Sebastian O - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Grant Morrison, legendary writer of such cult smashes as The Invisibles and The Filth, and renowned artist Steve Yeowell grab the high morals of Victorian London by the throat, infect it with computer technology and expose its true perverted nature! With the escapist skills of Houdini and the laser-sharp wit of Wilde, dandy Sebastian O is out for revenge on the members of a shadowy, sordid Gentlemen's Club that had him committed to a mental institution. Hunted by assassins, rogues and scallywags, Sebastian believes he will ultimately triumph using merely his exquisite fashion sense! A superb addition to the 'steam punk' canon, Sebastian O brilliantly blends farce, wit and searing social commentary to expose the hypocrisy of Victorian class culture.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars

Sebastian O September 30, 2004
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Originally publised as a three part series by DC: Vertigo in 1993, Sebastian O is an initially impressive piece, and a good demonstration of the strengths and weaknesses inherent in the DC: Vertigo line.

As with the rest of the Vertigo line, Sebastian O falls somewhere between mainstream and underground comics writing. The artwork shows definite originality, being as it is the combination of conventional comic art with the linear and detailed style of the art deco period, and more directly the work of illustrator Aubery Beardsley. The occasionally sketchy outlining of charaters and architecure adds interest and is a refreshing change to the often clean, sterile line work featured in more mainstream books. The dialogoue is also a departure from the norm, written as it is, in psuedo Wilde throughout.

If you are looking for something with more depth than perhaps standard superhero fare, this book is an excellent place to start, being as it is a kind of missing link between between mainstream and underground comics writing.

If, however, you are already familiar with the work of Dan Clowes, Dame Darcy, Chris Ware and the like, the book is liable to lack the depth or coherance that you might expect from such an aparently original title. The artwork, for example, is still of a very conventional style - inspired as it is, it lacks the definition evident in the work of the artists listed above and those like them. The dialogue, too, is somewhat lacking. The writing rarely achieves an entirely authentic Victorian style, and also tends to slip into contempory Americanisms in what is supposed to be Victorian London.

The plotting and storyline are questionable, although the enigmatic nature of the story does excuse much of this. The only real disappointment in this area is the frequently short-lived confrontations between Sebastian and his various enemies, often to the extent of being anti-climactic.

Overall, though not a great book, Sebastian O is certainly a good one, providing a generation of comics readers with evidence of the potential within the medium, beyond just muscles and tights. I sincerely hope that this book, and books like it, will continue on in this vein for many years to come.

4 out of 5 stars

old favorite September 28, 2004
4 out of 5 found this review helpful

I was pleased to see DC released this early Vertigo/Wildstorm gem. It was a lovely read originally, and its appearance in trade form delights the senses.

Originally a 3 part series, this graphic novel collects the issues of gifted writer Grant Morrison, who takes his deliciously Oscar Wilde-esque character Sebastian O from Bedlam (a hospital for the mentally deficient, the unwanted, and those with the tendency to make society uncomfortable) through his quest to find revenge for the betrayal which put him there. Unlike the tragically confined Wilde, who attempted to flaunt and thwart society, Sebastian manages to pull off his rebellion with aplomb. The book bends those narrow assigned gender roles with equal skill and wit. Sebastian, Abbe, George, and Theo, the members of the Club De Paradis Artificiel will remind history buffs of the Bloomsbury group or the art circles of the Pre-Raphaelites.

This title has its weak moments, thus the 4-star rating. The humor occasionally covers flimsy points in the narrative, and the characters sometimes dip a toe into farcical archetypes of themselves. All in all, however, this book is a must buy.

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