Rating: 
Summary: Good but Gaiman has done better.
Review: For Gaiman fans, this book is a must, but beware he has done better, so if you're expecting another Violent Cases, you'll be a little disappointed. I was, but I'm still glad I got it, if for no other reason, than for the marvelous art work by Dave McKean.
Rating: 
Summary: Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean are GODS!
Review: I am 18 years old and I don't read alot of books. But occasionally I buy books just for the pure joy of owning a piece of art. I found Mr Punch in a bookstore and it's unique artwork immediately hinted me to buy it. I've heard Gaiman from DC Vertigo's Sandman and Death series but now i'm motivated to get the entire collection of Gaiman/McKean novels. There's no way to discribe the imagery and moody metaphors of the memories of life and death. If and when I would own my own little bookstore by the sea side, I would fill it all with books of such influence.
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to Gaiman's usual standards
Review: I do love Neil Gaiman's work, but Mr. Punch is not one of his better efforts, in my opinion.It was loosely put together, and failed to offer up the blurbed promises of "A nightmarish world of violence and betrayal." Though the artwork is good, and Mr. Gaiman's prose is good, the book simply was unable to create even a low-level dread of the creepy Punch & Judy puppets. It is simply a bland story of a young boy's memories of his Grandfather's failing arcade off the main attractions of a seaside business area. The boy is sent to stay with his Grandparent's while his mother is due to deliver his baby sister, and he meets and old puppeteer who is not very mysterious and witnesses his grandfather have an argument with a young lady he is involved in. No real violence or threatening situations, merely a vaguely distorted view of some old puppets. The prose is good, but rather pointless; the artwork is good and strangely done, but when put together to form the whole it came out rather unfulfilling and anticlimactic. A rather generic musing of a mundane summer. If you have everything else by Neil Gaiman, then go ahead and fill up your collection with Mr. Punch, but this is not a good place to start to introduce yourself to Gaiman, and not recommended unless you are a die hard fan. Pick up one of his novels first, or his Sandman series or Black Orchid which was beautifully done.
Rating:
Summary: Amazingly exciting, moody and interesting
Review: I was ready for anything, not having read any Gaiman/McKein work for a very long time now, and picking this up made me feel bad for waiting so long. I was (and still am) amazed at the talent and magistry that Gaiman is able to reflect in eyes of a child, and how the story unfolds wonderfully with the sometimes beautiful, sometimes twisted and dark artwork found within. The pictures alone could tell an an amazing story, and the novella itself is told in the eyes of a child, and you know exactly whose voice the narrative is taking, from Mr Punch, to the Grandfather, to the child. I am a devoted fan, and this has only increased my hopes and chances of picking up more of his work. What are you doing still reading this? Go pick up this book!
Rating:
Summary: Proof of the potential of graphic novels
Review: Mr. Punch displays a depth uncommon not only to its medium, but to any medium. Many people see the story as that of a boy's summer spent with his grandparents. This is much like saying that Citizen Kane is a story about a sled.
Mr. Punch is a play about a lot of things: desperation, love, violence, history and the inconsistency of memory. Above all it is about the nature of childhood and adulthood, and how the two exist incongruous, both in interaction and in the transitions from former to latter.
It takes a good reader to truly understand this book, but it doesn't take much to appreciate it. Gaiman's prose has never been finer, Dave McKean is, as always, perfect. But more than that is the compatibility with which the two work.
The three main plots involve a man trying to make sense of his childhood, his grandfather's failing business and affair, and the classic story of Punch and Judy. What makes it amazing is how the three interact, each one picking up where the other lets off, each one elucidating what the other is unable to.
Gaiman has called this his best work, and I tend to agree with him. In fact, I liked it so much I wrote a play about it. The BBC radio show version should be coming to Britain soon, hopefully those of us stateside will get a chance sometime.
