The graphic novel Prince in Comics by Tony Lourenco is an odd mix. It is part of a publishing series about worthy topics that seeks to meld graphic novels, comics, and textbook prose/articles and in doing so results in an unsatisfying reading experience. The work is a distant though detailed act of storytelling that misses the visual vibrancy of a graphic novel and defeats the intent of the genre by relying deeply on long text. 

The book takes a painstakingly (and sometimes painfully) thorough tour of the commercial life of the artist once known as Prince. The detail is perplexing as it is a tedious slog filled with minor characters in Prince’s life who enter and quickly disappear. They discuss record deals or band deals but they become a blur and it is difficult to dissect just why their inclusion adds import to the story of Prince’s life. 

Prince is a worthy topic to explore. He led an interesting life and was an important artist. But that can be difficult to take away from this work. The book is cluttered with boring details and hampered by odd style choices. 

One value of a graphic novel is its visual vibrancy. But this work has contributions from many artists resulting in confusing visual inconsistencies. Characters drawn by different artists are difficult to recognize as the same character. Changes in visual style can be jarring and take the reader out of the story. 

Another value of the genre is to hear directly from characters. But this work relies so much on text over dialogue that the immediacy of the first person is lost. Even worse the comic format is interrupted by large sections of block text. Those who came looking for a graphic novel are confronted with pages of textbook-style paragraphs defeating the joy and purpose of the genre. 

Prince as a person never really comes through. The text and other characters talk a lot about him and his music but he speaks rarely himself. He seems more of a silhouette than an artist or a person. 

Unfortunately because of a reliance on contradictory design, style, and genre decisions the work fails in its purported aim – to bring Prince alive and show the meaning of his artistry, something he never failed to do.  – David Johnston, retired English teacher.