Vincent Van Gogh's biography from birth to death in graphics had as much info as any full length biography will have. I expected this to be similar to "Little Prime, BIG DREAMS" series which was more precise and intriguing than this. Maybe fans of Van Gogh's who are not interested in reading pages of biography would be interested in this but even then I did not find the graphics/illustrations to be justifying. Since the target audience is not very young, pictures could've been mature.
Thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for providing the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.75 stars
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🎯 Target Audience
- Folks who want to know the details of Vincent Van Gogh’s life
- People who don’t like reading dry words and prefer graphics

🧠 My thoughts
The book was concise and packed with a good amount of details of Van Gogh’s life. It was a nice and informative book.

However, although it’s a graphic novel, everything felt super dry to me. There were also too many words with a small amount of graphics. One thing after another. The color palette that was chosen for this book was a bit too strong. There were mostly primary colors, no subtle hue, it just hurt my eyes.

Thanks NetGalley, Quarto Publishing Group, and the authors for a great advance copy of the book in exchange for my honest review!

This book has way too much content and history packed into it to be interesting or relevant to the grades I’m shopping for (K-8)

Even as an adult reader I found the history to be too much. It has nearly every move and detail of his life (and his extended family?) in this edition.

The text is small and the images seem off brand for this type of graphic novel. I wish it were more concise.

Not the graphic novel we needed, but the picture book we wanted.

This book tells the story of Vincent Van Gogh, the famous Dutch painter, who unfortunately died far too early in his life.
The book goes through his early life, his religious works, his loves, and his working life. Giving you as much details as possible.

The downside to the book is that it doesn't follow his art style at all, which I think was a missed opportunity for an Artist's Life graphic novel.
Unfortunately it also doesn't hit the Graphic Novel mark, as it is laid out more like a picture book.
There are also parts in the intro that kind of repeat themselves.

Those things aside, it's a beautiful book and a great story. It shows Vincent's life from start to finish - including all his turmoil and mishaps which history regularly forgets.

"Vincent: A Graphic Biography" by Simon Elliott tells the story of the life of Vincent Van Gogh from his childhood in the Netherlands all the way up to his tragic end. Rather uniquely this story is told through the eyes of his sister-in-law Johanna, who was married to his beloved brother Theo. The epilogue tells in more detail how Johanna played the key role in building Vincent's legacy after he and Theo both died within a few months of each other, leaving her an impoverished, widowed single mother with not much besides a huge collection of Vincent's art that she knew deserved more recognition and could eventually be worth a fortune. Learning more about her dedication to ensuring his art would live on was my favourite part of the book! I also enjoyed the way that the art style used throughout the book often mimicked Vincent's distinctive brushstrokes.

My only drawback with the reading experience is that I do wish that this book would have taken more advantage of exploring the graphic novel format to have comic-strip storytelling with dialogue bubbles etc. This is more of a heavily illustrated biography in that each page has a few essay-esque paragraphs of Vincent's story and is accompanied by corresponding illustrations.

Despite the colourful artwork potentially appealing to children, I would not recommend this to an audience any younger than high school age because of the frank descriptions and illustrations of Vincent's mental health struggles and suicide attempts as well as one page that includes nudity in a sexual context.

If you are looking for an easy-to-read introduction to the life of one of the most famous painters in the world, I think this book is a fantastic starting point! I particularly enjoyed learning more about the first half of his life... I feel like I know quite a bit about his later, more artistically prolific, years after visiting numerous exhibits of his work including the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. However, I did not know many details about his childhood and time spent as a teacher and missionary, so I found that quite fascinating.

*DISCLAIMER: I received an eARC of this book from Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion | Frances Lincoln through NetGalley for the purposes of providing an unbiased review.*

It is very easy to recommend this graphic biography of Van Gogh. I so enjoyed reading the biography and seeing the illustrations. Told by Vincent’s sister in law, readers learn about his and brother Theo’s early life, Vincent’s art works, personal life and struggles. It is a wonderful resource.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed the premise of this book but it wasn’t exactly the graphic novel I was expecting. The images were all quite simplistic and the text was hard to read making it difficult to appreciate the story.

