Reviews

East of West, Vol. 1: The Promise by Jonathan Hickman

sonofatreus's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I don't really know where it's all going (I have an idea) and it could well go sideways (it's Hickman), but so far, so good.

tishywishy's review

5.0

Fantastic storyline and graphics. A must read for comic fans.

jenny_hedberg's review

2.0

I found this story to be a bit all over the place. It's cool, sure, but I found it really hard to relate to the story and the characters. People are murdered and I'm not sure why; Death is on some kind of vengeance adventure and I don't really care; some Chosen folks are trying to bring about the end of the world because of some prophecy and I feel like I've missed some crucial information that would have made this make sense. Because I couldn't understand/relate to the motivations behind the characters' actions, this was an uninteresting read for me. The art was nice though.

lumpialibrary's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

erinbirnel's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

oldwindways's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

remontoire's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

yungsadguru's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

geekwayne's review

3.0

East of West Volume 1 collects the first 5 issues of the series by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta. It's best described as a Weird West tale in an alternate future where cosmic forces are battling each other.

In an alternate future, the US is divided into territories owned by different factions. The West coast is founded by Mao (not Chairman Mao) and the Golden Gate Bridge is conceived very differently. There are cities in canyons and towering spires and lots of desert. Into this rides Death with his 2 companions known as Wolf and Crow. He is being pursued by the other three members of the apocalyptic group (war, famine and pestilence) which are portrayed as children. Along the way, Death's wife makes an appearance.

To be honest, I was a bit lost at first. It's a volume 1, but it took me a bit to pick up the story thread. The story is so epic and the casualties so immense, that it lost some meaning for me, and the story does end on a bit of a cliffhanger. It's an interesting setup and I would like to see where they go with it. And the artwork by Nick Dragotta is really cool. I loved Death, Wolf and especially Crow as they were portrayed. He's created some iconic characters that I'd like to see more of.

I received this review copy from Image Comics and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this book.

lsparrow's review

4.0

i was not expecting to like this considering the reviews and excessive death and violence but I was sucked into the story line...