Alex G/N

by Mark Kalesniko

by Mark Kalesniko
Alex is the story of failed dreams and the consequences faced by a man who discovers that accomplishing his career goals are no route to inner peace. It is a story about the redemptive power of art, and about how fleeting those chances for redemption can be in a society that emphasizes different values. This existential, 250-page exploration of depression and the healing power of art was originally published over ten years ago as a six-issue comic book series and is collected here as one book for the first time.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Comix, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[emo · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Are you an artist?"

"A cartoonist."

This sentiment on art floats on the surface through the book's entirety. What with Alex, the main character, wanting to make art but hating his association with anything haughtier than cartoons. Wanting something and at the same time loathing the idea of having it. And the result? Ending up washed up in your hometown of Nowhere. Wait till you see what he does when his latest success is exactly the sort of artsy fartsiness he's disgusted with.

Yeahyeah, real metaphysical stuff in this review. I can't help but see it, though! I mean, the book's so beautifully drawn, and the story's subtle and personal. But... Alex is a freaking cartoon dog.

The book's kind of a downer. It doesn't get five stars because the ending's sort of out of nowhere. But: Fantastic reading for your quarterlife or midlife crisis. There's a lot more in this book than what I'm commenting about here, so you'll find your own thing to love when you read it too.

[Addi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is depressing as hell. The ending was like falling off a cliff. But that’s the reality of it! It’s a very cool art style with a mix of illustrations and actual photos, all black and white. The emotion conveyed by the author is intense and palpable. This book pissed me off, made me sad, made me laugh, made me grateful, and even made me self-reflect. It’s a pretty quick read but buckle up!

[Solomon Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read, but definitely entertaining and most definitely a character I relate deeply too. I kind of screwed the pooch though, I had no idea this was a follow-up to an existing story! I'll have to pick that up next...

[Isabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

(read the separate issues, not the single volume)

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first graphic novel to read and I really enjoyed it. It is a very tragic and dismal story about a man (or dog?) named alex who keeps running from every opportunity that is presented to him in his life. He avoids almost every social interaction he encounters, like with Lori at the liquor store and Nadia his neighbor. Even when his best friend Jerome begins to break his drinking habits and miserable mindset, Alex starts to shut him out and thinks he’s ‘succumbing to a predetermined expectation’. He turns to alcohol as a solution to shut himself off to the world and thinks that this is the best way to deal with his cowardice. If the world doesn’t know about him, he can’t be troubled by it’s expectations.

I like the idea of ‘ghosties’ because the reader can relate in this sense as everybody has things in their lives that they are afraid of. However, when you let these ‘ghosties’ take control of your life and cannot overcome them you in some way begin to turn into Mr.Mier. The fact that Alex looked up to him as a role model in high school with all his dreams and ambitions and then to see him in this drunken, disintegrated state eliminates a lot of hope for Alex to turn his life around.

I like the metaphoric representation of the cats of how failure and defeat can linger from one person to another. At first they all hung around Mr.Mier, following him everywhere he went, and then when he passes away, they find a new ‘host’ to attach themselves to like they’re some contagious plague. Only when he finally makes conversation with Nadia and doesn’t try to avoid the interaction do the cats begin to leave his home, representing a minor triumph in his life to overcome his fear.

Ultimately it is a tragic story about the consequences of running away from everything in your life and the personal struggles that one faces when in a state of misery, hopelessness and despair.

[Frank McGirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly substantial tome of great sparse artwork.

The story revolves around a 33 year old alcoholic loser cartoonist named, you guessed it, Alex. Alex had achieved his dream of working for "Mickey Studies" right out of school and then burnt out, moved home, and became a raging alcoholic.

It's another look at wrestling with your past, or rather the almost daily interference in your past when you live in your hometown and have no real tragetory into the future.

Kalesniko creates an anti-hero that is engaging, though not sympathetic, nor pathetic for that matter.

A good read and a pretty book.

[George Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kalesniko is a fantastic artist- his handling of the line is entirely distinctive and left me very impressed. It was a great change too to have a comic books about a working class industrial town. But somehow it didn't work - there are major problems with the pacing and the slowness and repetitiveness of plot (I found myself skipping pages which, in a labour intensive artform, shows that something has gone really wrong). I am being critical because I think Kalesniko is a puzzle- he's so good in so many ways and yet he never quite takes off.

[Rob Branigin · Rating 3 out of 5]

somehow, i didn't enjoy this one as much as i expected to. while this is a very well-written and beautifully drawn book, the whole "self-tortured alcoholic artist struggling to find his muse" thing felt a bit cliched to me, and the repeated attempts at physical comedy (trashing the apartment, throwing stuff out the window) fell pretty flat. still there's enough good that it merits a guarded recommendation. the ending almost saves the whole thing. if hanna-barbera did an adaption of david gates' "jernigan," it'd probably turn out something like this. worth a look.

[Court · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get the impression that this book is semi-autobiographical. The author draws himself with a dog-face and I constantly wondered if this was to show how he viewed his physical/emotional attractiveness. The reason was probably nothing that deep but with the self depricating nature of this book, I couldn't let that thought go. Overall, the book is an interesting look at what happens to our childhood hopes, dreams, and expectations once we become adults. This book was filled locker room talk and bathroom jokes. Even though it wasn't all that funny, I found myself laughing at the end.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alex is an anthropomorphized dog in a world full of human beings, but no one seems to notice this. Alex is also an alcoholic, depressive, and just all around miserable creature. I really liked the illustration of Alex’s demons as a haunting bum with a herd of stray cats who follows him everywhere he goes.

[Ali Çamur · Rating 2 out of 5]

hikayenin kurgusu çok güçlü değil ama kendini okutturacak kadar akıcı. bunun dışında, hayat ile yüzleşmek ve bu yüzleşme sırasında insanın içine düştüğü boşluğu bir çok yardımcı öğe ile güçlendirebilirdi. bu açıdan zayıf kalmış bir yapıt olduğunu düşünüyorum.

[Kimble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alex is a quick and easy read as a somewhat depressing graphic novel that seems to end on an upbeat note. The art is intricate and wonderful, even without much (any?) use of color.

[Marissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This graphic novel about loneliness and depression is depressing without making you particularly sympathetic to the main character.

[Faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a strange little book. It's not up to the standards of The Sandman, but there was something compelling about it.

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though depressing allows one to consider what is outside of themselves, exploring the depths of one's mind.

[Cristian · Rating 4 out of 5]

very underrated autobio gn that holds a special place in my heart.

[Damon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty bleak, but also pretty funny. I could relate to it more than I really wanted to.

[Jonathan Barron · Rating 3 out of 5]

a bit too repetitive, same story could have been told in about half the pages. has a generic drunk & lost artist/creator... what makes him different? could have featured more of the Jasmine character, she's great