The Divided States Of Hysteria

The Divided States Of Hysteria | Howard Chaykin

so-so

This grim, dark tale of a politically divided US by a brilliant author of the genre is brought low by one absurd stylistic choice. In attempting to emulate the constant noise of the media (news, social, radio, etc), the creators decided it was a good idea to paper over almost every panel of every page with a row of gibberish fonts that adds nothing to the narrative but an intrusive, ugly obstacle to view the art. An own goal of epic proportions.

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The_Book_Ninja

Divided States of Hysteria | Howard Chaykin

so-so

Graphic novels are the last media where stories with ridiculous plots & terrible dialogue can hit mainstream. It meets all the fantastical requirements for an exciting comic, but yanks the chain of the obnoxious comicbook guys who are fearful of anything that isn‘t straight, male & white. The language of the imageboard is casually used in the name of art and tropes abound. Is this a warning or a fantasy? I don‘t trust Chaykin to answer truthfully.

Bookwomble Is Chaykin a douchebag Edgelord, then? I read it as being more "This is outrageously transgressive and will upset narrow-minded conservative types, but diversity is good and part of the acceptable range of human possibilities", but I'll accept that I may have misunderstood Chaykin's intent as this is the only thing of his I've read. 2y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble you know what, you could easily be right. I just felt his liberal use of the N-word is Tarantinoesque: added for “realism” but bordering on racism, disguised as art. It did start to feel like an incell fantasy but this was my first Chaykin too. It‘s certainly entertaining and I see he‘s done a book about the golden age of comics and the exploitation of artists (Lee vs Kirby with the names changed). I‘m going to try that next. 2y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja I struggled to know for sure what he was trying to say, and in the end stopped trying and just went with what I found for myself. Overall, I'm not inspired to seek out more of his stuff, but I will be interested in what you think of his other books. 2y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble watch this space 😉 2y

Bookwomble 🌌👀 2y

21 likes5 comments

Bookwomble

The Divided States Of Hysteria | Howard Chaykin

pick

OMG! What the fuck did I just read! 😱🤯
Chaykin shows a USA in the aftermath of a terrorist mass assassination of Congress, with the new POTUS a low-level politico struggling to cope with a fractured, balkanised society. Agent Frank Villa fails spectacularly to stop the next outrage, and in an attempt at self-redemption, seeks to thwart a cabal of disparate extremists from committing their ultimate attack against a USA which seems barely to ⬇️

Bookwomble ... deserve saving.
Frank's 'crew' are a mass shooter, a gangland hitman, a psychopathic con artist and a trans sexworker, all of whom give zero fucks at the prospect of murder and torture to get the job done.
This is a VERY graphic graphic novel: every TW for every -ism, -phobia, slur, sexual nudity, bloody violence and sexual violence. I understand the controversy this book causes, though it seems clear to me that Chaykin's depiction of ⬇️ 2y

Bookwomble ... these things is not an endorsement of them, but a hard look at the ugly truths of a barely pre-apocalyptic world that often doesn't seem much different to what's on the daily news.
#ReadingTheAmericas2023 #USA 🇺🇲
@BarbaraBB @Librarybelle 2y

Librarybelle This sounds pretty intense, but glad it was a pick for you 2y

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Bookwomble @Librarybelle It *was* intense. Very challenging, and could have gone either way for me at times. I think Chaykin managed to walk the fine line without stepping into gratuitousness. E.g., what seemed to be a creepy fetishization of one narrative strand in the book was skillfully worked into a humanising theme. You definitely need to read the whole thing to get the full picture. Strong stuff, not everybody's cup of tea, and not entirely my own. 2y

RamsFan1963 @Bookwomble I've always thought Chaykin was an amazing artist, but I'm not as thrilled with his writing. I find his use of sex and violence to be overly gratuitous. Have you ever read The Black Kiss series by him? The art work was excellent but the story was repulsive. 2y

Bookwomble @RamsFan1963 The only other thing I've knowingly read by him is the TB Fafhrd & Grey Mouser adaptations. I've probably read individual comics by him without noting it. I read about Black Kiss when reading up on the controversy about Hysteria, but haven't read it, & don't intend to. I stopped reading Miller's Sin City for the reasons you cite. I can't, then, speak to Chaykin's work generally, but the S&V in this one were integral to the message. 2y

The_Book_Ninja I got a Litsy to log my books and encourage myself to read more. And also to find reviews of books I want to try for myself. Awesome review Wombie this seems right up my street. Just purchased.👊🏼 2y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja 🤞 you get something positive out of it 🤞😊 2y

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