Cages

Rating:
Summary: One of the best I've read ever and I mean it
Review: Dave McKean, most commonly associated with Neil Gaiman of Sandman fame as an illustrator, also writes, and writes very well. I have never understood why this work was so collectively ignored by Gaiman fans, except that maybe it is so hard to find. I assure you, it is WELL worth the search. McKean's writing is easily comparable to Gaiman's. He has the same ability to lead you into a world that is darkly ascewed and make it absorbing, believable and passionate. Anyone who enjoys Cronemburg, Burroughs, or Lynch would be well served to seek out Cages. And don't let the art style throw you; it grows on you.

Rating:
Summary: greatgreatgreatgreat
Review: i am not going to say anything except that i am not going to say anything but to say that 'cages' deserves all of those words people use to describe things that are great.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Most Rewarding Books Ever Written
Review: My first experiences with Dave McKean were as illustrator for the Sandman comic books, and the Vertigo tarot cards, eventually leading to my strongest appreciation for a contemporary artist. Imagine my surprise when I came across of a copy of Cages, complete with traditional McKean artwork, on my comic-shop shelf. I wasn't even aware McKean wrote graphic novels, let alone one of such size (it's 500 pages long). I knew from the minute I saw it that I had to buy it, and after saving my pennies and dimes, I finally got the chance. Not a moment of the time spent earning the money to buy this book was wasted.

In a style that fluctuates somewhat based upon the character being portrayed (although most of the story is told from the artist, Leo's, point of view), Cages tells a tale of three creative people together in an apartment building, set in some parallel-dimension London, or a similar city. Leo, the artist of paints, canvas, and sketches, moves in and meets John, a novelist, writer, and critic whose work Cages earned him the ire of a public that misunderstood his point. John must also contend with a pair of goons intent on making his life miserable, which Leo gets a chance to experience firsthand when he tries to save a young girl from their harassment. The third is Angel, a blues and jazz musician at a local bar, whose poetry-slam style lyrics and dangerously emotional playing style set him apart from the other musicians, both as an artist and a pariah.

Rounding it off is a mysterious woman who poses as Leo's model, a landlord on the verge of insanity, a woman with a foul-mouthed cockatoo, and a naked homeless man who fell out of the sky five years ago and has been delirious ever since. Round that off with a black cat who serves as a kind of Puck figure for God Himself, and McKean has laid the groundwork for a one-of-a-kind comic novel.

The story fluctuates from that which is grounded in reality (although that reality is certainly questionable) to a dreamlike semiconsciousness where poetry, advertising, and McKean's signature artistic style merge to create points of meditation for the story at large. The drawings are almost entirely black-on-white, although the book has shades of blue running through it, and some of McKean's more intricate works are in color. The story is introduced by a series of poems about God and artistic creation, and comes together as a cohesive whole if taken as more than the sum of its parts.

That being said, Cages is not for everyone. It is not a comic book. Its plot is small, and serves more as a vehicle to attempt to understand the process behind creativity and the reactions of people around the artists to that creative struggle. Cages requires a substantial investment in time to read, contemplate, read again, meditate, go back and read some more, appreciate, and so forth. For anyone up to that kind of challenge, or anyone who likes McKean's art, or anyone who is looking for a different take on the artistic process and how it is viewed by people outside of the artist, Cages is one of the most rewarding books available. My only complaint (and it has nothing to do with the content) is that the black ink easily picks up fingerprints, so if you aren't careful, you could leave smudges everywhere. It's too nice a book to ruin.

Final Grade: A; ALMOST an A+

Rating:
Summary: One of the Most Rewarding Books Ever Written
Review: My first experiences with Dave McKean were as illustrator for the Sandman comic books, and the Vertigo tarot cards, eventually leading to my strongest appreciation for a contemporary artist. Imagine my surprise when I came across of a copy of Cages, complete with traditional McKean artwork, on my comic-shop shelf. I wasn't even aware McKean wrote graphic novels, let alone one of such size (it's 500 pages long). I knew from the minute I saw it that I had to buy it, and after saving my pennies and dimes, I finally got the chance. Not a moment of the time spent earning the money to buy this book was wasted.

