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Revolver
REVOLVER is a tale of two worlds, and how the both test a man to his limits...
Almost thirty and living in Seattle, Sam shuffles to his bed after a night out at the bars. The next morning he wakes up and catches the bus into the city, starting another day of his dead end life. But today on the radio he hears that the stock market has crashed, news of a bird-flu epidemic erupting in Asia pushes past a report of "radioactive-material-gone-missing-in-Russia." Did Sam really wake up this morning? The world has gone crazy--turned on its head. Sam thinks about riding the bus full loop, going home and pretending that the day hadn't started.
This terrible day is capped with the destruction of Seattle...
But when Sam wakes up in his small studio apartment the next morning he's confused. On the bus ride to work he listens to the radio. The world is fine...
Realities begin to bleed into one another as Sam jumps between his dull-drum, everyday life and a dark apocalyptic society...but which is the real one and which one will he have to live with forever? And the most important does he have a choice?
Almost thirty and living in Seattle, Sam shuffles to his bed after a night out at the bars. The next morning he wakes up and catches the bus into the city, starting another day of his dead end life. But today on the radio he hears that the stock market has crashed, news of a bird-flu epidemic erupting in Asia pushes past a report of "radioactive-material-gone-missing-in-Russia." Did Sam really wake up this morning? The world has gone crazy--turned on its head. Sam thinks about riding the bus full loop, going home and pretending that the day hadn't started.
This terrible day is capped with the destruction of Seattle...
But when Sam wakes up in his small studio apartment the next morning he's confused. On the bus ride to work he listens to the radio. The world is fine...
Realities begin to bleed into one another as Sam jumps between his dull-drum, everyday life and a dark apocalyptic society...but which is the real one and which one will he have to live with forever? And the most important does he have a choice?
192 pages, Hardcover
First published July 20, 2010
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630 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews
April 29, 2021
Sam is stuck in a crappy job editing celebrity photos for a Chicago newspaper with a materialistic girlfriend. He goes to sleep at 11:11 after a night of drinking and wakes up to find the city being bombed. the avian flu has become a pandemic and the electric grid has come down. Then he goes to sleep at 11:11 again and wakes back up in the real world again. His life begins to drift as he becomes less and less satisfied with the real world while feeling alive in this dystopian world. It's an OK story that has been done many times before in science fiction.
I'm still not a fan of Kindt's art, but I did like his choice of color palettes in this project. Mainly colored in blue and tan tones, the real world was mainly blue with tan accents while the dystopian one was mainly tan with blue accents. I liked the juxtaposition of the alternating color palettes.
I'm still not a fan of Kindt's art, but I did like his choice of color palettes in this project. Mainly colored in blue and tan tones, the real world was mainly blue with tan accents while the dystopian one was mainly tan with blue accents. I liked the juxtaposition of the alternating color palettes.
February 22, 2018
Loved the first half, but that second half...
So what happens when you begin to have two different lives. One is your real world where you're at a dead end job, with a girl you probably don't love, sitting around waiting to go to sleep. Then when you do sleep you're in a world of panic, on the road, fucking your old boss, and killing people just to survive. Sam, the main character, is a interesting character that seems to have his mental stability begin to break. What's real? What's fake? He's starting not to know which leads the viewer down the same road.
Best: The first half of him balancing both worlds is very interesting. I also thought it was intriguing to make him as unlikable as he was. Sometimes that backfires but making him miserable throughout was a interesting choice. I also thought the feel and tone worked really well.
Bad: The fights were poorly drawn and hard to tell what was happening. The last two issues were a mess, and the "twist" ending was really badly done IMO. I also thought it began to drag around the time the "revelation" came.
Overall this was a interesting sci-fi, mystery, type of book. I'd go with a 3 out of 5 just because it did make me want to finish, I just wish the ending was way better.
So what happens when you begin to have two different lives. One is your real world where you're at a dead end job, with a girl you probably don't love, sitting around waiting to go to sleep. Then when you do sleep you're in a world of panic, on the road, fucking your old boss, and killing people just to survive. Sam, the main character, is a interesting character that seems to have his mental stability begin to break. What's real? What's fake? He's starting not to know which leads the viewer down the same road.
Best: The first half of him balancing both worlds is very interesting. I also thought it was intriguing to make him as unlikable as he was. Sometimes that backfires but making him miserable throughout was a interesting choice. I also thought the feel and tone worked really well.
Bad: The fights were poorly drawn and hard to tell what was happening. The last two issues were a mess, and the "twist" ending was really badly done IMO. I also thought it began to drag around the time the "revelation" came.
Overall this was a interesting sci-fi, mystery, type of book. I'd go with a 3 out of 5 just because it did make me want to finish, I just wish the ending was way better.
May 6, 2011
I don’t understand the appeal some writers/readers find in completely unlikable douchebag protagonists. This is not a rant against the “antihero” (Johannes Cabal is a perfect example), characters who I usually love, but rather the “everyday hero” dude character who is lazy, boring, rude, unappreciative, and shallow. We’re supposed to like, relate to him or something. Excuse me, I mean guys are supposed to relate to him. Us poor females, I guess we’re all supposed to see in him that ~mysterious~ guy at work and be intrigued by his refreshing lack of a personality. It’s so sexy how he judges everyone!
So, yeah, I pretty much hated Sam. Privileged and pretentious. His girlfriend was pretty annoying, too. Because all women are vapid, right? Or shrews? Too bad Sam has a woman for a boss, as well! Sucks for him. But I sure am rooting for the guy!
