Monday, January 4, 2016

Recently Read: East of West vol 1 & vol 2

Volume 1: The Promise 
Author: Jonathon Hickman, Nick Dragotta, Frank Martin, and Rus Wooton
Genre: Graphic Novel/ Science Fiction
Publication Date: 2013
Page Count: 128
Rating: 3/5

I've seen this graphic novel series around Booktube quite a bit, and when I saw my local library had the first two volumes on their shelves, I decided to pick them up while I was home on break. I had no real idea of what this series was about, so I went in totally blind.

The art is gorgeous, and I love the presentation of the novel. The first volume was pretty confusing. You figure out some things as you go, but at the end of the volume I was still left more confused than not, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After finishing it, I was eager to pick up volume two to see if my questions got answered.

So from what I can gather from the first volume, the four horsemen of the Apocalypse are reborn every generation in an AU where the American Civil War was really long and involved Native Americans. Someone has called the horsemen and is attempting to bring about the end of the world before it's meant to happen. So I am both intrigued and confused.  
This series would make a really great action movie, as that it is how it played out in my head as I was watching it. I will say, it is pretty violent, so if that thing bothers you, this might be one to skip. I'm usually not too big on the violence in movies, but I could handle this one just fine.


Volume 2: We Are All One
Rating: 3/5
I enjoyed the second volume just as much as the first, maybe even a little more. This volume gives some more background information about the world and the characters, and I like that information is revealed as you go instead of in big info dumps. The plot continued to pick up, and I am eager to see where it goes next.

This isn't a "usual" piece of reading for me, and I think that is part of the reason I am enjoying it so much. I like that this is different, and the world is so complex. This story is very well suited for the graphic novel style, and I think the visuals accompany the story perfectly. The world is very complex and involved and I'm definitely going to continue on with this series.

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