In a style that fluctuates somewhat based upon the character being portrayed (although most of the story is told from the artist, Leo's, point of view), Cages tells a tale of three creative people together in an apartment building, set in some parallel-dimension London, or a similar city. Leo, the artist of paints, canvas, and sketches, moves in and meets John, a novelist, writer, and critic whose work Cages earned him the ire of a public that misunderstood his point. John must also contend with a pair of goons intent on making his life miserable, which Leo gets a chance to experience firsthand when he tries to save a young girl from their harassment. The third is Angel, a blues and jazz musician at a local bar, whose poetry-slam style lyrics and dangerously emotional playing style set him apart from the other musicians, both as an artist and a pariah.

Rounding it off is a mysterious woman who poses as Leo's model, a landlord on the verge of insanity, a woman with a foul-mouthed cockatoo, and a naked homeless man who fell out of the sky five years ago and has been delirious ever since. Round that off with a black cat who serves as a kind of Puck figure for God Himself, and McKean has laid the groundwork for a one-of-a-kind comic novel.

The story fluctuates from that which is grounded in reality (although that reality is certainly questionable) to a dreamlike semiconsciousness where poetry, advertising, and McKean's signature artistic style merge to create points of meditation for the story at large. The drawings are almost entirely black-on-white, although the book has shades of blue running through it, and some of McKean's more intricate works are in color. The story is introduced by a series of poems about God and artistic creation, and comes together as a cohesive whole if taken as more than the sum of its parts.

That being said, Cages is not for everyone. It is not a comic book. Its plot is small, and serves more as a vehicle to attempt to understand the process behind creativity and the reactions of people around the artists to that creative struggle. Cages requires a substantial investment in time to read, contemplate, read again, meditate, go back and read some more, appreciate, and so forth. For anyone up to that kind of challenge, or anyone who likes McKean's art, or anyone who is looking for a different take on the artistic process and how it is viewed by people outside of the artist, Cages is one of the most rewarding books available. My only complaint (and it has nothing to do with the content) is that the black ink easily picks up fingerprints, so if you aren't careful, you could leave smudges everywhere. It's too nice a book to ruin.

Final Grade: A; ALMOST an A+

Rating:
Summary: Excellent visual but the dialog usually drags
Review: The plot concerns a painter, a writer and a musician living together in the same apartment building. This conveniently allows the book to be punctuated by conversations concerning the nature of art and less interesting subjects. When no one was talking the story was much more interesting. Meanwhile the painter meets the girl next door and gets moderately involved in the lives of his neighbors. Cages is a bit unusual for a comic book because of its long long length and its ambiguous subject matter.

The philosophical fluff which occurs when characters are talking does add up to something, but getting there was not worth slogging through a comic that picked up around page 150. If you have seen the movie Waking Life then think of Cages as in the same category: talking talking talking and good graphics. The more I think about it: Yes think of Cages as a comic book along the lines of Waking Life. In Cages there is analyzable stuff and plot going on in the "artsy" sections, but they didn't hold my interest so I barely care. This book is still a good buy at 500 pages, but it would have been twice as good if a good editor had trimmed it to half the length. The plots to each, slow or boring depending on the viewer, refocus emphasis on the graphics.

The art style in Cages is good. Most of the book consists of three color contour drawings similar to what you can see by using Amazon's Look Inside feature. The style is intentionally varied in shorter sections, so you can see paintings and photographs by McKean. (McKean did the covers for the Sandman series, so that should give you a feel for his graphic style.) It seems like there would be more photography mixed into comic books. This is the first time I have seen this done well and is worth checking out.

Cages is a good buy for the length and graphics, but only if you like it. If you are familiar with Dave McKean and like his art then go for it. Don't buy it for the "deep plot" Yes it is there, but it wasn't enough to keep me interested. This comic book is more appropriate for public and university libraries, especially those with a good art collection or an established comics collection.

Rating:
Summary: "That's a nice thought." "It isn't mine."
Review: There are really no words I can write to do this one justice. It's one of the single most moving experiences I've ever had reading anything, never mind comic books. McKean's line art is breathtaking, and the painted interludes and photo montages are every bit as fascinating, disturbing, and touching as anything he's done with Neil Gaiman or Grant Morrison. The story is about a tenement and its various occupants, but it's also about inspiration and love, and the things that drive us to create. Go read it.

Rating:
Summary: "That's a nice thought." "It isn't mine."
Review: There are really no words I can write to do this one justice. It's one of the single most moving experiences I've ever had reading anything, never mind comic books. McKean's line art is breathtaking, and the painted interludes and photo montages are every bit as fascinating, disturbing, and touching as anything he's done with Neil Gaiman or Grant Morrison. The story is about a tenement and its various occupants, but it's also about inspiration and love, and the things that drive us to create. Go read it.

