Member Reviews
What a fun read. There is dark whimsy to this book and I think the art style really compliments the tone of the story.
This was visually impressive, but unfortunately I was hospitalized and ran out of time to finish it on the app. Good start, though, and I will keep an eye out!
A story that will make you fall in love with the author’s imagination and the little delivery man. This is exactly what I wanted and I’m so glad I decided to give this a chance.
Dark, gorgeously drawn, captivating. What more to be said... This is exactly what I look for in a graphic novel and to have one where the characterization jumps out of the page so wonderfully makes me recommend this to everyone. Lovely.
I loved the Last Delivery! It had wonderful ominous and spooky vibes, but I loved the little delivery man. Easy to read the text.
It's hard to rate The Last Delivery on a scale from one to five. To me, it kinda defies numerical ratings.
Our main character, a cute turtle (?) delivery guy, wants (or rather needs) to deliver a package to the resident of a house ominously marked with an X, and nothing more. Finding the resident in the impossibly big space within the building proves difficult, no less because there's a huge party going on and the partygoers are not necessarily helpful. As we are thrust deeper into the house, we accompany the delivery guy on his surreal journey to fulfill his duty, peeling back layers of excess and exploitation, hedonism and horror, to arrive at a core that shakes ours. The art fits this whirlwind of indulgence and violence incredibly well, the characters are expressive as hell, and the plethora of beautiful and visceral moments are visually rendered so well that you can't help but suffer along with the main character.
Fair word of warning, if you want your comic books to have a concise story or hate being left with unanswered questions, I would advise you not to pick up The Last Delivery. Its made up of different "stations" on the main character's attempt to deliver that damned package, sometimes with seemingly jarring transitions or little cohesion. Nothing is fully explained, the imagery can be ambiguous, the characters behave infuriatingly, and the ending will most certainly seem unsatisfying - which to me is one of the best parts of The Last Delivery as I read it as a heavy criticism of falling prey to a dominant ideology that eviscerates you until there's nothing left, and a satisfying ending would have detracted from its message imo. Still, I think you need to be open to a kinda weird, crazy experience that might leave you feeling uncomfortable and icky. I personally love surreal plots, so this was right up my alley; if you're into this type of shit too, DEFINITELY read The Last Delivery! I loved it and might even raise my rating to five stars after one or two rereads that will hopefully help me get a better grasp on what Evan Dahm ultimately wants to say.
Definite recommendation for people into weird abstract nightmare shit, definite word of warning for people who aren't.
This was one of the most interesting reads I've had in a while. The artwork was beautifully done throughout. While I wish there was a little more in depth writing to the story itself, I think it was also very clear on what was happening. It did leave me with some questions, but perhaps that would make a great follow up tale in the future. Overall, quick and fun little read.
This was an odd book. Dahm crafts a story about a delivery boy determined to get a package into the hands of a recipient, who happens to live in a hellish maze of a house. Right away, I found the artwork to be perfect for setting the tone the book would maintain throughout. There's a surreal, creepy quality to it, especially as the house keeps going and going. There's a very dark sort of humor early on, epitomized by the delivery boy's seemingly endless supply of extra hats, but as the story continues, the unfortunate situation the delivery boy has found himself in becomes much darker and more serious. The book certainly has a way of sticking in one's mind.
A quick read with with well-executed atmospheric illustrations.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Letter Better Publishing Services, and Iron Circus Comics for an advanced copy to review.
“Please, pardon my intrusion. I bear a package.”
The Last Delivery is a phantasmagoric dark fantasy, with absolutely gorgeous artworks, that plays with Surrealism. The main character is a delivery boy who ends in an isolated mansion and has to face numerous absurd situations to be able to do his work.
If the nonsense can be disconcerting, it is a great metaphor about our so-called modern world. Characters are self-centered, obsessed by entertainment, sometimes even decadent, whose self pleasure matters more than the general well-being. Through beautiful and dark art, with gorgeous colouring, the author tries to convince us to question the situation of our society, especially of the most precarious workers, and about our own behaviours and habits. A very nice discovery, and a hyper quick read!
Thank you NetGalley, Evan Dahm and Iron Circus Comics for this ARC. My opinions are my own.
Rate 4.5/5
This was the strangest graphic novel I have ever read; I read it a month ago and I still don't know what to say about it.
It is a dark graphic novel and I felt both sad and frustrated for the parcel boy. The amount of BS that poor boy has to go through to try and deliver the parcel. I was left wondering the whole time, who would send a parcel boy to this house of horrors?.
I love that the illustrations are as dark and foreboding as the things happening in this house. The illustrations really helped set the mood.
