Book Review! The Heart of the Beast by Dean Motter and Judith Dupre





The bit from the publisher:


Dynamite Entertainment celebrates the 20th Anniversary of this hauntingly evocative graphic novel, written by Dean Motter and Judith Dupre, and featuring lavishly painted artwork by superstar Sean Phillips (Fatale, Criminal). "Science transformed his body, artistry inspired his soul." The Heart of the Beast explores the timeless themes of classic horror literature, set against the backdrop of New York City's decadent art world in the Nineties. Sandra, a beautiful and young bartender, meets the enigmatic Victor, a man with strange scars and stranger secrets. A critically acclaimed tale of gothic love and modern horror, this digitally remastered hardcover edition features additional scrapbook material and commentary by the creators.


I was given the opportunity to read this graphic novel prior to its release in order to do a review and I must say that I am a bit torn.  I never like to do poor reviews and always try to find something of value within each piece that I read or watch.  But to say that this is worthy of a poor review isn’t accurate either.  I will say that Heart of the Beast did not hold my interest and had it not been for this review I never would have finished reading it.

The description from the publisher pretty much sums up the plot.  The story is set in the New York art scene and throws in the relationship between Sandra and Victor.  Had the story been just about the art scene or just about the relationship it may have flowed better.  As it stands, the story jumps between one thought to the next with no fluid transition.  The anniversary edition includes commentary from the creators and I did find this part to be the most interesting tale told.  Overall I would rate this as ok.  What saves it from ruin are the beautiful watercolors by the artist Sean Phillips.

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