This was formatted more like a picture book than a graphic novel. The art style itself was not for me; it would have been cool if it had mimicked Vincent's own style, but it was instead lots of flat colors with no shading or lighting effects, rather odd perspectives, and oddly drawn people. One could argue that this is "experimental" and parallels one of the themes of the biography but it just looked poorly done. There was also some info conveyed in art but not in text that I severely felt needed clarification. Like pages 30-31 with Vincent and Eugenie. (Art looks pretty problematic and I am not a fan of biographies that refuse to acknowledge a person's wrongs in life, especially if it is going to allude to them. Just spell it out!)

Which leads to the whole framing of this story. It's told through Jo's point of view, who was Vincent's sister in law. I don't really understand why this decision was made, as it caused the whole narrative to be quite biased in Vincent's favor. Again, I am of the sentiment that history should be conveyed as objectively as possible, especially with such famous people as Vincent Van Gogh. We don't need to glorify his life or garner sympathy for his memory--that memory is doing just fine. I would have appreciated a more honest and objective depiction of his life and works rather than the weird fiction of claiming Jo's voice. (This narrative choice might have made sense if this were a graphic novel adaption of her own words regarding Van Gogh, but the while the credits mention online archives of her diaries, nothing is directly cited throughout the entire novel so that it's impossible to know what is actually her voice shining through, and what is fiction from the author.)

As much as I wanted to feel sorry for him, I kind of hated him by the middle of the novel and then was just ready for the story to be over by the end. His entitlement and lack of consideration for other people was boggling and infuriating, and I imagine led to the worsening of his mental illness. Again, if this had been told more objectively, this would have been a unique opporunity to showcase the history of how mental health has been treated and the flaws in that treatment, and how doctors just throw around treatments when they don't understand the actual issues. There's just ... sooo much they could have done there. But NO.

Anyway. Thus ends my mild rant.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free review copy.

I wanted to love this book - I love Vincent Van Gogh and his art. The Vincent episode of Doctor Who nearly had me in tears and I rarely cry.

I felt the choice to frame the biography from his widow's perspective to be an odd choice - one that I personally didn't like. Vincent isn't someone who has to be view from the eyes of his spouse to be appreciated.

I also felt that the graphics were overly simplistic - perhaps that was intentional in order for Vincent's art to stand out more readily? Others may like that, but I didn't care for it.

Where this book stood out to me are the pages where Vincent's art was portrayed as standing out to him as these bright and beautiful spots amongst the endless gray of his mental health battles. That imagery was beautiful.

Thank you, Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this graphic biography of Vincent Van Gogh and how his sister-in-law worked so hard to honor both his ands brother's memories.

This was an interesting read. The information was presented neatly and flowed well. The illustrations were helpful in creating a visual narrative of Vincent. My son who doesn’t like to read sat down and finished it in one shot. The illustrations also seemed to fit Vincent’s personal styles, the artwork that was included from his own work blended well with the art of the illustrator. Whether that was intentional or not I don’t know but I love the little details like this.

I’m a big fan of Vincent Van Gogh’s art. I know a little bit about him, but not near enough. So when I found this book I was super excited to read it.
I loved the way it was written. The fact that it was a graphic biography made it so much more fun to read. I believe graphic biographies are a good way to get younger readers interested in art and artists.

And yet again, I was reminded of Vincent's interesting persona. And I am grateful for it. The art inside the book was engaging and added to the text. My issue with the book is, I would say, the composition of it. The text was not user-friendly, mostly because of the small spacing between letters. At the same time, there was a lot of emptiness in the page, where this text could have been placed, making it a much more pleasurable experience.

This is a good, simple biography about artist Vincent Van Gogh. From the title, I expected it to be more of a graphic novel type format, but it was not. I still found the book to be informative, if not a little simple. I appreciated that the author included information on Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, who is not appreciated enough for her devotion to both Van Gogh brothers, and for making Vincent truly famous. I thought the cover art was beautiful, but found the interior art to be a bit flat.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

Told from the perspective of Johanna Van Gogh-Bonger, the person behind Vincent Van Gogh's success and Theo Van Gogh's beloved wife, VINCENT: A GRAPHIC BIOGRAPHY tells the life story of the world famous artist, Vincent Van Gogh. Starting from his beginnings, the author does not shy away from Van Gogh's life-long struggle with mental illness and the his journey to creating artwork. It also beautifully depicts the devotion of Theo to his older brother, and the vision he had for his brother's artwork-- which would eventually be carried out by his wife and son.

