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Rating: 
Summary: Haunting Memories
Review: "I like to remember things my own way . . . as i remember them. not necessarily the way they happened." These lines from _Forgotten Highway_ evoke the feel of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's compelling and evocative _Violent Cases_.Enter the dimly lit, vague world of a man (who looks amazingly like Gaiman himself) remembering incidents from his childhood: a world of odd dentists, stupid birthday parties, evil magicians, and violent cases (violin cases). Our hero (for all of Gaiman's children are heroes) goes through his coming of age, in a frightening yet curious way, by peeking behind the curtain, while Gaiman's words and McKean's art take us along for the ride, peeking behind the curtain of memory. Gaiman readers will definitely see similarities in style between this story and _Mr. Punch_, which, in my mind, stands as a companion piece to this book. Memory and its tricks, traps, twists and turns serve as the vehicle for both, and it's the uncertain but unquestioning way that we go through the memories that make these books so brilliant. We all have memories. And if we look at them very closely, we begin to realize how scary some of those memories can be. As Gaiman shows us time and time again, the world is a threatening one to children: too big, too confusing, where children are constantly lied to and hushed even in moments of brilliance. Yet somehow we made it. Let Gaiman and McKean remind you how.
Rating:
Summary: Very tastey
Review: As usual, Neil provides his fans with another must have item.
Rating: 
Summary: A chilling and moving tale of childhood
Review: Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean are each overwhelmingly talented in their own right. When they work together, their respective skills create a blend of compelling concepts and powerful storytelling. Violent Cases is their first work together, and McKean has called it "The one I got wrong," but it is definitive and unforgettable, nonetheless.
The story is a memory: an adult's recollection of a childhood encounter with a man who claimed to be Al Capone's osteopath. The memory combines fragments of a genteel children's party and a 1920's mob massacre; the child's fears of the present intertwine with the doctor's tales of horror from the past.
Interjections from the adult narrator fit perfectly as a framework to the stunning story. The story opens with the unnerving words, "I would not want you to think I was a battered child..." and, at later points in the book, the narrator's recollection of the osteopath's appearance shifts dramatically. The visuals flow along perfectly with the unstable thoughts, which adds to the atmosphere of memory.
Gaiman and McKean are sharing a wavelength. Although Mister Punch is their masterpiece, Violent Cases is also powerful in story, structure, and design. Not flawless, but still a worthy work of art.
Rating:
Summary: A Compelling Gaiman Story Minus the Supernatural Elements
Review: The persistence of memory is a common theme in Neil Gaiman's work. His characters often struggle to come to grips with their dimly-remembered pasts (take Rose Walker in "The Doll's House" or any of the characters in "A Game of You" from The Sandman, or even the protagonists of "Black Orchid.") "Violent Cases" explores the gauzy environs of childhood memory. As he would later attempt with much more poignant effect in "The Tragical Comedy of Mr. Punch," Gaiman here examines a grown man's efforts to make sense out of violence in his dimly-remembered past, in this case revolving around a man who may have been Al Capone's osteopath. The tale, while simple, is masterfully plotted, allowing the reader to make connections the narrator himself may not make. While the telling is a bit ham-handed in spots (you can almost see Gaiman grinning smugly at certain points; not a good thing), one must reflect that this was written quite early in the author's career, and marked quite a departure from comic book conventions. Even Art Spiegelman felt it necessary to use some of the art's cliches in his groundbreaking "Maus"; Gaiman chooses to ignore them quite audaciously. The artwork by Dave McKean shows a strong Sienkiewicz influence almost wholly alien to his later work, yet still quite appealing. I highly recommend "Violent Cases" to anyone with a more mature taste in comic books and to fans of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's body of work. Although an early effort, "Violent Cases" clearly presages the glory to come for this most successful comic book collaboration.