Alright, enough sarcasm. The positives: I loved the idea behind this story a lot. Ok, it reminded me of Fringe with the different realities flip-flopping, and it reminded me of Lost with the whole “constant” thing, but the twist/reveal ending was interesting and kind of unexpected. I liked the style of the artwork and layout, etc. Seriously, if freaking Sam was just replaced by anyone who I even remotely cared about, I’d give it at least 4 stars. But besides Jan, who had a somewhat interesting character arc, every character in this thing was terrible. That scene with Sam visiting with Maria and her parents? Shoot me dead. No, shoot Sam. Please. Girls, if your boyfriend is like Sam... I feel so, so bad for you. Being single is really not that bad, I promise. There are plenty of nice/funny guys who have actual pesonalities and want your number.
So, yeah, I pretty much hated Sam. Privileged and pretentious. His girlfriend was pretty annoying, too. Because all women are vapid, right? Or shrews? Too bad Sam has a woman for a boss, as well! Sucks for him. But I sure am rooting for the guy!
Alright, enough sarcasm. The positives: I loved the idea behind this story a lot. Ok, it reminded me of Fringe with the different realities flip-flopping, and it reminded me of Lost with the whole “constant” thing, but the twist/reveal ending was interesting and kind of unexpected. I liked the style of the artwork and layout, etc. Seriously, if freaking Sam was just replaced by anyone who I even remotely cared about, I’d give it at least 4 stars. But besides Jan, who had a somewhat interesting character arc, every character in this thing was terrible. That scene with Sam visiting with Maria and her parents? Shoot me dead. No, shoot Sam. Please. Girls, if your boyfriend is like Sam... I feel so, so bad for you. Being single is really not that bad, I promise. There are plenty of nice/funny guys who have actual pesonalities and want your number.
August 28, 2015
I wasn't quite sure what to make of this one for awhile but I ended up really liking it.
March 7, 2020
Rereads aren’t usually my forte, so why am I here?
Was it the Vertigo imprint which has bequeathed us classics such as Preacher or 100 Bullets? Unlike the blood splattered ultra-violence that typically characterizes its catalogue, Revolver employs a sparse application of carnage. So it wasn’t that. Was it the eye-alluring deployment of light blues and sand-like beiges? This simplistic yet effective palette redolent of sweet wafts of nectarine nostalgia is surprisingly ensconced first and saturated second with the dark grit and grime of an Escape From New York tinted dystopia. Finding the sweet swilled with the dank made for a jarring choice of chromatic implementation. So it wasn’t that. Or was it the promises of something fresh and creative in an increasingly stale genre? Kind of, but by the time I reached the inevitable conclusion final thoughts became more meh than anything.
From the cover to the story itself, warped reality is the theme dujour here. Yet far from anything technical, hints at sci-fi were clearly sloughed off before the pencils hit the drawing board. Favoring a purely thematic approach, any suggestions within toward a more overarching world are as thin as the illusory answers that never populate any of the ~200 pages here. Which makes for a curious manifestation of not only what Revolver is but from what sources it has sampled to graft its own world.
A thorough sprinkling of proven reality warping/dystopic themes from well known classics such as The Matrix or more recently Inception should have set the stage for a delicious dish for our eyes to feast upon. Instead, by opting for a low simmer that last for almost the entirety of the work, the intellectual herbs and spices employed here are pure garnishments and nothing else. And its precisely this low simmer that exemplifies Revolver’s most glaring detriment. Because action is largely employed sporadically in the tiniest of slivers, there is never any true sense of immanent danger to our main character or to ancillaries. Sans anything approaching a satisfyingly solid morsel of present danger, a low simmer punctuated by the occasional plot development is all we really get here. Instead of allowing the sampled flavorings to enrich the dish itself, a mere flame held low to the course results in a paper thin offering more spice than actual product.
Yet with all things considered there's nothing truly contemptible here. Nor is there anything particularly baleful for the most acerbic of critics to work with. Unfulfilled potential of the unseen is the only real sin here.
Amorphous at every level, all aspects of storytelling from the plot to the characters and to the very settings themselves, Revolver is nothing more than a handful of cotton candy in a comic book format. Characters are largely flat with cardboard levels of depth that are only grown in worryingly few instances. Moreover, the gunk and grime characteristic of all successful dystopic offerings which are largely illustrated by effective emanations of the world at large are displayed only in few and far between instances here that are as repetitive as they are uncreative. On that very same note, the applications of atmosphere (which are one of the few victories here) while welcome and generally well employed cannot buoy a story so flimsy and ultimately vacuous to make it the least bit memorable.
Just as it began, the conclusion is just as fuzzy. Degrees of opacity is pretty much up for debate but by the end of the comic I really felt like I hadn’t moved much from point A to point B. With not much of a journey to be savored, the level of memorability remains low. As such, the only revolving I’ll be doing is toward a better comic to be read.
Was it the Vertigo imprint which has bequeathed us classics such as Preacher or 100 Bullets? Unlike the blood splattered ultra-violence that typically characterizes its catalogue, Revolver employs a sparse application of carnage. So it wasn’t that. Was it the eye-alluring deployment of light blues and sand-like beiges? This simplistic yet effective palette redolent of sweet wafts of nectarine nostalgia is surprisingly ensconced first and saturated second with the dark grit and grime of an Escape From New York tinted dystopia. Finding the sweet swilled with the dank made for a jarring choice of chromatic implementation. So it wasn’t that. Or was it the promises of something fresh and creative in an increasingly stale genre? Kind of, but by the time I reached the inevitable conclusion final thoughts became more meh than anything.
From the cover to the story itself, warped reality is the theme dujour here. Yet far from anything technical, hints at sci-fi were clearly sloughed off before the pencils hit the drawing board. Favoring a purely thematic approach, any suggestions within toward a more overarching world are as thin as the illusory answers that never populate any of the ~200 pages here. Which makes for a curious manifestation of not only what Revolver is but from what sources it has sampled to graft its own world.
