Member Reviews
Probably the most badass female protagonist since Lisbeth Salander. Just like the Millenium Series, this book is dark, riveting, and set in Sweden. The similarities end there and you should pick up a copy of this book to see why Lisa is an unforgettable character.
Not a terrible comic. It's artwork is nice but I didn't much care for the comic overall. It just wasn't really my taste.
'Motorcity' by Sylvain Runberg with art by Philippe Berthet is a detective comic set in a small town in Sweden. It revolves around a car culture that likes American cars and culture from the 1950s.
Lisa Forsberg is a rookie cop on a police force that used to have run ins with her when she was younger. She gets assigned to the case of a missing man, and finds herself knowing many of the suspects, like the missing man's car club friends and his parents. Meanwhile, the victim is in an undisclosed location being eaten on by rats. This adds tension to a story that is pretty procedural in nature.
I liked the story well enough. The art was really good. I'd like to see more of this character, and definitely this artist. I also learned about Swedish "raggare" who are people who worship American culture from the 1950s. Not a bad read at all.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank ou for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
An unconventional new cop—with tats, piercings, etc.—in a small town in Sweden works on missing persons case. We get to see what happened to that missing person, and it’s not nice, so we’re given a sense of urgency for the cop and her partner to get there and save the day.
She knows most of the players, which is handy, though who knows if that’s a great idea, were she to run into someone she actually likes. There’s also an idiot too-much-testosterone older cop who looks like he came out of any American police show. The book ends with a small discussion on the Swedish subculture that was the background for the story, which was interesting enough to make me look it up.
The writing, or should I say the translation, is pretty good, except for too many fake-sounding instances of “Ha ha.” The artwork was a bit Day-Glo for my tastes, but since the protagonist is a fan of superhero comics that’s not a big deal. And even though the story was a bit by-the-numbers, the characterizations, especially the lead, made it worthwhile.
3.5 pushed up to 4/5
Motorcity is a fun short police procedural that touches lightly on the subculture of Reggare. This looks like it will be a series, there was just enough backstory to support more volumes but also a lot of unanswered questions about the protagonist.
My biggest complaint, which is fairly minor, is that it was short. I would have liked a little more on the investigation itself as well as a bit more interaction between members of the police unit. That said, if this is the beginning of a series, then my issue with length becomes even smaller.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
Thanks to net galley.com and Europe Comics for the advance PDF file for my honest review.
Let me start with saying, if your looking for a clean read, then 'Motorcity' is not for you, pass on it and know your missing out on a real good read.
The cool thing with netgalley.com, you have so many genres to explore at your finger tips, and so glad that I started reading and exploring graphic novels. I do like the change of pace from a traditional book, discovered that I seem to like the supernatural stuff the better in this format.
I liked 'Motorcity', it's a dark graphic, police procedural graphic novelfull of suspense, several twist and turns, great graphic's and comes to an epic finish, that you weren't expecting. Be aware it's translated, but still reads well, have read worse and hope this is the start of a new series.
I really liked Lisa Forsberg, she's a badass rookie cop, that's likable, relatable to, who comes back home, to be closer to her dad, after her mother's death and learns just how dark and disturbing her hometown is. She's partner with Erik Lund, another likable character in the story.
Front and center in this one is the Swedish, subculture 'Raggare', were members like vintage cars from the 1950's, especially Chevrolet's, then like American Rock N' Roll music, Elvis is king, that attracts both men and women. They'll party with a cold beer in one hand, then have a Rebel flag in the other, that stands for rebellion verse racism and as a avid Heavy Metal music fan, that's been my argument why for years I wore a rebel bandana.
As Lisa's first case is a missing person's one, that involves a member from the 'Raggare' subculture, more interesting is that she's a former member and finds herself crossing paths from her past, with mixed reviews. It'll make you think of Lisbeth Salander, although it stands on it's own and definitely
will continue reading this one should it become a series.
Posted on goodreads.com, amazon.com, then B&N.com & Kobo.com should it be listed on their sites
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36628587-motorcity
I'm hoping this is a series. It's one i can get into.
Our female lead is a kick ass take no bullshit cop with a case a little too close to home.
Some of the content is graphic so be warned.
The illustrations are awesome!
Lisa is a new detective in Sweden. Up first is locating a missing person, who is deep in the raggare culture of vintage American cars and rockabilly music. His parents report him missing after he misses the annual local car festival, Motorcity.
I expect more exotica from Europe Comics. Setting this in the Swedish raggare culture that worships American 1950’s style was rather a disappointment. I expected Swedish noir and got Dragnet. However, the multiple surprising twists at the end make Motorcity a 4 star read.
Thanks to Europe Comics and NetGalley for a review copy.
A police procedural taking place in Sweden? That’s different! I like it!
Which is one of the reasons I like NetGalley - finding things I wouldn’t normally find.
The art reminded me a bit of XIII.