Rating:
Summary: The Stars in their courses
Review: There's a painter who just moved into this house rent by an elderly lady, a Miss "What?", and who is looking for the perfect motive and/or inspiration for his new painting.

Next to him lives a writer named Jonathan Rush (a remainder of Rushdie?), who once wrote a controversial 500 pages novel called "Cages" (see?), a "Hammer-of-God" like epic, in which the autor came across several existencial questions about the human condition (later we learn that it was only HIS condition he was trying to express), and which forced him and his wife to hide from the outside world.

Another tenant is a jazz musician called Angel, who's playing the piano and the horn and philosophes in long terms about life + death in a Jazz club called "Katakumbe" (just watch that audience!).

And then there's an Old Lady (a widow as it may seem) who shares her flat/life only with her parrot (it is ironic: The parrot is the only character in the book who is able to break out of his cage, but only literally: He starts yelling and screaming at the old lady, calling her a "stu_id b_tch"!), contemplating about the loss of her long gone husband (or isn't he?), and looking for her ratatouille (!) receipt.

A beautiful woman who lives next to the painter's apartement, is she his (new) muse?

There are two uncanny fellows who hide their faces under dark masks, sort of blackmailing the writer and his wife, and harassing little girls in dark street corners.

And there's a black cat, some sort of God's very own descendant (or God's own finger), pulling the strings of the lifes of all of them.

The nature of god (more: the creation of the universe), the complexity/imposibility of human relationships and/or life out of balance, everything flows together in this book...

....and everyone lives in his own cage and NO ONE is able to break out:
The painter - he's unable to express his art (i.e. his whole life) through his paintings. The woman he met, she's not only trapped in a cage, but in a wood of her own!

The writer - he never meant it like that (or was he just right? Later he has to commit himself; and who says that even the two "dark" figures are not trapped in their own cage?).

The old lady whose husband passed away long time ago, just won't accept it and still hangs on to the past. She's also traumatised because of an incident she had as a child when she got lost in a dark forest (is it a forest of the mind, as the painter puts it or is this just a connection to the woods of the painter's woman?).

Even Angel (nomen est omen), the Jazz musician, remains unable to escape his life and break out of the cage he's trapped in. Although he might do so for a short time when he leaves the "Katakumbe" bar (where even the barkeeper couldn't make up his mind!). But then on his way home, he starts his routine on Jazz scales, finally letting them take over his mind. And.....there's...so much more.......

.......Its ideas, themes, metaphors et.al. are masterfully handled throughout the entire book, while the narrative style jumps back and forth in time, switches from one character's POV to the next without ever loosing grip......

......"Cages" is about art, fear, hope/loss of hope, creation, the creative process in general, about love, lust & despair, strenght and weakness. Masterfully crafted, with an incredible eye for detail (and with heavy doses of surrealism!).
It is about the meanings, signs and wonders of life (not religion, but in a religious way), and all their magic appeals and how we tend to forget/oversee/erase them.

Merely it's about the struggle of the human race in an endless game invented by a higher intelligence....

....but in the end there's a glimpse of light shining through, giving us new hope, because every man and every woman is a star!

Rating:
Summary: Reprint this master piece!
Review: This is a breakthrough work that redefines its medium. Do not be mistaken, this is truely Art. I only pray that it is reprinted so more people can exprience the power and emotion of this remarkable graphic novel.

Rating:
Summary: Why Are All The Best Books Out Of Print?Cages:Exhibit A
Review: This is probably the best "comic book" ever written. Artist Dave McKean, whose art I have long time admired, proves that he can write as well, or better, than his old partner, Neil Gaiman. He used to do all of Gaiman's art and Gaiman's later work has suffered with the absence of McKean's art work. This is an almost 500 page hardcover book that tells a story about creativity and creative people. There are three central characters: an artist, a writer and a musician-poet. They all live in the same apartment building and they interact with one another as well as the muse that lives inside each of them and torments each of them. The story is not told in stricly linear fashion and McKean frequently will break away from dialogue and narrative and into visuals to carry the story for awhile. He does it all equally well. The rumor I heard is that the publisher went out of business shortly after publication of the book and that is why it is not available. Dave McKean, who is a very successful artist in the UK, should look into his rights in publishing this himself as a reissue since too few people are experiencing the joy of reading and seeing his work.