A thorough sprinkling of proven reality warping/dystopic themes from well known classics such as The Matrix or more recently Inception should have set the stage for a delicious dish for our eyes to feast upon. Instead, by opting for a low simmer that last for almost the entirety of the work, the intellectual herbs and spices employed here are pure garnishments and nothing else. And its precisely this low simmer that exemplifies Revolver’s most glaring detriment. Because action is largely employed sporadically in the tiniest of slivers, there is never any true sense of immanent danger to our main character or to ancillaries. Sans anything approaching a satisfyingly solid morsel of present danger, a low simmer punctuated by the occasional plot development is all we really get here. Instead of allowing the sampled flavorings to enrich the dish itself, a mere flame held low to the course results in a paper thin offering more spice than actual product.
Yet with all things considered there's nothing truly contemptible here. Nor is there anything particularly baleful for the most acerbic of critics to work with. Unfulfilled potential of the unseen is the only real sin here.
Amorphous at every level, all aspects of storytelling from the plot to the characters and to the very settings themselves, Revolver is nothing more than a handful of cotton candy in a comic book format. Characters are largely flat with cardboard levels of depth that are only grown in worryingly few instances. Moreover, the gunk and grime characteristic of all successful dystopic offerings which are largely illustrated by effective emanations of the world at large are displayed only in few and far between instances here that are as repetitive as they are uncreative. On that very same note, the applications of atmosphere (which are one of the few victories here) while welcome and generally well employed cannot buoy a story so flimsy and ultimately vacuous to make it the least bit memorable.
Just as it began, the conclusion is just as fuzzy. Degrees of opacity is pretty much up for debate but by the end of the comic I really felt like I hadn’t moved much from point A to point B. With not much of a journey to be savored, the level of memorability remains low. As such, the only revolving I’ll be doing is toward a better comic to be read.
February 1, 2012
Do you love reading books that are badly written, badly drawn, have no convincing dialogue or characters, and present everything in a half-baked fashion? Do you like wasting your free time reading trite and worthless books? Look no further because Matt "Can't Write, Can't Draw" Kindt has written just the book for you - "Revolver".
The book is about a guy who lives in two different worlds, one which is much like ours and the other where the world has gone to hell. Every day at 11.11pm he makes the switch.
There's no attempt to explain why this man has this sudden power, except for a pathetic coda which if that really was how it happened then this is officially the stupidest comic book ever written. For some strange reason the survivors in the damaged world put all of their effort into writing a dull newsletter to drop on people in a plane called "Revolver". Why or how they thought this would make an impact doesn't matter because it doesn't and is a total dud as a plot device.
Kindt's attempt at dialogue is painful to read. If you try and read this mess, wait until the scene with the war veteran and see how utterly lacking Kindt's ability to convey drama, emotion, or cohesion is when trying to construct a semblance of the character's humanity that would make him seem real. But he has this problem with all of his characters. The girlfriend of the man is a two dimensional material girl who spends her time reading catalogues and furnishing her home. The man is against this because materialism is bad. Watch how he becomes increasingly angered by the material nature of some humans in the 21st century - it's bad! He gets so mad he knocks over her coffee table!
But the main character, I forget his name, is by far the worst of the bunch. To call him a character is laughable, he has none. He's an office drone and a malcontent who does nothing to change his life until he is forced to do so. Then he assumes non-ideas as his new outlook on life - possessions possess you man, we all need to live in the moment. And he's so unlikeable, I just wanted him to die and the book to end.
The art is just plain horrible. His drawing style is so unpleasant and awkward to look at, that even when you look closely at the page it still looks like you're peering through swamp water at an image.
The sci-fi angle of switching between parallel worlds has been done to death, and the way the book is written, the way the characters are written, shows no originality of concept or execution. How anyone at Vertigo thought this was a book that deserved to be published is astonishing. Matt Kindt, you are the least interesting writer/artist in comics (somehow) working today and "Revolver" is a comic book that I urge anyone thinking of purchasing, to avoid like the turd on the pavement it is. Easily one of the worst comic books I’ve ever read
The book is about a guy who lives in two different worlds, one which is much like ours and the other where the world has gone to hell. Every day at 11.11pm he makes the switch.
There's no attempt to explain why this man has this sudden power, except for a pathetic coda which if that really was how it happened then this is officially the stupidest comic book ever written. For some strange reason the survivors in the damaged world put all of their effort into writing a dull newsletter to drop on people in a plane called "Revolver". Why or how they thought this would make an impact doesn't matter because it doesn't and is a total dud as a plot device.
Kindt's attempt at dialogue is painful to read. If you try and read this mess, wait until the scene with the war veteran and see how utterly lacking Kindt's ability to convey drama, emotion, or cohesion is when trying to construct a semblance of the character's humanity that would make him seem real. But he has this problem with all of his characters. The girlfriend of the man is a two dimensional material girl who spends her time reading catalogues and furnishing her home. The man is against this because materialism is bad. Watch how he becomes increasingly angered by the material nature of some humans in the 21st century - it's bad! He gets so mad he knocks over her coffee table!
But the main character, I forget his name, is by far the worst of the bunch. To call him a character is laughable, he has none. He's an office drone and a malcontent who does nothing to change his life until he is forced to do so. Then he assumes non-ideas as his new outlook on life - possessions possess you man, we all need to live in the moment. And he's so unlikeable, I just wanted him to die and the book to end.
The art is just plain horrible. His drawing style is so unpleasant and awkward to look at, that even when you look closely at the page it still looks like you're peering through swamp water at an image.