The dialogue seemed odd - it didn’t seem to fit. At first I thought it was like the comic was drawn first and then more dialogue was tried to fit into the balloons. Then I realized - duh. It was translated. I think the translation and lettering was a bit disappointing. I wish I could have seen the original lettering and knew Swedish to read the original comic.
But it ended up being a really interesting story - if a bit horrifying! It was a decent police procedural - and more interesting that it took place in a different country.
And even Sweden has her rednecks! Who knew?
<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for a copy in return for an honest review.</i>
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley
A somewhat entertaining mystery story that strains believability by having someone fresh from the academic as an apparently ranking detective. She is also the only good woman who really does anything. The artwork is good, and the storyline doesn’t pull punches. As an American I’m somewhat disturbed by the use of the Confederate flag in some panels, especially near the end.
Despite the daylight settings, this is a very dark graphic novel, and one that contains more than one distressing situation. A young rookie cop comes back from training in the city to find her first case back in her old home town a missing teenager, connected to a cultish movement fixated on 50s Americana, cars and beers included. While she looks a little 'The Girl With…' this is not Lisbeth's missing case, but a look (that is brief yet compelling) at the darkness of small-town Sweden. As such it has a freshness to it, and the nature of the plot is such that even the hardened genre fan will like as not be only half-right about the conclusion. Definitely for adults only, this is also definitely to be considered. Four and a half stars – while this might seem a short read for a purchase, that curtness is mostly to its credit.
If this graphic novel started into a series, I would follow it. I liked the narrative and the explanation of something new for me, raggare. The graphics were well executed. This is definitely a crowd pleaser for me.
A fun and gritty graphic novel. Love the art style and a great story too.
Copy shows, although I watch them, I only do so in passing, which is sort of how I felt about this Graphic novel copy show. Beautiful woman detective who is badass, check, burley guy who gives her grief, check, side kick who helps her in her investigations, check. All the trops and cliches are here. Give me the British version of detective stories, where people look like people you see in your neighborhood.
The most interesting thing about this graphic novel is the information we get about a subculture of Swedish life, called Raggare, which is the love of all things 1950s America. This image, below, is of the detectives visiting a Raggare festival called Motor City, thus the name of the book.
<img class="alignnone wp-image-408 size-full" src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Screen-Shot-2018-04-17-at-12.10.44-AM.png" alt="Motor City" />
Not a bad deceptive story, but not a great one either.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Lisa Forsberg returns to her home town as a cop. It is certainly different being the law enforcer instead of being the young troublemaker who was part of the 'raggare' and into rock’n’roll and vintage cars.
With her new police partner she is put on a case to find a man who has gone missing. As Lisa investigates she finds herself coming across people from her past, but as she investgates she realises that there is a lot of darkness in the town she grew up in and she now confronts this as an adult and a law enforcer.
This is a really good comic. Great artwork, a gripping mystery and just the right amount of text. I thought it was a bit too dark and sad for my tastes but it is still a good story.
Copy provided by Europe Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
I quite enjoyed this graphic novel, and would love to see more volumes with these main characters. I truly think this could go far. The main characters were well rounded, and the story-line had me intrigued from the beginning, and kept my interest until the very last page. The illustrations were beautifully done, with wonderful coloring. I know a lot of people who will love this graphic novel, and will be recommending it to many.
I have received a much appreciated digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Perhaps one of the the best comic books I have read.
For a start it is a graphic novel set in my favourite genre - Mystery & Thrillers .
However, it has a clever plot and a well developed storyline that holds one's interest throughout.
The novel also has significant social elements underpinning its story in that it has direct links with a Swedish subculture at its heart and makes no apology for a group often marginalised in the country. That is the raggare movement with its love of 1950s American pop culture and hot rod vintage cars.
Motorcity is an annual celebration where likeminded people meet to immerse themselves in this unique culture. The story centres around a missing lad who wouldn't miss such an event with the chance to show off his classic car.
His disappearance is the investigation given over to Eric Lund and a rookie female cop, Lisa Forsberg. Linköping is a small swedish city where everyone knows one another and the story is impressive in that was born here, and having graduated as a detective at the Stockholm but chooses to return 'home' to be close to her aging Dad. Therefore during the case she meets the people she went to school with, the youth culture she was part of, "raggare" somewhat anti-establishment and the police especially. So she walks a difficult path to be accepted among her male colleagues and folk who have known her all her life.
The story is multilayered like a novel 3 times its length and continues many twists and turns. Throughout the illustrations are quite detailed, full of colour and add to the unfolding tale. Some of the drawings are well worth dwelling over and absorbing the rich detail. The text is simple to follow and the story clearly defined in the dialogue without long pieces of narrative to link it together. Indeed the strength of the illustrations iare a sense of place and movement which hurry the story along and never leave you feeling this is disjointed like some comic books.
Real policing is addressed; this isn't aimed at children and as an adult it is great to be able to enjoy this strong area of literature. I warmly and very strongly recommend it to all, it is a great graphic novel to fall in love with this medium and will bring you genuine pleasure in the process.