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geekwayne's review
3.0
'RunLoveKill, Vol. 1' by Jonathan Tsuei and Eric Canete is a pretty book to look at, but it seems to be all style over substance.
The Origami are a military group that runs the city of Prygat in some unknown future. Their former assassin, Rain Oshiro, is on the run from them. She's trying to get off-planet, but her escape routes keep getting blocked, or people near to her keep dying. The Origami are on the trail, and Rain thinks back to how she was first recruited by them. Sure, they have cool weapons and vehicles that look like folded origami, but they are also pretty vicious.
I just didn't care. It was a super quick read because lots of it doesn't have dialogue, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily easy to figure out what's going on. The first issue seems to have flashback panels for every other panel. By the time it ended, I barely understood what was going on, and didn't really feel for the protagonist. The digital covers are really cool, but that's not a reason to buy this.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Image Comics, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
The Origami are a military group that runs the city of Prygat in some unknown future. Their former assassin, Rain Oshiro, is on the run from them. She's trying to get off-planet, but her escape routes keep getting blocked, or people near to her keep dying. The Origami are on the trail, and Rain thinks back to how she was first recruited by them. Sure, they have cool weapons and vehicles that look like folded origami, but they are also pretty vicious.
I just didn't care. It was a super quick read because lots of it doesn't have dialogue, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily easy to figure out what's going on. The first issue seems to have flashback panels for every other panel. By the time it ended, I barely understood what was going on, and didn't really feel for the protagonist. The digital covers are really cool, but that's not a reason to buy this.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Image Comics, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
papalbina's review
3.0
leer este comic ha sido como ver los primeros 10 minutos de una película o serie de ciencia ficcion, donde no hay introducción ni na de na y tienes que hacer pausas para recopilar la información que te están dando y darle forma y sentido.
en este caso, este primer tomo, empieza y acaba sin que te hayan introducido en la historia. sabes que buscan a la protagonista y que la quieren capturar, pero poco más. eso no quita para que me haya resultado muy interesante e intrigante y me gustaría seguir leyéndolo.
sobre los dibujos, poco puedo decir. me han parecido una mezcla de los estilos más conocidos (europeo, americano, japonés) con una figuras muy estilizadas y con carácter y estilo, lo cual se agradece porque facilita el reconocer a los diferentes personajes mientras vas leyendo.
no sé si lo recomiendo o no. es mi tipo de cómic y de historia, solo que de momento es un poco demasiado confuso y no muy claro de qué va la cosa, de ahí las 3 estrellas :)
en este caso, este primer tomo, empieza y acaba sin que te hayan introducido en la historia. sabes que buscan a la protagonista y que la quieren capturar, pero poco más. eso no quita para que me haya resultado muy interesante e intrigante y me gustaría seguir leyéndolo.
sobre los dibujos, poco puedo decir. me han parecido una mezcla de los estilos más conocidos (europeo, americano, japonés) con una figuras muy estilizadas y con carácter y estilo, lo cual se agradece porque facilita el reconocer a los diferentes personajes mientras vas leyendo.
no sé si lo recomiendo o no. es mi tipo de cómic y de historia, solo que de momento es un poco demasiado confuso y no muy claro de qué va la cosa, de ahí las 3 estrellas :)
caitcoy's review
2.0
Runlovekill is an intense, action-packed dystopian thriller that pits a young, former assassin against those who trained her in her craft in a tried and true lone wolf versus the government battle. Rain Oshiro once worked for the Big Brother look-a-like, Origami, a mysterious military organization which polices the city of Prygat with ruthless efficiency. Rain has turned her back on that life and made a new one for herself in the streets of the city, trying to stay under the radar enough to leave the hated place behind once and for all. But when her past catches up to her, Rain must make her stand against Origami, and she may have to sacrifice the few friends she’s managed to make if she wants to escape the city alive.
While I wouldn’t consider Runlovekill to be my favorite dystopian story, it is an interesting one. While it isn’t necessarily a combination that one would immediately think of in a dystopian cyberpunk style story, Rain reminded me very much of a combination of Natasha Romanoff (Marvel’s Black Widow spy/assassin) and Major Kutanagi from Ghost in the Shell. Much like Romanoff, Rain struggles to deal with the things she did as an Origami agent and the way that her mistrust leads her to use her friends rather than valuing them as much as a normal person might. Like Major, as the series (a short one of only four issues) progresses, Rain reveals certain…enhancements that reveal why Origami is so desperate to either get her back or permanently take her out of the picture. Canete paired with Jonathan Tsuei for the writing and the style is frenetically fast-paced. To my eternal happiness, they don’t spend a lot of time on exposition and almost immediately throw the reader into the action. In fact, they leave the series on a rather cliffhanger note, which may be a bit upsetting to some readers. Regardless, you won’t be bored.