The sci-fi angle of switching between parallel worlds has been done to death, and the way the book is written, the way the characters are written, shows no originality of concept or execution. How anyone at Vertigo thought this was a book that deserved to be published is astonishing. Matt Kindt, you are the least interesting writer/artist in comics (somehow) working today and "Revolver" is a comic book that I urge anyone thinking of purchasing, to avoid like the turd on the pavement it is. Easily one of the worst comic books I’ve ever read
November 3, 2012
Sci fi? Philosophical? Guy lives in two horrible worlds, one is boring with his materialistic girlfriend and a job he hates, then every other day he lives (is this a dream? is he going crazy?) in an apocalyptic societal free fall where his very survival is at stake.. Both horrible options.... I can't talk about it much without spoilers, but I liked this, enjoyed it... Yes, he and his girlfriend and boss are annoying, as some/many of the reviews complain, but that is kinda the point, seems to me, that they need to make meaningful lives for themselves... but do they? Worth checking out, a very talented artist and storyteller with a gift for plot and world view.... A page turner with a point!
February 6, 2022
Remember Fight Club. This is a little bit like that. Though less nihilistic. And less likely to inspire bozos into being bigger bozos.
I feel like it’s really difficult to reveal any part of the story without revealing too much. You’ll just have to trust me when I say it’s really good.
Matt Kindt did do the art in addition to the writing in this one.
I feel like it’s really difficult to reveal any part of the story without revealing too much. You’ll just have to trust me when I say it’s really good.
Matt Kindt did do the art in addition to the writing in this one.
December 4, 2010
I want to take the room down a minute (I've always wanted to say that. Blammo!) and talk to the people who don't like to read graphic novels, but are curious enough to look at a review of one: I was just like you. I loved comics as a kid but I grew up and graphic novels became big and I just wasn't biting. To the point where normally if I liked a movie and heard it was based on a book, then I'd seek out the book. But if it was based on a graphic novel, I wouldn't be interested in reading further. I also was the only person who didn't love Watchmen (I dunno, don't throw stuff at me.) But I kept hearing people whose literary opinions I trusted rave about them. Even NPR has a blogger who covers comics these days. So I read one. I read another. I got over it. I really like the visual element and how the artistic choices can add depth and narrative to the storyline. And a perfect example of this is Revolver, written and drawn by Matt Kindt for DC's Vertigo imprint.
So, back to the reviewing thing. This is the story of Sam, a guy in a job he hates editing party photos for a Chicago area newspaper. He has a sweet but materialistic girlfriend and a boss who hates him. As the story opens he comes home from a bar, passes out and the clock turns 11:11. The next day on his way to work, as he fumbles on the sidewalk for his sunglasses, his building is hit by a bomb. The country appears to be under attack. Things quickly go to hell. But the next day, everything is back to normal. The next, he is back in a world of martial law, looting, and bombed out urban landscapes. Sam soon realizes that at 11:11pm every day, he flips from one world to the other. Everything is the same except one world is peaceful to the point of being inane and in one all of the major cities have been attacked, the national power grid has been destroyed and Seattle is gone. Sam is the only one aware of these shifts. Has he lost his grip on reality or is something most sinister going on? You think I'd tell you?
Several things I liked included how Sam's boss, whom he hates in one alterverse, becomes the person he is closest to in another. It makes you think how much circumstances dictate our allegiances. The artwork does a great job of delineating which world Sam is in, alternating between a palette of blue and muddy browns. The visuals are as important to the story as the words. I really liked the creeping dread in the transitional panels and the tableaus of chaos in the background. Keep your eyes on the bottom of the pages too, where Kindt cleverly weaves page numbers into headline news scrolls which make it abundantly clear to the reader which alterverse they are in (although there don't appear to be major news organizations left in the apocalyptic universe so I cry a minor foul at that.) Without giving anything away, I also liked the ambiguity of the ending.
Are you still reading this, graphic novel haters? You need to get over it. I recommend you start out with this or Ghost World or Asterios Polyp.
So, back to the reviewing thing. This is the story of Sam, a guy in a job he hates editing party photos for a Chicago area newspaper. He has a sweet but materialistic girlfriend and a boss who hates him. As the story opens he comes home from a bar, passes out and the clock turns 11:11. The next day on his way to work, as he fumbles on the sidewalk for his sunglasses, his building is hit by a bomb. The country appears to be under attack. Things quickly go to hell. But the next day, everything is back to normal. The next, he is back in a world of martial law, looting, and bombed out urban landscapes. Sam soon realizes that at 11:11pm every day, he flips from one world to the other. Everything is the same except one world is peaceful to the point of being inane and in one all of the major cities have been attacked, the national power grid has been destroyed and Seattle is gone. Sam is the only one aware of these shifts. Has he lost his grip on reality or is something most sinister going on? You think I'd tell you?
Several things I liked included how Sam's boss, whom he hates in one alterverse, becomes the person he is closest to in another. It makes you think how much circumstances dictate our allegiances. The artwork does a great job of delineating which world Sam is in, alternating between a palette of blue and muddy browns. The visuals are as important to the story as the words. I really liked the creeping dread in the transitional panels and the tableaus of chaos in the background. Keep your eyes on the bottom of the pages too, where Kindt cleverly weaves page numbers into headline news scrolls which make it abundantly clear to the reader which alterverse they are in (although there don't appear to be major news organizations left in the apocalyptic universe so I cry a minor foul at that.) Without giving anything away, I also liked the ambiguity of the ending.
Are you still reading this, graphic novel haters? You need to get over it. I recommend you start out with this or Ghost World or Asterios Polyp.
October 13, 2010
Loved the way this was set up. A guy in a job he hates with a boss he hates has a dream that Seattle is hit by a dirty bomb. In the dream he rescues the loathed boss from the wreckage. They then begin an adventure - which continues each night. By day his life is just as humdrum, the boss is a bitch and his girlfriend is driving him barmy by wittering on about dining sets.
What I really liked about this was the unfolding of the two stories. With a double narrative like this, it's easy to get bogged down in back story, as of course the dream world must be seeded by pressures in the real world. The order in which everything is shown, and the way one makes sense of the other, has to be handled very carefully, and Kindt does this very well. Pretty soon we prefer the dream world to the real one, just as the MC does.