To see pictures and information from the stage version, just visit http://www.freewebs.com/stageone/mrpunch.htm
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully moody and oh so atmospheric
Review: Neil Gaiman delivers yet another knockout in the realm of the graphic novel with his wonderfully dark and hallucinatory 'Mr. Punch.' A tale of dark and gloomy childhood flashbacks, 'Mr. Punch,' is a great read for those looking for something oozing with chilly atmosphere. The mixed-media (enhanced photos and pencils) artwork by Dave McKean is astounding as well and visually evokes a feeling of helplessness confronting a child when stuck in a grim and depressing environment that amplifies all of his little fears. While this book is nowhere near the epic grandeur of Gaiman's, 'Sandman,' series - as a standalone, 'Mr. Punch,' is a visual and narrative treat not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully moody and oh so atmospheric
Review: Neil Gaiman delivers yet another knockout in the realm of the graphic novel with his wonderfully dark and hallucinatory 'Mr. Punch.' A tale of dark and gloomy childhood flashbacks, 'Mr. Punch,' is a great read for those looking for something oozing with chilly atmosphere. The mixed-media (enhanced photos and pencils) artwork by Dave McKean is astounding as well and visually evokes a feeling of helplessness confronting a child when stuck in a grim and depressing environment that amplifies all of his little fears. While this book is nowhere near the epic grandeur of Gaiman's, 'Sandman,' series - as a standalone, 'Mr. Punch,' is a visual and narrative treat not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Very dark and slightly morbid, but not his best..
Review: Neil Gaiman has always said this is his best comic, and I find that really hard to believe. I would think that much of the 'Sandman' series is far superior in terms of plot and characterisations. It is a shame that the script has let this work done, because the artwork is probably the best I have ever seen for a comic/graphic novel, and certainly more appealing than 'Sandman'. Divinely textured, with incredible breath and detail, McLean's (responsible for the Sandman covers) work is truly incredible. The puppet photography is an innovative idea, and the portraits of the boy are also fantastic. The photography of the grandfather's hands also resonates, and overall the work has a wonderfully finished appeal. However, the series is too short and underdeveloped, and the characterisations are weak. I had difficulty telling several of the characters apart, while it does have that beautiful dark mystical quality I would come to expect with Gaiman.
Rating:
Summary: The Magical Tragicomedy of Mr. Punch....
Review: Neil Gaiman has several recurring themes to which he revisits again and again like the swallows returning to Capostrano. Foremost among these is the persistence of memory, which is the theme of "The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch." The tale revolves around a Punch n' Judy show at a seaside carnival and how it acts as a trigger for a young boys memories of his family. As with much of Gaiman's work, there are tales within tales here, and the real story he tells is more implied than elucidated upon. Dave McKean's art underscores this theme beautifully, with the "real" characters in the story as cartoon caricatures while the puppets look like photographs, exactly the focus with which young children would concentrate their memories. Can we not all remember a favorite toy more easily than our parents faces when we were little? A marvelous and poignant tale well worth your time and money.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, extraordinary, superb, great, etc. and so on.
Review: Neil Gaiman is my hero. I always have, and always will be intrigued by Punch & Judy. Therefore, Gaiman's Mr. Punch is one of the greatest works I've ever read. Though it is unfair to say "Gaiman's Mr. Punch", as it is equally Dave McKean's, for without him, I'm sure Mr. Punch would lose part of its eerie, strange, subtle power. Mr. Punch is an odd book. I read it in a single sitting, and afterwards, I was actually at a loss for words trying to describe what it is. This was a first; I can praise Neil Gaiman for hours on end, but I was stuck with Mr. Punch. I've seen it classified as Horror, Science Fiction, normal Fiction, and just as a Comic. But it is much more. It sent something through me - something that I am also at a loss of words about. This is a really great story, much like a dream (or nightmare, depending) it is surreal, yet uncommonly realistic; it is disturbing, but also soothing. It's more of an experience than a reading. McKean's artwork and Gaiman's words send you into something of a trance, where you enjoy yourself, get disturbed (actually, more troubled, as the young protangonist would say), and subtly reminded of your own childhood. A must read for any Gaiman or McKean fan, and also a must read for any Punch & Judy enthusiast, or anyone looking for a great read.
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