Canete’s art style is an interesting one. Each of the cover pages is clearly drawn in a sort of a computer model style which seems to fit with the cyberpunk theme of the story. The elements are heavy on the mechanical and cybernetic with a talented use of color to distinguish between dreary streets and the vibrant, thrumming tension of technology and decadence when Rain visits a club for a last night on the town. There is an excellent use of wordless panels that illustrate the action rather than just telling it and I’d rate this story highly just for that.
As I’ve said, it treads some familiar ground among other cyberpunk/dystopian stories but the art is so well done that I really didn’t mind. You may need to put aside your need to know every detail of the story as Canete and Tsuei are light on both exposition and explanation but the intense action and interesting setting won’t leave you twiddling your thumbs. You might not know as much as you’d like to by the time you finish that last issue, but it’s a hell of a ride.
While I wouldn’t consider Runlovekill to be my favorite dystopian story, it is an interesting one. While it isn’t necessarily a combination that one would immediately think of in a dystopian cyberpunk style story, Rain reminded me very much of a combination of Natasha Romanoff (Marvel’s Black Widow spy/assassin) and Major Kutanagi from Ghost in the Shell. Much like Romanoff, Rain struggles to deal with the things she did as an Origami agent and the way that her mistrust leads her to use her friends rather than valuing them as much as a normal person might. Like Major, as the series (a short one of only four issues) progresses, Rain reveals certain…enhancements that reveal why Origami is so desperate to either get her back or permanently take her out of the picture. Canete paired with Jonathan Tsuei for the writing and the style is frenetically fast-paced. To my eternal happiness, they don’t spend a lot of time on exposition and almost immediately throw the reader into the action. In fact, they leave the series on a rather cliffhanger note, which may be a bit upsetting to some readers. Regardless, you won’t be bored.
Canete’s art style is an interesting one. Each of the cover pages is clearly drawn in a sort of a computer model style which seems to fit with the cyberpunk theme of the story. The elements are heavy on the mechanical and cybernetic with a talented use of color to distinguish between dreary streets and the vibrant, thrumming tension of technology and decadence when Rain visits a club for a last night on the town. There is an excellent use of wordless panels that illustrate the action rather than just telling it and I’d rate this story highly just for that.
As I’ve said, it treads some familiar ground among other cyberpunk/dystopian stories but the art is so well done that I really didn’t mind. You may need to put aside your need to know every detail of the story as Canete and Tsuei are light on both exposition and explanation but the intense action and interesting setting won’t leave you twiddling your thumbs. You might not know as much as you’d like to by the time you finish that last issue, but it’s a hell of a ride.
atnea's review
3.0
I received this copy in exchange of an honest review, for so, none of my feelings were affected or biased by the author or publisher.
Update: 11/13/2015
If you'd like to read this review on my blog.
Rating: 3/5 stars.
RunLoveKill is the story of our heroin Rain Oshiro, looking for a escape from the city of Prygat, as she's the former assassin of the company The Origami, who now looks to hunt her, at any cost.
This is one of those novels that the more you think about it, the less you like it. Sincerely, what the hell even happened in this novel?
The plot was kind of all over the place. Very little things were actually explained and a lot of wholes were left behind. I never really understood what the city was about, why where they closing it, who was The Origami, how did this all happen...infinite questions and zero answers.
Aside from that, there wasn't anything new to the story or to the characters. It's a thing on today's graphic novels, I have come to realize. Most of them are the same things we've been listening for a while, but graphic. This was no exception.
I do have to admit that it was fun. I really like action, I have to admit. And the scenes were very good. Along the design, that was very good as well, they made a good combination.
I had initially rated it 3.5 stars, but the more you think about it, the less you want to put it.
Recommend if you want something to pass the time with, but don't expect much.
Initial Reaction
That was fun! Really intense and fast paced, very interesting story, and I want more! Al thought, the art style became confusing at times, and the story is not really something I haven't heard before. Proper review to come.
Update: 11/13/2015
If you'd like to read this review on my blog.
Rating: 3/5 stars.
RunLoveKill is the story of our heroin Rain Oshiro, looking for a escape from the city of Prygat, as she's the former assassin of the company The Origami, who now looks to hunt her, at any cost.
This is one of those novels that the more you think about it, the less you like it. Sincerely, what the hell even happened in this novel?
The plot was kind of all over the place. Very little things were actually explained and a lot of wholes were left behind. I never really understood what the city was about, why where they closing it, who was The Origami, how did this all happen...infinite questions and zero answers.
Aside from that, there wasn't anything new to the story or to the characters. It's a thing on today's graphic novels, I have come to realize. Most of them are the same things we've been listening for a while, but graphic. This was no exception.
I do have to admit that it was fun. I really like action, I have to admit. And the scenes were very good. Along the design, that was very good as well, they made a good combination.
I had initially rated it 3.5 stars, but the more you think about it, the less you want to put it.
Recommend if you want something to pass the time with, but don't expect much.
