Honestly, this surprised me in how much story I enjoyed and took away from this. It's kind of hard to explain becuase it's a double page spread which follows 12 different couples. Each couple is given a box where they are consistently shown on every double page, and so you can follow each individual couples' story just by following their box. As the book goes on we see people changing and differing and connecting with other people. Some lovely things happen and some tragic things, and some coupl [...]

Ray Fawkes’ The People Inside looks at twelve different couples in twelve different love-themed stories. There’s a panel per couple every two pages so you have roughly twelve panels over two pages with the twelve stories playing out simultaneously. That's when we're not getting close-ups of two leaves - seriously. It’s a pretty terrible format choice as it’s hard to separate the individual stories when they’re all written in the same voice. The character designs are very similar, drawn [...]

This is a unique, poetic graphic novel that uses the medium in a seemingly simple way at first glance. The “story” is told through windows into the lives of several different couples of various backgrounds and arrangements as they move through the many different stages and nuances of their relationships. From first kiss, to safe words, to babies, to brutality, to divorce, happiness… the different couples go through all sorts of different moments in their lives as time goes by. The simplici [...]

"The People Inside" allows us to follow the lives and relationships of 24 individuals. The art is simple and cartoonish. The characters are all presented at once, without much interconnection, which becomes confusing. The content aims to merge between the poetic and the philosophical, but didn't result very well. I seemed to be reading something written by someone who's verbose and whose thoughts are interspersed. I was unable to enjoy this graphic novel.This ARC was provided by NetGalley for an [...]

Ray Fawkes is so good – in this book, he tackles the love story. Twelve love stories, to be precise – and they all start at the same place (falling in love) and end completely differently, each unfolding a panel a page throughout this whole graphic novel.There’s no one else in comics doing books like this.

I jumped when I saw this book in NetGalley's Read Now list, up for review. An ARC of a stand-alone graphic novel? 24 relationships explored in sequential arc clouds? What could go wrong? (You probably see it, I didn't when I hit the request button) I'm gonna tell you in case you haven't anticipated it: everything. Yeah, it was that bad.Don't get me wrong, maybe you will love it, the concept is really intriguing and that's what brought my attention to it. But I'm gonna explain a little about why [...]

This book is such a rare treat. It follows multiple people and couples throughout their lives. Each character/couple's box is designated for them and every two pages continues their story, all while telling an overall main story through on long poem. The graphics and story are simple, but profound. The couples aren't all alike (from different races to sexuality), but Fawkes weaved them all together masterfully. As the stories develop, characters begin to die. When they die, their designated squa [...]

The People Inside is beautiful. I don't have a lot of experience reading graphic novels/comics apart from The Walking Dead series and this was obviously quite the change of pace. The story follows several couples over many decades. They are all very different and I believe that everyone can find at least one person to relate to in this story. Some part were a little risqué (like the BDSM couple) but I really respected the author for going there.The novel reads like one really long poem. I could [...]

-This review can also be read at bookswithizzy/201I received an e-arc of this book by Oni Press though NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.The Title: The People InsideThe Author: Ray FawkesPage Length: 146Age: AdultGenre: Graphic Novel, Romance, ContemporaryPublication Date: August 13th, 2014Rating: 4 StarsOverview:I really, really enjoyed this read! I was a ‘eighteen-paneled’ graphic novel, which means that each page had nine boxes with a drawing and if you read just the one’s in t [...]

24 people live out their lives in this book. Each person or couple is designated a panel when they're together and half a panel when they're apart. The story doesn't begin at birth, but rather as the characters have relationships, sometimes with one another and sometimes with others. They fight, love, cry, and live alongside one another. As characters die (of old age, or ailments, of accidents), their panel is filled in with black. Some of the characters pass through relationships with others in [...]

As with One Soul, Fawkes tells multiple simultaneous stories, this time with 24 people, 12 love stories, from inception to end, and we follow them through, whether they end in the end of love or The End. The stories are not intertwined. They sometimes reveal the typical arc of a relationship, sometimes revealing similarities. One purpose of the tales seems to be that all these people are in love, and some for a lifetime, but these people are gay/straight/bdsm/etc but it's all love and when it is [...]

The People Inside is a stream of consciousness graphic novel that follows 24 people through the relationships and loneliness of their lives.While I found the book intriguing, I probably won't find myself recommending it to many people -- the stream-of-consciousness text boxes can be hard to follow, especially with the lack of punctuation, capitalization, and attribution, and the scenes and topics get a bit graphic and explicit. (It was not so graphic and explicit that I felt uncomfortable readin [...]

This is a book that we've been planning on discussing on The Comics Alternative podcast, which we'll do for next week's episode. I can't wait. As my colleague, Andy, has pointed out, it is a fascinating and emotionally moving narrativeor narratives, as the book is made up of individual stories of peoples' (mostly couples) lives. What's fascinating is the way the lives are presented and how the paneling brings many of them together, or perhaps separates them apart. What's even more fascinating is [...]

A totally original, super avant-garde comic, The People Inside is completely unexpected. I found it hard, unable to find a cadence to the reading I was quickly distracted rather than quickly drawn in. It's not linear, giving more of a feeling or interpretation to the reader with each new page rather than a climax and conclusion. And I believe it has the potential to be incredibly moving for some readers. For myself, I found it's just not my cup of tea.Note: I reviewed this book via NetGalley, an [...]

