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mariahistryingtoread's review against another edition
2.0
I find the premise of Bitter Root investing, but it moved much too rapidly to properly engage me. Changes happened on a dime with the overarching antagonist making a heel-faced turn inexplicably only a few pages after striving for compromise.
The synopsis states that the characters have all dealt with the massacre of their family in different ways which reflects their varied monster hunting strategies, but there was no time to explore what that meant. Character development was nonexistent and 4 characters out of 5 seemed to be handling it business as usual. Only 1 actually seemed to be deviating in any way.
Blink was supposed to be chafing under her grandmothers' condemnation of women working out in the field rather than focusing on the rootwork, but even that wasn't particularly special since Blink's mother was the trailblazer and her grandmother seemed to be acting out of grief over the loss of her rather than actual deep-seated internal values about what women should be doing.
The family remarks constantly about Cullen being poor at his job only for the volume to end with him not needing to do any work to get better; he's simply sucked into a different dimension and upon his return has now aged significantly into a better monster hunter. It completely eliminates any sense of satisfaction for the reader as his growth is unearned and unwitnessed.
Ford basically adopts a white man who was literally part of the KKK because the white man just joined for fun? I guess? He purportedly had no hate in his heart so he didn't turn into a jinoo, but I was confused how that could be possible when even if he didn't expect those men to lynch a Black man, he knew that they were going to harm him. There is no discussion of his background or what led him to this point. Ford simply ignores his prejudicial background and absorbs him into the story. I don't care if he takes him under his wing, but I think a KKK member needs to exhibit some sort of personal change or accountability before joining up with a Black man in the 1920s.
I also was very confused about how the entire jinoo system worked. I could have used an exposition dump at the beginning to firmly establish the world. It took some time for me to figure out that only white people turned into jinoo, for example, because it's only explicitly confirmed in like issue 3. I suspected, but I couldn't be certain because it could have been related to how the story was evolving at the time and merely a coincidence.
I also think the story relies way too heavily on the essays the end to explain its concept. After reading them I had a much better understanding of the themes and messaging, but that should have been augmented by the actual story not backloaded in the end outside of the narrative.
A decent story and very cool concept marred by its execution. It felt like a story that could have used 20 issues forced down into five.
The synopsis states that the characters have all dealt with the massacre of their family in different ways which reflects their varied monster hunting strategies, but there was no time to explore what that meant. Character development was nonexistent and 4 characters out of 5 seemed to be handling it business as usual. Only 1 actually seemed to be deviating in any way.
Blink was supposed to be chafing under her grandmothers' condemnation of women working out in the field rather than focusing on the rootwork, but even that wasn't particularly special since Blink's mother was the trailblazer and her grandmother seemed to be acting out of grief over the loss of her rather than actual deep-seated internal values about what women should be doing.
The family remarks constantly about Cullen being poor at his job only for the volume to end with him not needing to do any work to get better; he's simply sucked into a different dimension and upon his return has now aged significantly into a better monster hunter. It completely eliminates any sense of satisfaction for the reader as his growth is unearned and unwitnessed.
Ford basically adopts a white man who was literally part of the KKK because the white man just joined for fun? I guess? He purportedly had no hate in his heart so he didn't turn into a jinoo, but I was confused how that could be possible when even if he didn't expect those men to lynch a Black man, he knew that they were going to harm him. There is no discussion of his background or what led him to this point. Ford simply ignores his prejudicial background and absorbs him into the story. I don't care if he takes him under his wing, but I think a KKK member needs to exhibit some sort of personal change or accountability before joining up with a Black man in the 1920s.
I also was very confused about how the entire jinoo system worked. I could have used an exposition dump at the beginning to firmly establish the world. It took some time for me to figure out that only white people turned into jinoo, for example, because it's only explicitly confirmed in like issue 3. I suspected, but I couldn't be certain because it could have been related to how the story was evolving at the time and merely a coincidence.
I also think the story relies way too heavily on the essays the end to explain its concept. After reading them I had a much better understanding of the themes and messaging, but that should have been augmented by the actual story not backloaded in the end outside of the narrative.
A decent story and very cool concept marred by its execution. It felt like a story that could have used 20 issues forced down into five.
staplerscissors's review against another edition
5.0
Fun, fast-paced four-star story, but the content in Vol. 1 is phenomenal. Five stars for this TPB. I appreciate the essays and articles by the scholars added in this collection.
schlinkles's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
tishywishy's review against another edition
5.0
Interesting characters and the story is good. Not sure I will continue tho, I'm not a fan of the artistic style.
rainbowrnb's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.75
dana_naylor's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.5
Nifty comic set during Harlem Renaissance with a family of monster hunters. I like the characters and the setting and want to see what happens next. Essays at back of book are also some excellent analysis and additional explanation.
winterkinzy's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
marieintheraw's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the themes, but the art and story took some time to get into.
danileighta's review against another edition
5.0
YES. Read this book.
The Sangerye family "purifies" Jinoo, people who have so much hate in their hearts that they become infected and turn into monsters. But, the Inzondo start to appear and these "monsters" are much more fierce and unknown to the Sangerye. Inzondo are beings that are created by a soul that has been "ravaged by great sorrow and pain".
Just-- please read this. It's an incredible commentary on racism and the effects of racism. The art is faaaaaantastic and the story will snatch you right up. I am waiting (anxiously) for the next installment.
The Sangerye family "purifies" Jinoo, people who have so much hate in their hearts that they become infected and turn into monsters. But, the Inzondo start to appear and these "monsters" are much more fierce and unknown to the Sangerye. Inzondo are beings that are created by a soul that has been "ravaged by great sorrow and pain".
Just-- please read this. It's an incredible commentary on racism and the effects of racism. The art is faaaaaantastic and the story will snatch you right up. I am waiting (anxiously) for the next installment.
dmoney95's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0