Initial Reaction
That was fun! Really intense and fast paced, very interesting story, and I want more! Al thought, the art style became confusing at times, and the story is not really something I haven't heard before. Proper review to come.
iffer's review
3.0
I finished RunLoveKill without strong feelings. I didn't dislike it, and it's definitely above average, mostly because the art is so appealing. However, this is not only a slim first trade, but a series that's slow to develop its plot and character relationships. The main draw, as suggested by the title, is the fast-paced action. In many ways, it's a typical dystopian sci-fi action series, so a lot of my opinion about this series probably depends on finding out about the setting.
As far as the art goes, I love the cinematographic style. The creators frequently employ wordless graphic storytelling, sometimes interspersing two different events/time periods contrapuntally (in the musical, fugue sense, which I'm assuming is by design, since the main character is also a virtuoso cello player). Frequently, the creators manage to achieve, through sequential art, what movies do when audio dims or cuts out and/or filming is in slow motion, making the viewer feel s/he is watching events with a heightened sense of clarity.
I'm not rearing to keep reading this one, although it did end on an unsatisfying cliffhanger without much explained, but I enjoyed it, and wouldn't mind reading more.
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advanced reader copy.
As far as the art goes, I love the cinematographic style. The creators frequently employ wordless graphic storytelling, sometimes interspersing two different events/time periods contrapuntally (in the musical, fugue sense, which I'm assuming is by design, since the main character is also a virtuoso cello player). Frequently, the creators manage to achieve, through sequential art, what movies do when audio dims or cuts out and/or filming is in slow motion, making the viewer feel s/he is watching events with a heightened sense of clarity.
I'm not rearing to keep reading this one, although it did end on an unsatisfying cliffhanger without much explained, but I enjoyed it, and wouldn't mind reading more.
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advanced reader copy.
daynpitseleh's review
3.0
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
3 1/2 stars ... almost 4
First of all, I really enjoyed this and eagerly await future volumes. I almost gave it 4 stars, but went with 3 1/2 stars because this is just the first volume and is mainly exposition. The artwork is great and the story is very action-packed. Can't wait to see more of this one.
3 1/2 stars ... almost 4
First of all, I really enjoyed this and eagerly await future volumes. I almost gave it 4 stars, but went with 3 1/2 stars because this is just the first volume and is mainly exposition. The artwork is great and the story is very action-packed. Can't wait to see more of this one.
urlphantomhive's review
2.0
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
The cover had something that made me want to read it. But after a recent inspection I couldn't really find what it was that sparked my interest.
This graphic novel wasn't for me. It started really weird, more like the opening of a movie and it takes forever for the first text to show up. After that, unfortunately, it's a very general story of an ex-employee now trying to escape the systems she used to work for. Oh, and the system is really bad.
I had some serious troubles to keep concentrating on the story. It wasn't new enough, the characters didn't feel right and the artwork wasn't completely my style either. All in all, I was a bit disappointed by this and won't continue the series.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
The cover had something that made me want to read it. But after a recent inspection I couldn't really find what it was that sparked my interest.
This graphic novel wasn't for me. It started really weird, more like the opening of a movie and it takes forever for the first text to show up. After that, unfortunately, it's a very general story of an ex-employee now trying to escape the systems she used to work for. Oh, and the system is really bad.
I had some serious troubles to keep concentrating on the story. It wasn't new enough, the characters didn't feel right and the artwork wasn't completely my style either. All in all, I was a bit disappointed by this and won't continue the series.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
grilledcheesesamurai's review
3.0
Almost half of the first issue of RUNLOVEKILL was without dialogue. The artwork is so good that I almost kind of wished that the entire four issue were 'silent.' I mean, seriously, I really dig the art! It was the covers in the first place that got me. I didn't even know what this book was about - but those covers were so 'WOW' in their simplistic minimalism that I couldn't help but be intrigued.
Upon further inspection, I found a fairly run of the mill sci-fi story attached to the artwork. It's not to say that its bad, its pretty entertaining, actually. And the artwork is fun enough that I only need a small bit of narration to help move the story along anyways.
But I'll tell ya what - every time I picked up a new issue of this I had the damnedest time trying to remember what had happened beforehand.
Soooo...there's that.
And now they are taking a 3-month break, or something? Doesn't really inspire me to want to keep following along.
Who knows...maybe the cover art will catch me off guard once again.
Cool fucking title, though, hey?
hoffnungswolke's review
3.0
RunLoveKill!!! First things first: I received an ARC through NetGalley.
I couldn't really get into this whole story. I actually liked Rain, the main character but other than that, it didn't really drew me in. Sadly, cause the story sounded really good. The graphic was great, though.
I couldn't really get into this whole story. I actually liked Rain, the main character but other than that, it didn't really drew me in. Sadly, cause the story sounded really good. The graphic was great, though.
briangatwood's review
1.0
Geez, this was bad. The writing is very uninspired and boring, fails to peak any interest. The art is not very good, either. I think the style and the coloring are both to blame. The visuals are extremely busy, there's so much in each panel, and most of the time it's not clear at all. Trust me, I zoomed in.