But what I liked most of all was a clever device on the footer of each page. Running along the bottom is a ticker-tape of news broadcasts. For the dream world they are news reports of destruction and crisis. For the real world they are dull news-fluff about celebrities and corporate giants opening mkore branches of their identikit stores. The real genius, though, is that each of these snippets contains a number. We start with 1 and they work up into the hundreds. The numbers are rendered in bold, and the sequence continues when the story switches between worlds. This creates an unsettling effect of a countdown or looming event, and at a strange base level ties the two stories together even more. Wish I could figure out a way to do something similar in prose.
If you're writing a double narrative or a story involving a dream world, look at this.
What I really liked about this was the unfolding of the two stories. With a double narrative like this, it's easy to get bogged down in back story, as of course the dream world must be seeded by pressures in the real world. The order in which everything is shown, and the way one makes sense of the other, has to be handled very carefully, and Kindt does this very well. Pretty soon we prefer the dream world to the real one, just as the MC does.
But what I liked most of all was a clever device on the footer of each page. Running along the bottom is a ticker-tape of news broadcasts. For the dream world they are news reports of destruction and crisis. For the real world they are dull news-fluff about celebrities and corporate giants opening mkore branches of their identikit stores. The real genius, though, is that each of these snippets contains a number. We start with 1 and they work up into the hundreds. The numbers are rendered in bold, and the sequence continues when the story switches between worlds. This creates an unsettling effect of a countdown or looming event, and at a strange base level ties the two stories together even more. Wish I could figure out a way to do something similar in prose.
If you're writing a double narrative or a story involving a dream world, look at this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2024
Historien har et morsomt sentralt mysterium: en person som ser ut til å hoppe mellom to verdener kl 11:11 hver kveld. Den er best i starten når vi som lesere prøver å finne ut hva som skjer sammen med ham, men jeg hadde ønsket meg flere øyeblikk som sto ut fra mengden. Jeg klarer ikke huske noen store høydepunkter, men jeg koste meg og leste alt i en smekk.
October 27, 2013
This was an okay read. Overall, I was disappointed in the story here because there's a lot that could have been done with the premise of finding yourself living in two worlds--one being your normal boring life, and the other a post-apocolyptic version of the real world you visit while you sleep. An interesting side effect is that facts learned in one world apply to the other, like finding out your boss' dirty secret or an abandoned boat seen while driving over the bridge during a road trip becomes your secret way across the river in the dream world. It also got interesting when he discovered there was another guy experiencing the same two world phenomenon but with different ideas of how to behave. Very cool story elements with good potential.
First, I really didn't feel invested in Sam, the main character, for the first two thirds of the book, perhaps because he wasn't invested in anything himself. That might have been intended for that reason, but the feeling seemed to last too long for the length of the story. Since I wasn't too interested in Sam, I wasn't too interested in the story until about the last third of it when Sam decides to actually take some action in both worlds.
Second, I really disliked the explanation in the 'epilogue' that this two world experience was the result of a blow to the head (which also held true for the other guy) rather than remaining unexplained/unexplainable. It took the magic out of it, in a way. The logic also gets messed up. By being unexplained, it makes sense for the strange, unexplainable things like two people sharing the same hallucination and facts being true across both worlds to happen. If being hit over the head causes the phenomenon, then those facts should have an equally viable explanation, which isn't offered by the story.
Third, I didn't really like the twist in the end. I was surprised and pleased that Sam decided to choose the real world to Make A Difference in, as the newspaper says in the final dream world panel, because I really thought he was becoming more invested in the dream world. Back in the real world, he seems to take a renewed interest in his relationship with his girlfriend, Maria, he quits his job, and drives off into the sunset with her to "do something meaningful" and "make a difference" in this world. Instead of keeping with that cliche and going to start fresh elsewhere, the implication with the last panels including a pistol on the back seat is that he's going to murder Verve in San Francisco as he did in the dream world. Sure, he's a bad guy with his hands in a lot of unsavory things in the real world, but Sam had already achieved the goal of ejecting Verve (and himself) from the dream world where Verve was a terrorist. Why go shoot him? What more needs to be done? If the answer is to stop him from doing the same in the real world somehow, what does he think is going to happen when the police arrest him for shooting a motivational speaker? In the dream world, he needed the assistance of the CIA. It would seem more plausible if he planned to tip them off instead of murder. It was really odd.
I think it would have been better stretched into a longer work with enough time to explain (or not explain, consistently) some of the story elements better.
First, I really didn't feel invested in Sam, the main character, for the first two thirds of the book, perhaps because he wasn't invested in anything himself. That might have been intended for that reason, but the feeling seemed to last too long for the length of the story. Since I wasn't too interested in Sam, I wasn't too interested in the story until about the last third of it when Sam decides to actually take some action in both worlds.
Second, I really disliked the explanation in the 'epilogue' that this two world experience was the result of a blow to the head (which also held true for the other guy) rather than remaining unexplained/unexplainable. It took the magic out of it, in a way. The logic also gets messed up. By being unexplained, it makes sense for the strange, unexplainable things like two people sharing the same hallucination and facts being true across both worlds to happen. If being hit over the head causes the phenomenon, then those facts should have an equally viable explanation, which isn't offered by the story.
Third, I didn't really like the twist in the end. I was surprised and pleased that Sam decided to choose the real world to Make A Difference in, as the newspaper says in the final dream world panel, because I really thought he was becoming more invested in the dream world. Back in the real world, he seems to take a renewed interest in his relationship with his girlfriend, Maria, he quits his job, and drives off into the sunset with her to "do something meaningful" and "make a difference" in this world. Instead of keeping with that cliche and going to start fresh elsewhere, the implication with the last panels including a pistol on the back seat is that he's going to murder Verve in San Francisco as he did in the dream world. Sure, he's a bad guy with his hands in a lot of unsavory things in the real world, but Sam had already achieved the goal of ejecting Verve (and himself) from the dream world where Verve was a terrorist. Why go shoot him? What more needs to be done? If the answer is to stop him from doing the same in the real world somehow, what does he think is going to happen when the police arrest him for shooting a motivational speaker? In the dream world, he needed the assistance of the CIA. It would seem more plausible if he planned to tip them off instead of murder. It was really odd.
