Final Cut (Pantheon Graphic Library)

An incredible comic book about a young, teenage, artist finding himself, with peers who are good friends but don't quite understand his artistic vision. This could be a metaphor of course for any artist, regardless of the art, living by their vision, unsure if it will be executed successfully, but living far more in the interior world of the mind, of fantasy, of private ideation, than most, especially for teens who are developmentally feeling out the world of non-familial relationships. This is also a story of a socially awkward and withdrawn young person, possibly on the spectrum, or just depressed from living with, and caring for, a mother with serious addiction and mental health problems, a world also other peers will never understand, and the very world that has tilted him into a more private, internalized, realm. Finally, this is the story of romantic attraction to a friend, never stated, though his peers do state their own to others, yielding dating successes as a result, while the protagonist's, remaining hidden, suffers the likelihood of remaining in fantasy, frustrated, in isolative pain. One senses his calling is for a deeper, creative, and professional, success, still in embryo, with perhaps the romantic delayed. There are references to horror and science fiction films with themes of invasion, pod people, cannibals, all representative perhaps of the social world the protagonist feels alien in, with him in his own pod, and peers with demands and personalities that seem jarring and invasive. I read the author's "Black Hole" which is another very elevated comic art work, but "Final Cut" is his masterpiece in drawing, character complexity, and emotional effect upon the reader. Most people still think comics are for kids or involve superheroes, which was an important trend in the 1960s, which is still cashed into. But works such as this one show that deep art can still thrive in this medium, especially when a genius like Burns comes along to remind us how impactful it can get.

Pretty good story and art

Burn's always write such poignant tales about teens. Though it's not stated, the action takes place in the early 1970s and revolves around two teens who are making a home movie. The one Brain has some form of mental illness that prevents him from participating in normal society. The other is a redheaded girl unsure about herself and her sexuality. The art adds to an eerie, unsettling, atmosphere that pervades the action, even when people are enjoying themselves. This is undercut by the numerous Invasion of the Body Snatchers references that mimic the character's uncertainty. Masterfully done.

Charles Burns has honestly become the Cronenberg of Comics; often doing the 50s Teen journey with far more body horror than expected. FINAL CUT does speak to me plenty as an amateur filmmaker, always creating but also pining for the "redhead girl" like every other Charlie Brown. While the story's just as good as BLACK HOLE (the classic), I did feel the imagery was underwhelming at times, despite being as beautiful as most of Burns' designs. The ending also seriously left me hanging, where I was like "Go Dark or Go Light", but actually "End". It just didn't prep enough to leave me perplexed other than just irritated with just "quitting" the story.

Charles Burns is the master of the macabre and this is his most personal book since the earlier Black Hole. No point in discussing the plot because if you are a fan than you already know how excellent this book is. Page after page of Burns' amazing artwork leaps from the page to infect your brain. I pre-ordered this immediately and was thrilled to devour it in one sitting. Burns once again taps into the precordial part of the brain and somehow manages to create illustrations that will be burned into your subconscious. Prepare to be amazed.

Though I am by no means an expert, I do enjoy the occasional graphic novel. I saw this reviewed in the New York Times and I thought I would give it a try. I had read Black Hole by Mr. Burns years ago and had mixed feelings about it. I had the same reaction to this. I like Mr. Burns’ artistic style. His work is certainly interesting to look at. The story here also has potential. A boy longs for a girl but has no idea how to connect with her and loses himself in his art and fantasies. The girl has no idea how to deal with the boy even as she tries to develop a relationship of her own. My problem is that I don’t feel the story is developed well enough. I only get surface motivations from the various characters and never get any depth. So, in the end, it left me cold.

Likely his best work yet. If you like black hole, give this a try. You won’t be disappointed.

Another brilliant work from Burns. I give it five bags of popcorn and two cans of Michelob. Just go buy it already.

Bought as a present, they loved it!

Venditore serio.

Beautiful book

I loved it right up until the end and in my opinion the end was a let down 😞

If you are a Charles Burns fan, then no doubt you eagerly anticipated this book’s release. Having read it I can only hope that Burns is not slipping into a formula. The story is intriguing and I savoured the book in three sittings; originally released as a trilogy of bande dessinee’s, as was ‘Last Look’, ‘Final Cut’ even sounds similar. Gone is NitNit and Johnny23 the alter egos of Doug from Last Look replaced by a more straightforward narrative character in Brian, though medication (for an unspecified mental condition in Final Cut) plays a strong part here too, the onus is on emotional detachment on Brian’s part, where Doug was simply unable to commit. One is left with the feeling that Burns does not have a very high opinion of the male of the species, with their propensity to autistic behaviours. Both stories end with their respective anti-heroes finding themselves alone. Doug as NitNit waking up in a dilapidated house, and Brian still imagining he can impress Laurie with his tidy room and new artist’s table, when in reality that ship has long sailed. So delusion leading to solitude. It is hard to see anymore juice being squeezed out of this lemon. If I didn’t know better I might think Burns was writing these stories as a way of saying “ look, I realise women are better than men, I’m different”, “would you like to sleep with me.” I’ll buy Burns’ next book, but if it’s more of the same, I’ll draw a veil over future purchases