A delivery boy tries to fulfill his duty of delivering a package that requires a signature. Unfortunately, to find the recipient he has to navigate through a mansion filled with the guests of an endless party playing dangerous and deadly games. The guests aren’t helping and the staff aren’t willing to do more than their jobs require either. While hoping the main character would find someone to take the parcel so he can leave in one piece, this was easy to read in one sitting and I liked the little moments of humor. A dark fantasy in a nonsensical world and a main character persevering past the point of reason, I enjoyed the story and the art style.
The illustrations in this graphic novel were very engaging and eye-catching, but the story itself left something to be desired, at times being non-sensical.
Not sure what I was expecting from this story but what I read was not what I was expecting. This poor guy just wants to do his job and move on to the next job. But no one will tell him where the owner of the house is and he keeps getting abused and finds out that the people in this house are crazy. When he finally get to where the owner is it don't look all that great for the poor guy.
A shiny new delivery person arrives at a mansion, determined to do their duty and deliver a package to the resident.
We meet two types of characters in the mansion: revelers fully committed to the bread-and-circuses bit, and the workers who make it all possible. Whenever our delivery person reaches out for help to one of the workers, even for something as simple as a signature he’s met with “isn’t my job.” The revelers are insulted that someone would dare ask them to work. No one helps our unnamed protagonist as they go through hell and it’s maintenance corridor.
The first moment of violence nearly as hard on the reader as it is on our unnamed protagonist and it only gets more dangerously surreal from there. The ending… that ending gutted me.
I do love contrast between content and form, but the constant violence and disdain heaped upon our adorable and turtle-like protagonist who wants nothing more than to do a job well… it’s hard to read.
There’s something to be said about late-stage capitalism and the constant carousel of violence and decadence, but maybe I worked too many years in customer service because this one hit me hard.
If this doesn’t radicalize you, I don’t know what will.
An incredible read! The Last Delivery follows and anonymous delivery boy who must find the resident of the household to sign for their package but comes face to face with a debaucherously bacchanalian party that puts him in real danger. There are so many ways to interpret this story; whether it's a look at possibly what purgatory feels like or a comment on the "always working" culture that we are seeing around the world lately. It's dynamic and well illustrated. There's not a ton of dialogue so the art does the work of moving the story. The dialogue that is present is Shakespearian-like that feels eerily out of place (in a good way.) Those looking for some psychological and mental exercise will enjoy the twists and turns of this graphic novel.
When a mundane task really takes a turn into a dark adventure.
What an unusual little graphic novel. This poor character just needs to deliver a package and basically enters hell. You root for this little creature the whole time.
It was enjoyable.
Thanks to NetGalley and Letter Better Pub for an eARC.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for a review!
This was a quirky, fast-paced, kind of funny, and kind of bleak story about a guy who’s just trying to do his job. I LOVED the art style and how fleshed out the story felt for how fast paced it was.
I am still finding my feet with graphic novels, but I definitely enjoyed The Last Delivery.
Readers follow the Deliverer - just a little guy trying to do his job - through a house of hedonistic terrors. The art style caught my eye, and the tone communicated on the cover is a good indication of the type of story you're about to read - it's dark and frustrating!
The Deliverer is dedicated to completing his task, willing to put himself at risk if required. He just needs SOMEONE to sign for the damn package. Despite my own frustration, the Deliverer maintains his professionalism throughout. I felt Dahm was examining the toxic nature of live-to-work culture and the tendency for employees to put their own well-being below their work. Paired with the debauchery and madness taking place in the house, the Deliverer becomes a tragic figure and I was hoping he'd just drop the package and leave in the next panel.
This was a fun, quick read and the art beautifully adds to the unsettling narrative!
This book was incredibly frustrating to read, but I think it's meant to be that way. Our poor main character just wants to do his job and deliver his package and things keep getting in the way. Some of what happens don't entirely make sense, but it's not supposed to. The house he enters into is in complete chaos because of a horrific party occurring inside. Our main character get beaten, pushed around, stabbed and he still pushes on because he has a job to do. The ending made me wonder if it was some kind of statement on not making your job the most important thing in your life.
I don’t really know what to make of The Last Delivery by Evan Dahm. I chose it because it looked cute. The main character is indeed cute and just a precious soul, but what they experience is genuinely horrendous. Little buddy is just trying to deliver a package, but the house of the recipient is “fun house” of chaos and cruelty with real Hotel California vibes. It feels heavily allegorical, and I suppose it’s not hiding much considering its title.
The artwork is beautifully striking, but the story is nightmarishly heartbreaking. That doesn’t mean it isn’t good; it’s just not for me.
Full review posted on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6155603690