I think it would have been better stretched into a longer work with enough time to explain (or not explain, consistently) some of the story elements better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2021
Revolver is a graphic novel originally released under the Vertigo imprint written and drawn by Matt Kindt.
Sam hates his life. He has a crappy job editing celebrity photos, his boss despise him, he is a mundane relationship, and cannot find any joy in his home life. The next day Sam wakes up in a world where major US cities have been bombed, the avian flu has been become a world wide pandemic, the economy crashes, and the communication grid is shut down. Sam finds this new world dangerously exciting. And then the following day Sam wakes back in his "normal world." Sam is faced with a interesting choice, does he choose a safe but boring world or a dangerous yet exciting world?
This book has such an interesting premise. It is also drawn/colored very uniquely with the "safe" world colored blue and the "dangerous" world colored brown so that the reader always knows where they are. There is one glaring problem though - the main character is kind of an asshole and not at all interesting. The book present some interesting ideas and is extremely unique, but the lack of a strong and interesting "hero" makes this book fall a little flat.
Sam hates his life. He has a crappy job editing celebrity photos, his boss despise him, he is a mundane relationship, and cannot find any joy in his home life. The next day Sam wakes up in a world where major US cities have been bombed, the avian flu has been become a world wide pandemic, the economy crashes, and the communication grid is shut down. Sam finds this new world dangerously exciting. And then the following day Sam wakes back in his "normal world." Sam is faced with a interesting choice, does he choose a safe but boring world or a dangerous yet exciting world?
This book has such an interesting premise. It is also drawn/colored very uniquely with the "safe" world colored blue and the "dangerous" world colored brown so that the reader always knows where they are. There is one glaring problem though - the main character is kind of an asshole and not at all interesting. The book present some interesting ideas and is extremely unique, but the lack of a strong and interesting "hero" makes this book fall a little flat.
August 19, 2023
Very interesting premise of living in alternate realities simultaneously and being a good story about finding purpose and motivation in life. Artwork isn’t a style I particularly really like but the separate realities split by blue and red colouring was good. Overall a good book!
October 25, 2021
4.5
I managed to grab this reprint during the pandemic and when you consider the story itself it's quite twisted. Matt Kindt has been a mainstay in my collection and I either find his work incredible, or slightly okay. He genuinely is one of the best writers in the medium at the moment and Revolver showcases the early talent he possessed. Kindt has created a clever story and it's interesting with each page turned. The case unfolds slowly and you never really receive all the answers but that's okay. I loved the cold conclusion but you definitely know what is going to happen with that gun on the seat. I honestly should've read this sooner but I'm happy that I've read it at all. The overall twists and turns don't payoff so I did drop this down to a 4.5 as that annoyed me slightly. I have the Mind MGMT and Dept H hardcovers to digest in the coming months so my Kindt days are only beginning.
I managed to grab this reprint during the pandemic and when you consider the story itself it's quite twisted. Matt Kindt has been a mainstay in my collection and I either find his work incredible, or slightly okay. He genuinely is one of the best writers in the medium at the moment and Revolver showcases the early talent he possessed. Kindt has created a clever story and it's interesting with each page turned. The case unfolds slowly and you never really receive all the answers but that's okay. I loved the cold conclusion but you definitely know what is going to happen with that gun on the seat. I honestly should've read this sooner but I'm happy that I've read it at all. The overall twists and turns don't payoff so I did drop this down to a 4.5 as that annoyed me slightly. I have the Mind MGMT and Dept H hardcovers to digest in the coming months so my Kindt days are only beginning.
March 27, 2012
You will really only like this story if you enjoy Kindt's style of art. And I know that it isn't for everyone. It isn't clean or overly detailed, but is rough and looks hurried. It's a simple style that I like. Colorization is also nice, most panels are depicted in 4 colors. The story is well done and interesting as well.
February 7, 2018
I had the same feeling reading Revolver as I did watching Momento and Inception. While this story is nothing like those two films, it has the same elements that make you wonder where all these events are headed.
Every other day Sam wakes up in either his normal world or a world where a series of planned terrorist attacks have destroyed the US infrastructure. Sam struggles to cope with different aspects of each world in a search to understand why this is happening to him.
There are a ton of alternant dimension/world books out there so I applaud Kindt making Revolver new and original. The ultimate direction is unexpected and very well done.
Hollywood needs to jump on this head knocker.
Every other day Sam wakes up in either his normal world or a world where a series of planned terrorist attacks have destroyed the US infrastructure. Sam struggles to cope with different aspects of each world in a search to understand why this is happening to him.
There are a ton of alternant dimension/world books out there so I applaud Kindt making Revolver new and original. The ultimate direction is unexpected and very well done.
Hollywood needs to jump on this head knocker.
June 14, 2023
Absolutely fantastic.
June 13, 2013
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but Matt Kindt’s Revolver still finds a way to make his post-apocalyptic world (and this graphic novel) feel incomplete.
