A Complete Lowlife

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable story
Review: I found this comic to be throughly enjoyable and definetly worth my time and money but not amazing. It didnt change my life or way of thinking. Reviewers at amazon.com through around 5s like it's nothing. a 5 has to blow you away. and this book didnt do that for me. It is a collection of various tales from our narrator ed brubaker about occurances in his life. It's amusing and even a bit thought porvoking. Pick it up you won't be disapointed. definetly above average. technically it deserves a 3 and a half but its closer to a three than a four. Recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable story
Review: I found this comic to be throughly enjoyable and definetly worth my time and money but not amazing. It didnt change my life or way of thinking. Reviewers at amazon.com through around 5s like it's nothing. a 5 has to blow you away. and this book didnt do that for me. It is a collection of various tales from our narrator ed brubaker about occurances in his life. It's amusing and even a bit thought porvoking. Pick it up you won't be disapointed. definetly above average. technically it deserves a 3 and a half but its closer to a three than a four. Recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Hey!! Who's throwing Coke!??!?!?!
Review: I was expecting another slice-of-life Autobiographical comic mixing the mundane with the humorous. The opening story delivers that, and I was laughing myself sick.....then the REAL story began....

A Complete Lowlife is author Ed Brubaker's true story of petty crime, drug addiction, murder and redemption. The book gets darker and darker with each story, and there were parts that just broke my heart.Since this is a true story, things don't get wrapped up neatly; the main character doesn't always know the right thing to say, or when to say it. He doesn't always do the right thing.

Like you and me.

Anyone who hasn't always been proud of things they've done or said will be able to identify. Brubaker is now a successful comic book writer, currently doing a wonderful job on DC's Batman. All the more impressive considering what he's been through. There's just no way you won't be touched in some way by this book. Give it a try.

Rating:
Summary: It's funny and sad. It has the feeling of real life.
Review: I was quite surprised how good this comic was, as I had never before heard of the artist. Complete Lowelife reminds me of Peter Bagge's and Will Eisner's works, because it has humour in it and it tells about the sadness in life. And of course, the Hernandez Brothers' impact to Brubaker's work is quite visible. At some points the art is somewhat clumsy, but it really doesn't bother, although more personal way of drawing could be a good thing. The artist's improvement is clearly shown, as the this is a compilation of years work. I could relate to some of the characters very well and it's nice to know that problems regarding girls, drinking and money are quite global!

Rating:
Summary: Better than the Depression Funnies
Review: If you have ever been lonely, depressed, single, young, broke, and experienced the on-again, off-again joy of on-again, off-again relationships, then join the club. For those of us who have managed to get beyond those years, Brubaker manages to bring it all back to life in a way that makes it real again, though thankfully less painful than having to go through it all again. A must-read for those who like intelligent commentary on the human condition.

Rating:
Summary: Brubaker spins a familiar tale
Review: Quite a sad little self-examination piece that got me thinking as well.

Some of the situations in that book were like another world to me... I've never been into the drug scene, and there's a lot of that in there. I think it's an interesting subculture, which leads to my fascination with films like <I>Pulp Fiction</i> or <I>Trainspotting</i>, but it's nothing I'd ever get involved with in my wildest dreams.

But then, despite so much of the book centering on the author's old drug habits, there was a lot of coverage on his romantic problems / troubles, which is a world that I consider all too familiar. It's pretty funny... I've only ever had three steady girlfriends in my life, a couple strong mutual attractions that never added up to much, and a couple dates out of left field to round things out a bit. I'm far from a professor on the subject, but whenever I read or see something that deals with hearbreak, I instantly sympathize with the author.

The art's perfectly fitting to the mood of this story, and as a couple others have pointed out, it really progresses over time. An emotionally charged story, with more than a couple situations I'm sure you'll recognize if you've finished growing up. Proof that even the nicest kids can turn to crap in the right environment.

Rating:
Summary: a slice of life with worms
Review: This is an autobiographical comic by Ed Brubaker who writes for such comics as Batman and the revamped catwoman. After reading Alex Robinson's comic Box Office Poison I wanted to read other comics that were in the slice of life vein. This book was recommended to me. I did not know until after purchasing it that it was an autobiographical comic which game the book an added punch. It was an extraordinary but sad read. The characters are both likeable and dislikeable at the same time, and because they are based on actual people the realism is top notch. so it back for a ride in booze, drugs, bad sex, and used book stores.