Graphic Novel: East of West Review

The world is interesting. There is an amazing cast of characters throughout the story which I have rarely ever seen before in a graphic novel. There is a great diversity of different powers and groups in the graphic novel all with their own styles and aesthetics.

The introduction of the endless nation was the coolest part of the Graphic novel for me.

Most disappointing aspect:

They wasted the potential of the horsemen, the apocalypse prophecy, and the beast that would lead the horsemen. They were all surprisingly shallow impact plotlines at the end for what they could have represented.

I would still recommend the comic for the unique style and the number of cool characters it has, probably the highest density of cool characters I have ever seen in a comic.

Over the entire course of the story line, it felt like the story went from a deep ocean's depth, large conflict or great epic and half way through shifted its focus to tell more personal stories with far more limited impact compared to the scale of the story it felt like it was supposed to be.

The best way to explain how the story leaves you feeling is like reading something that is truly great and still leaving with the feeling that it could have definitely been even more amazing. Like getting the best quality carton of eggs in your life but 2-3 eggs are missing.

The nations felt more powerful than the apocalypse itself ever did.

I loved how the different civilizations had different tech aesthetics and mysticism to them. The technology of the Union, the confederacy, the endless nation, and the PRC strongly differed in style, and it was noticeable how different their cultures were from one another.

You leave knowing that this is some really great stuff, but its definitely not perfect.

I would give it a 9.5/10 because I could not see any other author or artist blending this many genres together this perfectly without making any of them feel out of place within the setting for 45 chapters straight while still maintaining the quality of the characters 95% of the time and keeping the story at the level of the greats of the comic book industry.

East of West is like Saga for people who didn't like Saga, or Saga is East of west for people who didn't like East of West.

If you are going to read the series I would also recommend the additional East of West The world comic which adds more information about the lore of the setting.

I highly recommend the comic. It is really good.