Rating:
Summary: A Compelling Gaiman Story Minus the Supernatural Elements
Review: The persistence of memory is a common theme in Neil Gaiman's work. His characters often struggle to come to grips with their dimly-remembered pasts (take Rose Walker in "The Doll's House" or any of the characters in "A Game of You" from The Sandman, or even the protagonists of "Black Orchid.") "Violent Cases" explores the gauzy environs of childhood memory. As he would later attempt with much more poignant effect in "The Tragical Comedy of Mr. Punch," Gaiman here examines a grown man's efforts to make sense out of violence in his dimly-remembered past, in this case revolving around a man who may have been Al Capone's osteopath. The tale, while simple, is masterfully plotted, allowing the reader to make connections the narrator himself may not make. While the telling is a bit ham-handed in spots (you can almost see Gaiman grinning smugly at certain points; not a good thing), one must reflect that this was written quite early in the author's career, and marked quite a departure from comic book conventions. Even Art Spiegelman felt it necessary to use some of the art's cliches in his groundbreaking "Maus"; Gaiman chooses to ignore them quite audaciously. The artwork by Dave McKean shows a strong Sienkiewicz influence almost wholly alien to his later work, yet still quite appealing. I highly recommend "Violent Cases" to anyone with a more mature taste in comic books and to fans of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's body of work. Although an early effort, "Violent Cases" clearly presages the glory to come for this most successful comic book collaboration.
Rating:
Summary: A Compelling Gaiman Story Minus the Supernatural Elements
Review: The persistence of memory is a common theme in Neil Gaiman's work. His characters often struggle to come to grips with their dimly-remembered pasts (take Rose Walker in "The Doll's House" or any of the characters in "A Game of You" from The Sandman, or even the protagonists of "Black Orchid.") "Violent Cases" explores the gauzy environs of childhood memory. As he would later attempt with much more poignant effect in "The Tragical Comedy of Mr. Punch," Gaiman here examines a grown man's efforts to make sense out of violence in his dimly-remembered past, in this case revolving around a man who may have been Al Capone's osteopath. The tale, while simple, is masterfully plotted, allowing the reader to make connections the narrator himself may not make. While the telling is a bit ham-handed in spots (you can almost see Gaiman grinning smugly at certain points; not a good thing), one must reflect that this was written quite early in the author's career, and marked quite a departure from comic book conventions. Even Art Spiegelman felt it necessary to use some of the art's cliches in his groundbreaking "Maus"; Gaiman chooses to ignore them quite audaciously. The artwork by Dave McKean shows a strong Sienkiewicz influence almost wholly alien to his later work, yet still quite appealing. I highly recommend "Violent Cases" to anyone with a more mature taste in comic books and to fans of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's body of work. Although an early effort, "Violent Cases" clearly presages the glory to come for this most successful comic book collaboration.
Rating:
Summary: Proof positive that comics can be great literature.
Review: This is the comic you should hand to anyone who says "Comics are for kids!" Absolutely beautifully written, this evocative and dark tale about the nature of childhood memories (like the other volume, Mr. Punch) is simply fabulous. So many lines made me stop and think "Oh, now that's perfect." I am frequently stunned by just how very good Mr. Gaiman's writing is. Mr. McKean's artwork isn't something to sneeze at either. Go find this book! And while you're at it, do yourself a favour and find another spectacular Gaiman/McKean collaboration "Signal to Noise"
Rating:
Summary: Gaiman & McKean em sua formação
Review: Violent Cases. Apesar de um pouco magrinha pelo preço, vale o ingresso.
Cases conta quando Gaiman foi num osteopata por conta de um braço quebrado.
O osteopata de Capone. E as conversas que ele teve com ele, no consultório e numa festa de aniversário.
Só isso. O mérito da história (além da então formativa arte de McKean) é que ela parece o fluxo de uma conversa, com as fugas e detalhes ínfimos e recordações bobas a que tendemos a nos apegar. Em momentos, o Gaiman adulto aparece sentado num sofá, olhando para o leitor, como numa conversa ou entrevista real.
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