Fred Van LenteRezensionen

I suspect Van Lente didn't really account for the difference between hearing stand-up and reading it. With live stand-up, viewers get swept up in the comic's charisma so that jokes that would fall flat on their own transform into the height of hilarity. But reading those same jokes on a page brings them back to their flat realities. There definitely is a way to convey humor in writing; it's just a different art, one Van Lente has not mastered. Thus, Ten Dead Comedians just isn't funny. Not one line in the book made me laugh, regardless of whether it came from the narrative or the excerpts from the characters' standup routines that appear between chapters (and were super unnecessary anyway).

Van Lente appears to be satirizing modern comics through his characters. I don't know enough about the comedy world to confirm this myself, but I'm seeing a lot of other Goodreads reviews mentioning Larry the Cable Guy, Carrot Top, Gallagher, Pee Wee Herman, etc. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't all these references fairly niche or just outdated? How did this even get published? (I know how - Quirk Books, a company that prides itself in publishing the weird titles of this world, took on Ten Dead Comedians, even though its quirk doesn't save its story)

The one satire I did catch onto involved Ruby Ng, who in the book is an insufferable feminist with a totally exaggerated desire to destroy the patriarchy. Frankly, I found myself insulted by all the stereotypes packed into her character. She's a lesbian, a podcaster craving fame, a hypocrite who preaches love while tearing everyone down every time they make a mistake, and a feminist who notably does not shave her legs. Yes, all of those are real traits found in real people, but it is so unnecessary to put all that on one character. It's unsubtle, it's unfunny, and the bit about not shaving her legs was just too much.

The good news is that even those who have read the original Ten Little Indians won't be able to predict the ending, at least not all of it.

The bad news is the ending felt unearned. I remember the Christie version being particularly fascinating because the victims were all guilty and thus deserved their deaths to an extent. But Van Lente's one-dimensional comedians really did not. They are supposedly being punished for bad comedy and minor bullying, but neither of these are crimes worthy of such creative murders.

In short, it was dumb and not worth the time.

Terrible, Distracting Art Ruins a Decent Story

The story throughout its good enough and interesting. However, the change in art for the last two issues is jarring and constantly distracting. I found myself pulled out of the story because the art was a ridiculous mashup of Liefield-esque proportions and some weird pseudo-anime drek that dragged enjoyment way down into being a slog.

So this probably would have been a 3.5 bumped to a 4 if not for the fact I was rather let down that the movie ending was followed, not the book ending . well insomuch as it could be - Lente did a really good job following the cues of AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, adapting the deaths to match some aspect of the Comedians lives (much as Christie adapted the children's ditty), but to make the final punchline stick the Judge character was different.

I recently re-skimmed this, to finish up my review, and guys...guys its possible I was being too nice earlier. My skin was crawling at points that I marked to revisit for my review.

I will warn for grisly deaths, foul language and well the language in general - no punches are pulled here. But hey a good comedian kills the audience right?

Independent Reading level: 6th-12th grade
Awards: Wizard Magazine's Best Revamp of 2008, #7 on Comic Book Resources' "Best 100 Comics of 2008" for Incredible Hercules

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Not the strongest arc in this series, and Deadpool was unnecessary, but he tends to be. Definitely a unique way to go about that status quo reset, but also why? Why?!? Why bring back Gradon Creed?!? He suuuuccckkkks and is barely better than Strucker! Like, you're still allowing an antimutant instigator back into the world? Idk, it was very odd

Nothing amazing, but not bad either.

Solid Pak storytelling, as usual. Weapon H is mildly interesting as a character? Like, I've already bought the whole Weapon H series so, you know, I'm reading it regardless, but honestly I probably wouldn't have bothered based on this intro. Too much military nonsense.

Read the first part in the 4001 AD other stories. It didn’t make sense as it was out of context at the time. Since I got caught up with the rest of the story and reread the whole arc it makes more sense. It’s good, but not as great as the rest of the world building.

Really enjoyed it.

Deadpool head was amusing. The rest...not so much

Interesting concept but just ok in execution.

This is a parody of a Chick Tract, but it is all about Cthulhu and the Necronomicon and so it tells you to give up all hope. Life is meaningless. It is somewhat convincing, but very entertaining.

I have to say, the book jacket made me laugh and sucked me in. Familiar with Christie's Ten Little Indians, I was prepared for...well, let's say, I thought I was prepared, but still didn't nail it. A solid fresh take on the old classic. I'm not a super fast reader, but since this is dialogue-driven, it seemed to whoosh by. I almost read it in one sitting. The characters are well differentiated, it was a fun read. Wish they had plus ratings, I'd give it a 4 . Wish it was a little longer or more descriptive, it felt almost rushed, written to a deadline. Maps and interspersed comic monologue backstories a nice touch.

Reserrectionists are a group of people that for three millennium has been trying to pull of the same heist to free their souls. Yes, once they were Egyptians and the evil Pharaoh trapped in the “afterlife” with him. The "afterlife" means not heaven or anything instead are they reborn over and over again and they need to be unlocked to know that they have lived before.

It was a bit confusing in the beginning since the story just started without any real explanation to anything going on. Just sit tight and try to keep up kind of opening. Fasten your seatbelt and we will take you on a ride. And, what a ride. I admit that I was a bit skeptic in the beginning, but then the story started to unfold and the character's past and present started to make sense and that is when I started to enjoy the story. And, of course it ended with a cliffhanger.

The art part was quite good, I think it suited the story even though large breasted women seemed to be the only option when it came to drawing women. But that is hardly anything new when it comes to graphic novels.

I enjoyed reading Resurrectionists, it was a perfect read when I needed a break from my books.

I received this copy from the Dark Horse Books through Edelweiss in return for an honest review! Thank you!

Wasn't a fan of the big bad and it kind of ruined the story for me.

Someone really sat and thought that this concept was a good idea. The artwork was horrible as well.

I don't care about the religious aspect of this.

Very extra. Not a fan.