cWtqn (Download) A God Somewhere Online [cWtqn.ebook] A God Somewhere Pdf Free John Arcudi ebooks | Download PDF | *ePub | DOC | audiobook Download Now Free Download Here Download eBook #12490089 in Books 2010-09-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 10.04 x .43 x 6.61l, #File Name: 1848568797200 pages | File size: 25.Mb John Arcudi : A God Somewhere before purchasing it in order to gage whether or not it would be worth my time, and all praised A God Somewhere: 0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. One of the best portrayals of a regular man gaining abilities... how he chooses to use themBy Bryan KellyAwesome read. One of the best depictions of how a regular man copes with his newfound abilities. Reading this reminded me of the movie Chronicle. After reading I was left with the question, "If I were to gain such abilities, how would I use them? How would they change me? Would I like who/what I have become?" Highly recommended.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Hauntingly beautiful exploration of humanity's frailtiesBy Edmund PribitkinClearly John Arcudi's finest work, "A God Somewhere" explores how human beings deal with blessings and tragedies beyond their control. In this beautifully illustrated novel, chance occurrences lead to enduring relationships, which color the actions and motivations of the protagonists. Two white brothers, Eric Hugh, come to the rescue of an afro-american teen, Sam, being beaten by schoolyard bullies. A deep friendship arises between Sam and one of the brothers, Eric. The other brother, Hugh, marries a beautiful afro-american woman, Alma, to whom Sam is attracted. Hugh's rivalry with Sam for Eric's affections and Sam's desire for Hugh's wife Alma become poignant subplots to the novel's exploration of Eric's sudden transformation into a being with superhuman, god-like powers. But superpowers do not make the man nor do they inform the tragedy. Instead, each character's human frailties and complex social and emotional interactions inexorably move the novel to its tragic conclusion. Here, there is pathos, ethos and the cruel but inexorable logos characteristic of classic tragedy--How could it have ended otherwise? I will reread this novel for many reasons. The jarring beauty of Peter Snejberg's artistry, especially his use of familiar compositions (for example, Michelangelo's Last Judgement) to engage the reader. John Arcudi's homage's to Stan Lee's Hulk (Must power beget responsibility?). Bjarne Hansen's use of a limited color palette to simultaneously focus and expand the reader's vision. The pacing which sweeps the reader on a journey that is gripping, breathless and demanding. But the chief reason to return to this novel is to explore what makes us human. Much as Euripides used the great heroic stories of his age to display men as they are, so John, Peter and Bjarne have taken our superhero mythos and provided deep insights into our frailties. There is ugliness in this novel, but there is great beauty, too. As its cover suggests, "A God Somewhere" will leave footprints in your soul.17 of 18 people found the following review helpful. The comic medium at it's finestBy grifter78(SPOILERS, this one was too hard to write without them)I went back and forth whether or not to pick this up when I first saw it announced. The only exposure I ever had to writer John Arcudi was his run on Gen 13 Volume 1, and I just thought it was ok. The premise was intriguing but it wasn't something I hadn't read in other forms before. All of this coupled with the fact it was an original graphic novel with a $24.99 cover price, made me very hesitant to invest in it. I'm happy to say it was well worth the risk.Normally, one of the strengths of graphic novels is that they don't have to rely on cliffhangers every 22 pages like a comic book. The writer has more freedom to structure his story any way he wants. Here, Arcudi chose to do 4 chapters at 50 pages each. It'd be interesting to see if this was originally envisioned as a 4-issue mini series but if it was, I'd find it hard to believe each issue would've been 50 pages. But regardless of the original intent, this format works very well here because it allows for cliffhangers and also allows for the passage of time between chapters.Speaking of time, Arcudi's got an interesting story structure where we follow the 4 main characters in the present while periodically showing flashbacks of significant events in the past between the characters. The main character is Eric Forester. We also follow his brother Hugh, his wife Alma, and Eric's best friend Sam Knowle. Arcudi does a great job of setting up each of these characters and their various struggles before we even get to the superhero parts of the story. But Arcudi doesn't give us too much exposition. He gives us just enough up until the point where Eric is bestowed with his powers.From here, the story takes off in a very interesting direction. In the story Eric is a Christian so he believes God has blessed him with these powers. Now I must pause and let you know I am a Christian myself (don't worry, I'm not going to start preaching from here on), so that's the perspective I'm coming at this story from. The way Eric takes authority over his powers is almost unbelievable. But Eric is so euphoric about the whole thing, Arucdi lets us feel the elation Eric feels about these new powers.This brings me to Snejbjerg's art. He does an amazing job throughout the novel but it's his facial expressions on Eric that really convey how happy Eric is this has happened to him. When you look into Eric's eyes as he tells Sam everything's going to be alright and then proceeds to jump out a window and fly into the sky, its Snejbjerg's art that makes you believe Eric.Of course, from here we follow as Eric becomes a messiah of sorts (even though he outright states he does not compare himself to Jesus Christ). But his godhood loses its impact as he begins to see the corruption of man and how despite his great powers, the corruption still remains. At this point Eric has been simultaneously hurt by society and by those he loves like his brother, Hugh. It is this realization that begins to send him over the edge and where Arucdi takes us to some very dark places.The battles that ensue which Snejbjerg illustrates beautifully are absolutely brutal following these events. Those following Boom Studios' Irredeemable have gotten a taste of the "superhero gone bad" story but here, there is no holding back. The story becomes heartbreaking as we see Eric driven mad by the idea that humanity is lost and not worth saving. There are even two plot points which I thought were interesting because they are two possible origins to his powers. One is where Eric dreams that he was once a god of another smaller universe who became bored and came to our bigger universe. The other is that Eric's powers are telekinetic in nature which could either be separate, or go hand in hand with the "god" explanation. In fact, the origins of his powers are never fully explained but that's ok because in this story they are mainly a catalyst for everything else.By the end, Arucdi is not shoving some religious message down out throats. He is simply giving us a human story in a superhero setting. To see these ordinary people faced with extraordinary circumstances and how they handle it is the strength of this story. I cannot recommend this graphic novel enough. It is a further testament that comics can be a powerful medium to convey meaningful stories that can reach a lot of people. After a mysterious disaster, a young man named Eric finds that he has just as mysteriously developed extraordinary abilities. He starts out trying to help people, but his solitary position in the world isolates him in ways no ordinary human could understand. From Publishers WeeklyThe idea of superpowered humans in the "real world" has become one of the more popular recent tropes in comics, a trend inevitably met with diminishing returns. Arcudi and Snejbjerg's harrowing, occasionally gory take asks a familiar question: what if one single person was suddenly possessed of superhuman power? Yet their answer largely eschews feats of heroism in favor of an extended dark night of the soul. When nice- guy everyman Eric emerges from a mysterious explosion with the familiar flight/strength/invulnerability package, he starts out pulling babies from burning buildings, foiling robberies, etc., but his sudden fame and near omnipotence quickly alienate him from the people he loves and, eventually, humanity as a whole. Seen through the eyes of his best friend Sam, Eric's unexpected transformation from quasisuperman to psychopathic mass murderer comes across as deeply tragic rather than merely sensational. Snejbjerg's art is ideally suited to this jarring transition, as he remains focused on characterization whether a panel calls for cartoony bonhomie or bloodcurdling mayhem. This focus on the characters' essential humanity and sense of loss elevates Arcudi's script above the usual "postmodern deconstruction of the superhero mythos," proving that there are still some new stories out there after all.