Review: East of West #42

STORY

East of West mixes a couple of genres that being scifi with western and this is a combination that I’ve seen work time and time again. In the hands of an author like Hickman it does so yet again. Coming into this series with no prior knowledge Im dropped into the story of two immortal enemies planning what may may be their final clash while remembering their last battle.

I can infer from the story that there are mortals and there are immortals in this setting and that the immortals are akin to gods. Weapons made by mortals cannot harm them and they seem to treat the lives of mortals with the sort of casual disdain one might have for cattle, after all how attached can one be to something they might eat when the mood strikes them? But this flashback establishes the conflict amongst himself and his brethren, he had taken a mortal woman as his lover and that was considered a betrayal by his kin. It seems its a deep crime to elevate the chattel above their station. Indeed the humans address these being with names of authority and position such as Mother or Master defining that there may indeed be a god to worshiper sort of relationship at play here and yet its evident that at least some of humanity are chaffing under the rule of capricious beings of power and are more than willing to play their part in ending this tyranny.

Coming into a climatic battle like this with some major revelations certainly makes me want to know more about this world. The characters are interesting even without advanced knowledge given both ther designs and the motivations presented. Like many a Western this is a tale of revenge and yet it is obviously so much more than that with and I find myself intrigued even in limited context.

ART

The artwork is beautiful with Dragotta’s lines givening the story a dusty, grittiness that all great Westerns deserve and Martin’s painterly colors adding so much sumptuous detail, mood and energy to each and every panel. These two work together like they were born to do so and each serves the other and the story in a meaningful way. The storytelling is clear and concise and page layouts flow perfectly. Never once did I have to reread a page in order to follow the events taking place.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Even knowing nothing about the previous issues of this series I found myself sucked into the story wanting more. 5 out of 5!

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

REVIEW: EAST OF WEST #42
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Nick Dragotta
Colors: Frank Martin