The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch

By Neil Gaiman and Dave Mackeam

Book Overview

In his grandmother's failing seaside arcade, a young boy encounters a mysterious Punch and Judy Man with a dark past, and a woman who makes her living playing a mermaid. As their lives intertwine and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1563892464
• ISBN13: 9781563892462
• Release Date: September 1995
• Publisher: Vertigo / DC Comics
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.6" x 0.2" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 14 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 9 to 12

Customer Reviews

The Magical Tragicomedy of Mr. Punch....

Neil Gaiman has several recurring themes to which he revisits again and again like the swallows returning to Capostrano. Foremost among these is the persistence of memory, which is the theme of "The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch." The tale revolves around a Punch n' Judy show at a seaside carnival and how it acts as a trigger for a young boys memories of his family. As with much of Gaiman's work, there are tales within tales here, and the real story he tells is more implied than elucidated upon. Dave McKean's art underscores this theme beautifully, with the "real" characters in the story as cartoon caricatures while the puppets look like photographs, exactly the focus with which young children would concentrate their memories. Can we not all remember a favorite toy more easily than our parents faces when we were little? A marvelous and poignant tale well worth your time and money.

Amazingly exciting, moody and interesting

I was ready for anything, not having read any Gaiman/McKein work for a very long time now, and picking this up made me feel bad for waiting so long. I was (and still am) amazed at the talent and magistry that Gaiman is able to reflect in eyes of a child, and how the story unfolds wonderfully with the sometimes beautiful, sometimes twisted and dark artwork found within. The pictures alone could tell an an amazing story, and the novella itself is told in the eyes of a child, and you know exactly whose voice the narrative is taking, from Mr Punch, to the Grandfather, to the child. I am a devoted fan, and this has only increased my hopes and chances of picking up more of his work. What are you doing still reading this? Go pick up this book!

Wonderful, extraordinary, superb, great, etc. and so on.

Neil Gaiman is my hero. I always have, and always will be intrigued by Punch & Judy. Therefore, Gaiman's Mr. Punch is one of the greatest works I've ever read. Though it is unfair to say "Gaiman's Mr. Punch", as it is equally Dave McKean's, for without him, I'm sure Mr. Punch would lose part of its eerie, strange, subtle power. Mr. Punch is an odd book. I read it in a single sitting, and afterwards, I was actually at a loss for words trying to describe what it is. This was a first; I can praise Neil Gaiman for hours on end, but I was stuck with Mr. Punch. I've seen it classified as Horror, Science Fiction, normal Fiction, and just as a Comic. But it is much more. It sent something through me - something that I am also at a loss of words about. This is a really great story, much like a dream (or nightmare, depending) it is surreal, yet uncommonly realistic; it is disturbing, but also soothing. It's more of an experience than a reading. McKean's artwork and Gaiman's words send you into something of a trance, where you enjoy yourself, get disturbed (actually, more troubled, as the young protangonist would say), and subtly reminded of your own childhood. A must read for any Gaiman or McKean fan, and also a must read for any Punch & Judy enthusiast, or anyone looking for a great read.

Quietly brilliant

Mr. Punch is a difficult piece to review. It may be Neil Gaiman's finest work, but it is certainly his darkest. It is hard to describe the plot of Mr. Punch without giving anything away; suffice to say it is not the kind of work you would expect in a comic, and not what you would simply be able to put down and go on with your life once you have finished.Dave McKean's always innovative artwork enhances the nightmarish quality of the piece, and Neil Gaiman's prose is captivating as always. Mr. Punch is at the very least worth a read, and will likely find itself on your bookshelf next to all the other books that quietly changed the way you look at things.

A beautiful piece that pushes the boundaries of the medium

Mr. Punch is one of those rare graphic novels that transcends the "fat comic book" and truly explores the possibilities of the medium. The text and illustrations are bound together and support each other, yang and yin, dreams and nightmares, innocence and experience. Dave McKean's illustrations are not only great comic art, they're great fine art, complex, rich, powerful individually but devastating in sequence, and perfectly complement Neil Gaiman's spare, almost naive text