Steve Horton

As a Bowie fan and as a fan of graphic novels, this is a wonderful interpretive graphic novel biography of Bowie's life but it's not necessarily traditional nor straightforward. Bowie as a person was a complex enigma, who never let his personal life shine too long in the spotlight. He was also perhaps the quintessential post-modern rock star. I think that this graphic novel does a fine job illustrating how Bowie rose to fame in the 1970s and how he constructed a multitude of personas. And I show more found it compelling, informative, and fascinating in its own ways. show less

Michael Allred and Steve Horton’s Bowie: Stardust, Rayguns & Moonage Daydreams brilliantly examines the history of David Bowie’s rise to stardom and the creation of his Ziggy Stardust persona. In his distinctive style, Allred blends realistic drawings of historical people with psychedelic imagery to craft something that looks like David Bowie’s music sounds. Allred and Horton trace the creation of glam rock in a way that will transport those who lived through it back to the heady days show more of the early 1970s while also informing those who learned about it after the fact. The style of the graphic biography conveys meaning much better than a traditional prose work on the subject could. Laura Allred and Han Allred’s colors add a pop art touch that perfectly complements Mike Allred and Horton’s story and art. Neil Gaiman, a fan of Bowie and a colleague of Mike Allred, introduces the graphic biography and sets the stage for what’s to come, serving as the perfect opening act for Bowie. show less

Five stars for the fantastic art work and my favourite subject matter - David Bowie - which are sufficient for me to overlook the lacklustre writing, flat dialogue and superficial, trivia-laden storyline.

Despite its shortcomings, this is a book I'll return to for its style, I just wish it had more substance.

Bowie: Stardust, Rayguns & Moonage Daydreams (2021) by Steve Horton, Michael Allred and Laura Allred.
David Bowie was a cultural icon, eventually touching and influencing not only the people who followed his career, but the foundations of taste and culture around him. From humble beginnings to outer space, his continuous drive to reinvent himself gave us many many of versions of the man. His music has been revered by generations and will continue to do so well into the future. This book is a show more glorious journey along the arc of his career.
But if you are looking to discover what David Bowie was inside, this book not only misses that mark, it completely ignores it. You do have scenes from a life, but the “life” itself, the meanings and desires of Bowie, go totally unexamined. You do not get a feeling as to the ‘why’ of his actions, only the actions themselves. This is a high grade picture show of his career, but nothing more.
The illustrations are tremendous and the journey is well depicted, but at the end of the day I felt as if I had not gained one ounce of insight into the person Bowie was, but only a glorified showing of the person Bowie wanted others to see.
As you can tell, I do have mixed emotions surrounding this book, but perhaps that is the lesson of Bowie’s life. The viewer must be prepared to not like everything that was done, but admire the courage it took for David Bowie to do them show less