East of West #1 Review by Randy Young
East of West #1 Review
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Nick Dragotta
Fans of Jonathan Hickman’s wild, expansive, trippy imagination will eat this series up. People who take a chance and pick up this issue on a whim will be glad they did.
Right now, Jonathan Hickman might as well use gold instead of ink to write his stories. Hickman is a rare talent that is able to wholly imagine and create a world without it seeming flat. Every character is fully developed and somewhat mysterious. Take for instance the protagonist of this book, Death.
Three of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse wake up to find that Death has decided to abandon them. Death has an agenda that involves seeking revenge on a group of people that have wronged him in some way. His focus is on getting names and showing them why he’s called Death.
The setting for this book is pure alternate history. We see that different paths were taken during the Civil War that resulted in our world being shaped a very different way. Throw in a little steampunk. Mix in some mysticism. Add a seemingly post-apocalyptic future. All of this is topped off with a heavy dose of western.
The bar scene is about as classic western as you can get.
Dragotta gets a chance to shine on this issue. His art reminds me a lot of Jerome Opena’s, who oddly enough came to my attention on a post-apocalyptic western book from Dark Horse called Lone.
This issue introduces us to some key players and gives us a great idea of what we can expect from some of them. It leaves us with a chilling scene of just how dangerous and vindictive the Horsemen can be.
The first print has sold out so and prices are skyrocketing on eBay, so look for the second print if you want to save a little money and catch up on a spectacular story.
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