Another comic I got through the Humble Bundle.

This first volume of East of West definitely has me intrigued. The art is definitely excellent, and I really am interested in the characters. The story revolves around this futuristic, alternate-history version of America: The Civil War went on for decades, and eventually split up the America we know into seven different nations. There is a mysterious religion/belief system (??) based around this apocalyptic text determining how the end times will come. The main character is basically the Grim Reaper, and he's on a quest for revenge against the people that did something horrible to him years ago. The story was still a little confusing and sometimes hard to follow in this first volume. Additionally, I do see a lot of tropes and recycled themes with the story. Despite that, I am curious to see where this series goes, and I'll be continuing it. ( )

The joys of subjectivity are a wonderful thing and hoo boy are they alive and well in the reviews here. It seems like it's remarkably more popular marmite that folx love to pieces or hate with a passion. Almost always in these situations hyperbole wins the day...anyways, if it's not your cup of tea I totally get it and I have made attempts to find articles and videos critiquing the comic around its portrayal of alternative history, 'race', and culture, particularly from a Native American and Chinese perspective, but so far haven't been able to find anything. If anyone has any thoughts or recommendations on that I would greatly appreciate them. I'm a saltine sister and with my limited rasing comprehension for those issues, I didn't see anything wildly glaring. But I'm always open to learning and my brain was melting from the ADHD med shortages while reading it and writing this.

With all that said, I loved it. Not, I would give your first born to endure Saga continues and stays as good as it is -- I just consumed 10 volumes in a few days and my autistic hyperfixation is still wild. But I think it's great. More of a first time I read The Gunslinger kind of love (not the most recent re-read when I became viscerally aware of just how much misogyny there was). It was this hyperfocus that actually led me to East of West as something to read it you like Saga. Thankfully, I picked up an Image Comics Humble Bundle years ago that I totally forgot about, so I'm strapped and ready to go!

I knew absolutely nothing going in, beyond it being from Image and a vague Weird West vibe. I won't go into to too much detail on the setting as you can find better explanations and deep dives all over the place. Essentially, we're in an alternative future where the American Civil war had additional participants and a magical? Celestial? MacGuffin from the sky kicked everyone's arse, so they called it a seven-way tie and the USA is now that White Stripes song that you can't get out of your head. There's a doomsday prophecy tied to the Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Horsepeople as they may have different bodies and pronouns on different cycles) [I hate how writing pronouns automatically sounds wildly right wing. I'm a Sidhe/ Her/ Fey/ They, etc. for the record], that involved the leaders of the nations, but Death had a wife and now has a grudge against their siblings and their underlings. And that's about as succinct as I can do.

It's weird neo West with both cool and horrifying sci-fi elements that has the bones of a Western with lots of other interesting stuff like vaguely biblical prophecies and political intrigue sprinkled in. Imagine if the world of the Gunslinger never moved on and everyone was larping the Old West in the future. Oh, and Death's horse is a weird metal one with a big bulb/ laser for a head that kind looks like a spider when it sits down.

The story is classic Death on an epic revenge quest with political, biblical Doomsday conspiracy, and the other cow pokes of the end times coming for Death. It's fun, well-written, very aware and playing into and with tropes (or just a janky, tropey mess if you don't like it), and all around ridiculous (complimentary).

This really is a case of suck it and see, your mileage may vary, and you absolutely should not take the word of lovers (like myself) or haters because this comic really seems to polarise people.

Personally, I think it's great. I can't wait to get into more and it provides a very different tone and aesthetic to Monstress, which I'm also reading at the moment and is also brilliant (don't trust me though). I am loose as a goose with ko ADHD meds and reading an issue or so of East of West this morning did send me into a Four Horseman and Revelation wiki hole that ended with me listening to a recording of the Book of Revelation, so maybe take that as a warning and everything I say under advisement. ( )

Definitely interested in reading more.

This is a good weird Wild West science fiction comic book about the apocalypse. With nice art. ( )

I enjoyed book very much. It doesn't give itself away quickly. As you read it it starts revealing itself which is where the fun is. The ending is satisfying and smart. If you want to stop here you can but if you want to read the next volumes you can. It doesn't feel like you'll be punished for reading more than what you want to read. ( )