Sam lives a day in the normal world, then the next (same) day in an alternate world that has been bombed out. The people he knows in each are different, and in time, he’ll have to choose between the two. It should be an obvious pick—you know, the not post-apocalyptic one—but a world of desperation makes Sam realize just how superficial his regular life is. It’s an interesting take on things, and as Kindt is the creator, writer and artist, I was interested to see how his ‘all of the above’ approach would shape the execution. In the end, I didn’t notice much difference, but I think that’s a testament to the power of graphic artist collaboration. Oh wait, Steve Wands did the letters. Oh wait, nobody cares about the letters…
I felt fairly neutral on Kindt’s style—I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it—yet I didn’t feel like he used the medium well enough when it should excel at depicting alternate universes. A graphic novel has all the tools to make a post-apocalyptic story work (come on, you can actually see what it looks like!) yet right as the big, external conflict finally comes into focus, Revolver wraps up quickly. It’s a shame, because the story of P.K. Verve—an inspirational speaker in one world, a terrorist in the other—has great tension and motivation. I didn’t just want more of Verve, I wanted more of Revolver, period. Sadly, it was not be, and the story closed lacking. Two stars.
Sam lives a day in the normal world, then the next (same) day in an alternate world that has been bombed out. The people he knows in each are different, and in time, he’ll have to choose between the two. It should be an obvious pick—you know, the not post-apocalyptic one—but a world of desperation makes Sam realize just how superficial his regular life is. It’s an interesting take on things, and as Kindt is the creator, writer and artist, I was interested to see how his ‘all of the above’ approach would shape the execution. In the end, I didn’t notice much difference, but I think that’s a testament to the power of graphic artist collaboration. Oh wait, Steve Wands did the letters. Oh wait, nobody cares about the letters…
I felt fairly neutral on Kindt’s style—I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it—yet I didn’t feel like he used the medium well enough when it should excel at depicting alternate universes. A graphic novel has all the tools to make a post-apocalyptic story work (come on, you can actually see what it looks like!) yet right as the big, external conflict finally comes into focus, Revolver wraps up quickly. It’s a shame, because the story of P.K. Verve—an inspirational speaker in one world, a terrorist in the other—has great tension and motivation. I didn’t just want more of Verve, I wanted more of Revolver, period. Sadly, it was not be, and the story closed lacking. Two stars.
September 17, 2016
AHH THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD I READ IT IN A SITTING. A man wakes up in an apocalyptic wasteland, then goes back to regular life, alternating every time the clock strikes 11:11. That's all you need to know. Go read this!
May 18, 2013
This book reminded me a lot of the short lived TV show "Awake" which came after "Revolver" and clearly stole the same concept from it. Guy goes to sleep in one world and wakes up in another. In one world, he's an apathetic photo editor who's life is pretty good. He has a great girlfriend he doesn't deserve, an easy job he doesn't deserve and is too lazy to actually perform well, and is just drifting through life. Very "Fight Club." In the other world, there have been nuclear attacks on the U.S. and there's an avian flu outbreak that brings the country to its' knees.
He switches back and forth between both trying to figure out which reality (if either) is real. I enjoyed the writing and the story a great deal. In fact it was almost a 5/5 except for Matt Kindt's illustrations were very ugly and often appeared amateurish and sloppy. I realize this may be what he was "going" for here but all the same I didn't care for it. Even his sense of proportion and dimension seemed off. Basic stuff. Again, I'm willing to believe that this was what he was going for to help the reader feel as disoriented as the protagonist but it just wasn't for me and definitely wasn't up to the standards of the fantastic story that it was telling.
I would recommend this for anyone who liked the early seasons of "Lost" or, oddly enough, "Quantum Leap." Good stuff.
He switches back and forth between both trying to figure out which reality (if either) is real. I enjoyed the writing and the story a great deal. In fact it was almost a 5/5 except for Matt Kindt's illustrations were very ugly and often appeared amateurish and sloppy. I realize this may be what he was "going" for here but all the same I didn't care for it. Even his sense of proportion and dimension seemed off. Basic stuff. Again, I'm willing to believe that this was what he was going for to help the reader feel as disoriented as the protagonist but it just wasn't for me and definitely wasn't up to the standards of the fantastic story that it was telling.
I would recommend this for anyone who liked the early seasons of "Lost" or, oddly enough, "Quantum Leap." Good stuff.
December 20, 2010
The Catch of the book is fantastic, and I loved where the author took it. Very creative.
On the other hand, the author chose a lazy, privileged, 20/30-something white guy who squanders the great things that fall into his lap (without any effort or merit on his part) as the "hero" of the story, who grows through adversity (kind of) (well, arguably) (well, maybe not really), and I am just a *little* bit tired of such characters as the protagonist. Seriously, it is ok to have your characters be losers who hate their lives (the supposedly relatable "common man" variety) for a reason other than that they are just apathetic, entitled douche bags.
On the other hand, the author chose a lazy, privileged, 20/30-something white guy who squanders the great things that fall into his lap (without any effort or merit on his part) as the "hero" of the story, who grows through adversity (kind of) (well, arguably) (well, maybe not really), and I am just a *little* bit tired of such characters as the protagonist. Seriously, it is ok to have your characters be losers who hate their lives (the supposedly relatable "common man" variety) for a reason other than that they are just apathetic, entitled douche bags.
February 17, 2012
If this were a movie, it'd probably be one of my favorites. It's hard to describe this book without giving away too much. I'll just leave it at saying that a guy wakes up and groggily goes to work - all around him are signs of apocalyptic collapse, but he doesn't even notice until he's all the way at the skyscraper of his employ.
I dug the themes he was playing with, the elements from some of my favorite stories, some of my favorite science-fiction concepts.
Honestly, though, I never really connected to the characters and the illustrations weren't my favorite. So three stars.
I dug the themes he was playing with, the elements from some of my favorite stories, some of my favorite science-fiction concepts.
Honestly, though, I never really connected to the characters and the illustrations weren't my favorite. So three stars.
August 18, 2010
Very cool thriller with depth from Matt Kindt. Expressive brushwork is quick and helps propel the (excellent) story forward with a kinetic energy. Good plausible and interesting characters are to be expected from this original storyteller yet this story is more of a thriller. Subdued two tone color schemes give this story a dry "realistic" tone to it.
