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A review by graypeape
First Knife by Simon Roy, Daniel M. Benson
4.0
I enjoyed this, though it has flaws. I'm not going to try too hard to describe the story; it's confusing, as I expect post-apocalyptic stories to be- after all, it's been centuries since whatever happened happened, I don't expect the current people to have a complete or accurate memory of events that took place so long ago, and this is taking place in the 33rd century. The world building is mostly built into the story, revealing little bits, but not giving too much away. There are notes included between panel pages and at the end, however, that give more information. At any rate, I enjoyed the relative mystery of the world, and being left to imagine what happened rather than being fed everything. At some point in the past, alien entities with cyborg-type bodies invaded Earth, we used cyborg soldiers to fight back, and we lost. The alien cyborg things stick around as overseers or something to that effect, and are worshiped by some tribes of humans, like the Hudsoni, as demons or Devas, while other humans, like the Yanqui, stick to a Christian-ish religion that waits for the return of Hesukristos. When a Yanqui girl finds one of Earth's cyborg soldiers and awakens it, shit goes down. The Yanqui believe the soldier to be the return of their God, the Hudsoni show up to kill him and shut that business down, and then road trip! The ending is satisfying, and I couldn't help but feel for the soldier, alone in a world he no longer knows.
I liked the art, it's rugged, a bit rough, like the world it's portraying. The battle scenes are action-filled and confusing, as I imagine battle would be. The landscapes, flora and fauna, and ruins are rendered beautifully. It can be difficult to distinguish the tribes from each other, and that makes sense to me. Overall, a good story, of a possible future, of a world that can never be restored to its former self, and must forge ahead as best it can. Were all my questions about this world answered? No. But that works here, and I'm cool with not knowing.
I liked the art, it's rugged, a bit rough, like the world it's portraying. The battle scenes are action-filled and confusing, as I imagine battle would be. The landscapes, flora and fauna, and ruins are rendered beautifully. It can be difficult to distinguish the tribes from each other, and that makes sense to me. Overall, a good story, of a possible future, of a world that can never be restored to its former self, and must forge ahead as best it can. Were all my questions about this world answered? No. But that works here, and I'm cool with not knowing.