To my great delight I read The People Inside seven times in a row. Due to its interesting form, the story requires attention in a variety of ways, both linear and fragmented, but consistently parallel and always lovely. It is innovative, complex, experimental, and all around interesting. Fawkes plays with the form of the graphic novel in creative and touching ways. Get The People Inside from the Denver Public Library- Lily

I read this book in one sitting, caught up in its rush, unable to stop. The cumulative emotional impact Ray Fawkes builds through his unique multi-panel mosaic manages to create a dual effect of devastation and inspiration. Despair and joy are like the right and left hands of life, and you need them both just to pull yourself through. Phenomenal.

I wonder if it's just me or if anyone else found it confusing linking all the stories together? The plot was good, as was the artwork. (This was an arc I received through netgalley for an honest opinion)

Poem/graphic novel/interwoven individual love stories.

A great rumination on love and life. Wow! I was blown away by the few stories and how they were told. The words from each story sometimes overlapped and made each story better. It is the contrasts between stories and the echoes that make this a lot better. The use of black space as stories end is eerie and effective. I love these few love stories. So much pain as if love must be a colour of pain. I am looking forward to reading more by this author. Really excellent and made me think and feel.

It took me a couple of pages to get into the flow of the narrative, but once I was in I didn't want to put THE PEOPLE INSIDE down. Fawkes crafts a beautiful exploration of humanity and love that ended up really drawing me in– and eventually drawing some tears. I was a bit iffy on the art style, but the flow and change of the panels throughout is clever and unexpected.

Holy Hell this graphic novel is a revelation. Because author Fawkes does something with the medium that no-one else has done- he lets his reader improvise their own method of reading; let's them find their own way of navigating his stories as they go. And this makes it an incredibly liberating experience. Every choice he makes here is both smart and appropriate in terms of storytelling and it's to his credit that none of the twelve distinct narratives ever feel cliche or slipshod. To be fair, th [...]

like the format, not the Hollywood like ending

The People Inside chronicles the lives of many characters through the years, focusing on several themes, most important of which are togetherness and loneliness. I don't want to say love, though there are many shapes of love inside each story, because being with someone or without anyone, being in a relationship or alone, being together in living or living together apart are all part of the book. In that sense, love, lust, sex, hatred, trust, luck, dependence, addiction, anger, violence all play [...]

Spring, summer, autumn, winter, thus, like the seasons, do our relationships cycle. In this evocative spiritual successor to One Soul, Fawkes delves right in, introducing us to his cast of couples, and the ups and downs of their relationships. Some are a blaze of physical interactions, some are troubled, while others are deeper more meaningful experiences that last a lifetime. Whether gay, lesbian, bi or straight, Fawkes shows love in all its forms. This is reality. Sadly, the reality of love is [...]

'The People Inside' follows 24 people in and out of love and through their lives. It was a bit tough to get into because the stories switch with each frame, but I ended up finding it a unique way to tell a story.There are a variety of characters and situations. There a straight and gay relationships, there are domination-based relationships, there are dysfunctional relationships, etc. Throughout the book, some of the stories intertwine. There are also occasional breaks as time passes. Characters [...]

This ARC was provided by NetGalleyThe People Inside is a graphic novel that follows 24 individuals through their relationships and how they cope with loneliness. This was the first time I'd read a book by Ray Fawkes. I found the book artistically astonishing. The way it is told, with a big panel for a couple and half of the panel for the individual, is very original way to develop the story. This is how it looks:At first, the lack of punctuation and capitalization (except for the letter 'F') bot [...]

I am not even sure where to begin with this review… hm. The People Inside by Ray Fawkes was an account of multiple people’s lives and how they interacted with others in the story as friends, romantically or just plain alone – no interactions.It follows both outward and inner struggles of the various people and how they handle different parts of their lives. As it follows this group through what seemed to be a lifetime from twenties until deaths the same people showed up in the same order o [...]

A wonderful spiritual successor to Fawkes' One Soul, The People Inside keeps the same style of layout. Each panel on the page represents an individual story and so on each page you could be presented with as many as 12 different stories at one time. Each is loosely tied together with narration boxes, and some of the characters drift in and out of each other's lives, which then causes their panels to merge into one. Where as One Soul was an exploration of life as a whole and it's hardships, The P [...]

I enjoyed this book more than "One Soul". It might have been because there were less story lines to follow. The book follows the story line of 12 couples and the evolution of each relationship. It has it's emotional moments of break-ups and setbacks, but it has some really joyous moments of weddings and new beginnings as well. I wondered how I should read this, I did the same with the other book as well. Should I read each story line individually or should I read page to page like any other book [...]

I thought this was really interesting structurally -- I've never seen a narrative like this in a graphic novel. A double-page layout is divided into eighteen panels, and the novel follows eighteen different people in their relationships-- each person confined to their panel. The way Fawkes merges the characters in his stories-- with such stringent limitations-- and follows them throughout their lifespans is fascinating. The art is great. However, the writing reminds me of the worst sort of tumbl [...]