 pages without a single wasted frame.
persepolis inspired me to check out a few graphic novels, so this one was my first. i was drawn to it since the primary characters are latino. the illustration is amazing, and in fact, i had to re-read each page at least once. i'd start with the storyline and get distracted by the art, so i'd need to go back through the pages again.
i think the concept was interesting. i found myself nervous a few times with the urban legend parts of the plot. it was a little confusing during the switch in the mi...more
i think the concept was interesting. i found myself nervous a few times with the urban legend parts of the plot. it was a little confusing during the switch in the mi...more
This was a pretty damn good graphic novel. It can be tough to write teen angst with the proper perspective, avoiding pointless whining and immaturity, but Gilberto did it right with these two tales of growing up in a small town. He uses an interesting technique of setting up one story with a full cast of characters, and then halfway through switching to another story, reusing all the characters in different roles. The girlfriend becomes the protagonist, the protagonist becomes her love interest,...more
This graphic novel falls in the "magical realism" category of fiction, as either two or three interwoven stories are told, perhaps none of them true. Miguel has just recovered from spending a year in a coma, and has returned to his friends Lita and Romeo...unless it wasn't really Miguel who was in the coma. And then, there's the urban legend who lived, or died, in the lemon orchards, which might also have been the site used by a serial killer to hide bodies.
The writing is really interesting, but...more
The writing is really interesting, but...more
This is a short novel that reads quickly, though in a somewhat haphazard narrative format. The reader soon adjusts to Hernandez's style, which suits the storyline itself. Questions of identity and memory (and fame) permeate the story, and the entire novel complicates the nature of reality itself, in ways that will be familiar to readers of Hernandez's other work. Despite the mystic underpinnings, the characters in this story are as real and convincing as any you'll find in graphic literature; He...more
this dreamlike rock-and-roll fantasy is like a mirrored labyrinth, drawing you in before you realize that your frame of reference is entirely useless. in fact doubling seems to be a key motif, represented by the urban legend of a mysterious goatman whose eyes hold the power to let him switch places with you. the second half of the book is also a mirror or echo of the first, if i'm reading it right. this definitely ranks with the greater works in gilbert's canon, although the reliance on overt sy...more
I continue to try to like the Hernandez brothers. I feel like I'm supposed to like them, and I would really like to like them, but in the end they're not my favorites. (To be fair, this book is only by one of them.)
The main gripe I had with Sloth (aside from the art, of which I wasn't the biggest fan) was that it couldn't decide on the rules of the world in which it was set - or, rather, that it couldn't decide on what the characters thought were the rules. I'm more than fine with occasional (or...more
The main gripe I had with Sloth (aside from the art, of which I wasn't the biggest fan) was that it couldn't decide on the rules of the world in which it was set - or, rather, that it couldn't decide on what the characters thought were the rules. I'm more than fine with occasional (or...more
Gilbert Hernandez - writer & artist
4.5/5 stars
A young man living in small town America wills himself into a coma in order to escape the existential ennui of being a teenager without actually committing suicide. He wakes up a year later and in easing himself back into the life he fell asleep to escape finds that his pace of life has literally slowed to a crawl. The art is detailed and expressive; the story is emotionally resonant and strange. I liked it very much, highly recommended.
4.5/5 stars
A young man living in small town America wills himself into a coma in order to escape the existential ennui of being a teenager without actually committing suicide. He wakes up a year later and in easing himself back into the life he fell asleep to escape finds that his pace of life has literally slowed to a crawl. The art is detailed and expressive; the story is emotionally resonant and strange. I liked it very much, highly recommended.
Miguel,Lita and Romeo they are all in a band together. They are trying to see the goatman in the lemon orchard that supposedly switch bodies with them. There are A lot of bodies supposedly buried in the lemon orchard according to a urban legend. Miguel is recovering from a coma and he does everything slowly so people call him sloth. I liked the book because it was interesting and well written. It is hard to figure out the theme of the book but I enjoyed reading it.
I picked up a graphic novel again tonight thinking I would get something a little lighter. When will I learn. Graphic novels aren't just for kids anymore.
I really liked this one. What can I say, I like the freaky, weird ones. Miguel wakes from his self-induced coma and moves through his days so slowly that others quickly start calling him Sloth (also the name of his band). When he and his girlfriend Lita start to investigate the lemon orchard and the urban legend about the Goatman things start t...more
I really liked this one. What can I say, I like the freaky, weird ones. Miguel wakes from his self-induced coma and moves through his days so slowly that others quickly start calling him Sloth (also the name of his band). When he and his girlfriend Lita start to investigate the lemon orchard and the urban legend about the Goatman things start t...more
Hernandez's art is staggeringly beautiful as usual, but the story did not lock into place for me. I did like that what seems like a straight forward love triangle getting twisted and mutated into something more fantastic, lyrical, and confusing. I suspect I might dig this more on a future re-read.
Age level is a bit hard to nail with this one, I think it will appeal to adults, but there might be some YA appeal especially with the relationship stuff. Maybe.
Age level is a bit hard to nail with this one, I think it will appeal to adults, but there might be some YA appeal especially with the relationship stuff. Maybe.
the comparisons to David Lynch are quite justified. though this has a far more relatable and human "plot" than most Lynch tales. more than just a narratively twisting head-trip of a story, this is an honest, sad, sometimes scary and funny tale of suburban youth's loniless and the search for more. an easy subject, but in Beto's hands it is stellar.
Took a break while working my way through all the Heartbreak Soup stories of Palomar to read this. While Sloth doesn't quite compare to the genius of Palomar, it was a decent book. Not one wasted frame in this exploration of slowness, the comfort of comas, and the allure of lemon orchards (there's also a supernatural goat-man).
Back in the '80s, I was a big fan of the alternative comic Love & Rockets so had high expectations for this Gilbert Hernanez graphic novel. But this story of urban legends and teen angst just didn't flow for me -- contradictions and occasional dropped story lines left me feeling jarred. Great art work did much to make up for that.
Yet another suburban hell, depressed teenagers tale with some bad Sundance Channel surrealism thrown in. Unfortunately "Sloth" is written and illustrated by the great Gilbert Hernandez, who's done much better like the amazing "Speak of the Devil". Skip this one, even if you're a fan. Seriously awful.
I'm on a graphic novel kick. Can someone explain this one to me? Interesting, reminded me of Charles Burns' Blackhole, but I'm confused by this one and that's both good and bad. (I like reading a book in a day,though, and I think reading graphic novels is the only way I can pull this off.)
This is the best book I have ever read in my entire life. The only bad part is that there are pictures of a monster which are more horrifying than my worst nightmares. The Goatman will haunt me forever. But other than that, it's incredible. The plot consists entirely of comas.
I can get confused at times and the last half of this book did that to me. But this is not a bad thing, it pushed me as a reader and further proved in my mind that comics are not a low-brow medium.
If I were just a bit smarter, this would probably be up to 4 stars.
If I were just a bit smarter, this would probably be up to 4 stars.
Another great graphic work for teens--maybe a couple of years after "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". The underdog in this book actually wills himself into a coma--and then will himself out of the coma--something I wished (at times) I could do during high school :)
This was cute and mysterious and I really like the illustrations which are a bit ghost world/scooby doo, though i'm not sure if it made a hell of a lot of sense but that's ok cos that kind of adds to the overall dreamy darkside of suburbia mood of the book.
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Gilbert and his brother Jaime often write together under the name "Los Bros Hernandez".
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Aug 04, 2010 09:47am