The story, while historically accurate, is bare bones-- meaning it can reach a wide audience for those looking to learn a little bit more about Van Gogh, without the intimidation of a full biography. The artwork, similarly, does the job effectively and thoughtfully, but leaves some to be desired.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. More specifically, I’d rate this a 3.5. The biography was informative, fast-moving, and easy to follow. It was initially odd to be from the perspective of Vincent’s sister in law, but after learning about her efforts to promote his paintings after death, it makes more sense. Van Gogh’s story is such a sad one- and this book attempted to capture his internal struggles with depression. I’m torn on how this graphic novel’s illustrations were crafted - his works are very recognizable despite the cartoonish style, and in some ways I enjoyed that - but at the same time, I think having glimpses of the actual paintings would have helped solidify the reality of Van Gogh a bit more. I’m not sure if it’s simply due to being an advanced copy that isn’t the final book, but the text on the page was small and the font uninspired in comparison with the art. Again, this may not be the same font used in the final version. The biography hit a lot of highlights but still left a lot to the imagination about what was going on personally with Vincent during his paintings and life. His life read more like a timeline or passive retelling, which makes a bit more sense with it being the in-law telling the story. While it is a graphic novel, there are some depictions of female nudity, self-harm/suicide (not just by Van Gogh), and other adult topics. Anyone knowing anything about his life would not be surprised, but the nudity pushed this into an older intended audience.

I am a big fan of Van Gogh, and I was delighted to see a graphic biography similar to Monet: Itinerant of Life by Salva Rubio. I enjoyed Van Gogh’s light being narrated by his sister-in-law Johanna. It was fitting since she basically became the steward of his legacy following his death. I thought the different “phases” of the book were well chosen, and the writing itself was clear and engaging. I was a little let down by the art. It felt a little more aimed toward younger audiences despite the biography itself being meant for adults. I wanted more inclusions and nods toward Van Gogh’s unique style but it was a lot more sparse than I was expecting. I did learn a few new things about Van Gogh, his brother Theo, and about Johanna (who was fascinating in her own right).

I recently had the pleasure of reading a graphic biography of Van Gogh, thanks to an ARC from NetGalley. As a devoted fan of his work, I was drawn to the unique perspective offered in this biography, narrated by his sister-in-law. It was enlightening to learn more about her role in shaping his artistic legacy, a facet I hadn't explored before.

However, while the narrative was engaging, I couldn't fully immerse myself due to the art style. It felt overly simplistic and didn't do justice to Van Gogh's intricate work. I had anticipated artwork more reminiscent of his own masterpieces, something richer and more detailed, which left me somewhat disappointed. Additionally, I felt the balance between text and visuals was skewed, with too much emphasis on narration rather than letting the art speak for itself.

Despite these shortcomings, I believe this biography serves as a decent introduction to Van Gogh's life for those seeking a basic understanding. However, I'm uncertain about its target audience. The childlike artwork and cover design may mislead potential readers, as the content delves into deeper themes not suitable for a younger audience. Overall, while it has its merits, I would recommend it cautiously to those interested in exploring Van Gogh's story.

This is one of the best biographies I have ever read. The second half of it presents the life of Van Gogh through his own letters as imagined to be interpreted by Jo, his sister-in-law. Readers get to see the depth of emotions experienced by Vincent, his brother Theo and Jo, his sister-in-law. When you feel so much for the world around you, you will see them in such depth that it can be tormenting. And maybe that is why his art is so moving and why the world was just too much for him.

The colour palette used in the book also changes to reflect the change in Vincent's art style in different stages of his life.

If you like his art, get this book.

I will get multiple copies of it as presents for my students.

Thank you for giving me the chance to preview such a moving book.

As someone who has always been interested in Van Gogh, I found this book fascinating. It was beautifully written. I love that this biography is written in the form of a graphic novel. I think the illustrations are well done and help to enhance the story. I learned so much from this book. I had no idea how important Van Gogh’s sister-in-law was to bringing his works to the masses. I also never knew about the bond he shared with his brother. His life really is a tragic story, which was very sad to read. However, it was inspiring that through all the tragedy, he was able to create such artistic masterpieces. The author did an amazing job accurately portraying Van Gogh’s life with such detail from the perspective of his sister-in-law. This was clearly a well-researched book. I would highly recommend this book.