June 21, 2013
Exciting premise, wish it would have gone on longer. Lots of story opportunities with that setup. Thought provoking re: the differences in how we would act under different circumstances. How crisis brings out things we never knew were there. Also thought the timing of the reveal was perfect-it dawns on us as it's dawning on the main character.
December 23, 2010
The basic premise is a plot I've seen before, more often in movies, although the specifics are specific to Revolver. But because most of it is borrowed, it just isn't that interesting. Nothing new! The illustrations are amazing, and I like the contrast between the two realities.
August 12, 2019
El protagonista se mueve entre dos mundos, uno que podríamos considerar como nuestra realidad cotidiana y otro en el que se ha desatado el apocalipsis: guerras, pandemias, desastres...
Muy bien narrado y un final a la altura.
Muy bien narrado y un final a la altura.
June 4, 2021
What a gem! While directionless and passive at first, the main character soon discovers his purpose in life. This tale of survival in two different worlds is easy to recommend, though don't expect stellar graphics or strong characters - at least not until the end. If you like any of Matt Kindt's works, this one is right up your alley.
Sam has a dead-end job, a materialistic girlfriend and no prospects. His live gets turned on its head when he finds himself in a war-torn world where he must fight for survival. But the next day he switches back to the normal world, while retaining every memory of both worlds. This makes him succumb further and further into a depression. His only motivation becomes to find answers - what is happening to him, what does he need to do to survive and ultimately, which world to choose?
Sam has a dead-end job, a materialistic girlfriend and no prospects. His live gets turned on its head when he finds himself in a war-torn world where he must fight for survival. But the next day he switches back to the normal world, while retaining every memory of both worlds. This makes him succumb further and further into a depression. His only motivation becomes to find answers - what is happening to him, what does he need to do to survive and ultimately, which world to choose?
May 29, 2024
"Revolver" è un piccolo capolavoro dalla connotazione quasi dickiana, scritto e illustrato (in bicromia blu/beige, non casualmente come vedremo) da Matt Kindt.
Sam, un uomo qualunque, uno che sopravvive nella propria routine quotidiana, si trova improvvisamente a vivere in bilico tra due mondi: il suo mondo tristemente ordinario e un mondo diverso, al collasso, in cui incombe l'apocalisse sotto diverse forme (influenza aviaria, bombe, radiazioni). In particolare si trova a vivere in modo alternato da una parte e dall'altra (alle 11:11 di ogni giorno scatta lo switch): mentre nel mondo ordinario continua ad essere sempre il solito uomo senza direzione, nel mondo morente si scopre reattivo e combattivo, capace di sfruttare conoscenze ed esperienze acquisite nella sua vita ordinaria e di stupire coi propri comportamenti perfino la sua capa, che l'ha sempre considerato poco più di una nullità.
A cavallo di due solide realtà, starà proprio a Sam compiere una scelta definitiva: tornare nel mondo della quotidianità ordinaria o restare nel mondo disastrato, nel quale però cui riesce ad essere una persona migliore.
La storia di Sam scorre rapida lungo entrambe le realtà, le esperienze si intrecciano e si accumulano fino ad arrivare ad una conclusione in bilico tra amarezza e riscatto.
Sam, un uomo qualunque, uno che sopravvive nella propria routine quotidiana, si trova improvvisamente a vivere in bilico tra due mondi: il suo mondo tristemente ordinario e un mondo diverso, al collasso, in cui incombe l'apocalisse sotto diverse forme (influenza aviaria, bombe, radiazioni). In particolare si trova a vivere in modo alternato da una parte e dall'altra (alle 11:11 di ogni giorno scatta lo switch): mentre nel mondo ordinario continua ad essere sempre il solito uomo senza direzione, nel mondo morente si scopre reattivo e combattivo, capace di sfruttare conoscenze ed esperienze acquisite nella sua vita ordinaria e di stupire coi propri comportamenti perfino la sua capa, che l'ha sempre considerato poco più di una nullità.
A cavallo di due solide realtà, starà proprio a Sam compiere una scelta definitiva: tornare nel mondo della quotidianità ordinaria o restare nel mondo disastrato, nel quale però cui riesce ad essere una persona migliore.
La storia di Sam scorre rapida lungo entrambe le realtà, le esperienze si intrecciano e si accumulano fino ad arrivare ad una conclusione in bilico tra amarezza e riscatto.
August 25, 2021
I read some reviews on goodreads and there is not a lot of middle ground for this book. I can see why. Me, I loved this book. I found it a compelling treatise on free will. It’s subtle and it’s slow, and it took me awhile to have a guess as to what is going on but I found that compelling. In the end I suspect that different people will have different takes on what really took place. To my mind most of the best art is divisive. It’s what makes you think.
I won’t get into the plot -I read it cold and encourage you to as well. I don’t think the artistry can be denied, love it or hate it. Kindt uses a clever juxtaposition of a two tone color palette to help tell his story and hands down the most clever page numbering to do the same. I love touches like this. I personally like his art style a lot. I read the book because it had his name on it.
I would encourage everyone to read to the end but if you hate it early on don’t expect big changes, they are not coming. It is also very consistent with his other work so if you don’t like Kindt this is unlikely to change your mind. If you do like Kindt I think your in for a treat.
Books like this are why I tell people Graphic Novels are credible art and literature.
I won’t get into the plot -I read it cold and encourage you to as well. I don’t think the artistry can be denied, love it or hate it. Kindt uses a clever juxtaposition of a two tone color palette to help tell his story and hands down the most clever page numbering to do the same. I love touches like this. I personally like his art style a lot. I read the book because it had his name on it.
I would encourage everyone to read to the end but if you hate it early on don’t expect big changes, they are not coming. It is also very consistent with his other work so if you don’t like Kindt this is unlikely to change your mind. If you do like Kindt I think your in for a treat.
Books like this are why I tell people Graphic Novels are credible art and literature.
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