Goldfish

This is a wonderful graphic novel to read in its own right and a great place to begin an inquiry into the genius of Brian Bendis.

Goldfish is an easier read than its companion, Jinx, but still fell short of "groundbreaking" to me. I liked the Goldfish character better in this story, being he was a lot more confident, yet weathered. But, the story seemed to drag on without making any real point. The dialogue, as with Jinx, frustrated me for the same reasons: "reality" conversations just don't work on paper. Bendis is definately a great writer, I will not dispute that, but, Goldfish did not continuously capture me throughout the entire tale. Since this is not a spoiler review I will not reveal any plot. But, I'll just say, the end is worth the wait.

This is a really great book with really likable characters, and although the plot is already really well tread, Bendis makes it a really fun read.

Goldfish is, at it's simplest level, a revenge story. A grifter returns to take back something that belongs to him; something that his former partner is unwilling to relinquish, and will kill to keep. The difference between this and every other revenge story is the prize in question is not stolen loot, but a child- the son of David "Goldfish" Gold and his former lover/partner Lauren. Lauren is now a bigshot crime-boss, while Goldfish is still pulling small-time cons. To give away anything else would be to do potential readers a great injustice. Writer/Artist Brian Michael Bendis keeps the twists and turns coming, and the book is HUGE- a great value. The drawbacks are the same ones I've had with most of Bendis' collections, including Jinx, Fire, & Torso: Poor production values. The climax of Goldfish has a few pages printed out of order, and the book is FILLED with misspelled words. (That kind of stuff drives me nuts!) Bendis' art is too murky also, and at times it was very difficult to tell who was doing what to whom.But readers who are looking for a well-told, twisty crime drama will probably enjoy Goldfish.

Goldfish is a fast-paced noir thriller with a theme, plot and characters worthy of any crime writer, and a revelation of what a graphic novel can do. You waste no time reading descriptions of people, surroundings, body language, car crashes and gun battles: your visual cortex does the work with immediate impact. Bendis's art is simple, dark, very expressive. Here and there facial expressions are awkwardly drawn, but the overall layout is effective and the acting is really good. I love the way he only paints surroundings every couple of pages, but they're so carefully selected that they stick with you for a long time. His lighting, close-ups and sustained high tempo do remind you of a movie (think Reservoir Dogs or Memento), except that the dialogue is unimpaired by PG ratings. It's sassy, to the point, true to its characters like a tape recording.Now you might say that it's almost overdone. The author devised a rigid formal structure that is very densely packed with points and counterpoints, comic relief, dramatic confessions, flash-backs, flash-forwards, action, anticipation, etc. His technique is a little bit too obvious, and the female characters end up a tad shrill. But that's just a tiny gripe for purists, and I'm glad to report, Bendis is completely over that now (look at Jinx, it's a true classic). Besides, many layered themes are woven into this story just as carefully as its plot twists and turns, and its final offbeat perspective makes up for whatever feels formulaic before that. So, don't pass up on Goldfish. It's a great read, it has real feeling and makes more than one good point. It definitely deserves a spot in your collection.

I really like Bendis, in general. He is probably my favorite comic book writer. I really like Powers, and Daredevil, and Alias. Since all of those books are superhero books with noir elements, I figured that this book, his root of noir, would be the rosetta stone of Bendis. Instead, it was just kind of lame.Goldfish himself was only somewhat interesting. He is a crook who is pretty much just a run of the mill crook who never redeems or elevates or changes himself in any way. I sometimes had trouble knowing which one he was because Bendis' art was so rough. A lot of stuff happens to him in this book that you feel is going to add up to some firecracker ending, but then the ending, also, is just kind of lame.I am sincerely surprised that this made the Wizard top 100 list, as I would not even count it among the best of Bendis' work. An interesting debut, yes, but not a book I would recommend to anyone else.

I first got to known Brian Michael Bendis from an art class at a Community College in Cleveland, OH. This man has a imagination out of this world and his creativity in comics speaks VOLUMES. Cleveland doesn't has much, but if you're into Dramatic/Action pack Comic, then you know Cleveland gave birth to Bendis.Goldfish is a great crime story. It has a SIN CITY feel to it. The art is incredible. Bendis uses sooo many different form of media to tell a story in every frame. Incredible! Image and Marvel has gained a great person to tell and draw out the stroy. I do recommend this book...even if the plot of story doesn't fit your interest...the artwork in this book will.

I would have to say that Bendis' crime work is probably the best of that type in the comic field.He is a very good writer who consistently delivers good and believable dialogue for his characters.I do have a complaint though. I am not the biggest fan of the art. It seems murky and somewhat disjointed. Sometimes during some of the longer dialogue scenes I had trouble distinguishing which of the characters was actually speaking.That being said, I still would advise that you buy this one. It is a large book with good characters and a surprising twist. Give it a try.