East of West #10 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Nick Dragotta (Artist), Frank Martin (Colorist)

The Story: It’s never a good idea to get in the way of someone whose eye just got pulled out of its socket. Doubly so if it’s Death itself.

The Review: To read different books is to allow for our expectations to be adapted. A Geoff Johns book will have a particularly different focus than one written by Peter Milligan and so forth. With each writers having a particular approach toward building worlds, characters and stories, it would be silly to expect them all to be alike in their themes and their methods. It is a part of the game, yet it can be sometimes a bit frustrating if anyone forgets some specificity about some creators.

Case in point, Jonathan Hickman has always possessed a particular style that do not always makes for the most satisfying of issues. The monthly grind, in its own way, does not do a major service to the kind of stories the writer is trying to tell. With a mind set on expansive ideas, building worlds and setting up a unique mythology, the creative process behind East of West is certainly a fascinating one, yet it also suffers a bit from quite a bit of setup and not enough payoff. While the world itself was fascinating enough and the art always splendid, could this issue provide a crack in the plans of the book which might provide some sort of lesser form of enjoyment that this book could deliver before?

The actual answer is more complicated than that, as while the previous issue did seem to spin its wheels a good deal instead of actually progressing with some of the more fascinating elements, this one does so yet in a less obvious and unsatisfying manner. Without actually spoiling anything, the actual lack of payoff in this issue is part of the point, a rather brilliant one in fact, yet one that does still leave readers wanting more.

East of West #7 – Review

Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Nick Dragotta (Artist), Frank Martin (Colorist)

The Story: As Death tries to make a deal with a certain lady, the other horsemen see that the keeper of the message has some kind of mess on his hand…

The Review: While universe-building is certainly something that is fun to see develop, there are always difficulties that permeates both the readers and the writer. A world, per se, is a specific setting in which a good deal of characters, be they important or not, in which they live and interact in. A good story does need a lead, a point-of-focus that can create change and opportunities, but it also need various other point-of-views to allow the scope of its event to be perceived in stimulating ways, thus other characters.

With the first five issues of East of West focusing mostly on Death, it was a nice touch that the latest issue pushed him away for a spell in order to focus on other characters. This issue, however, does thing a little bit differently as it mix the focus between Death and other characters, with the former getting a lesser amount of pages. Does this issue manage to be as satisfying as the last one, however?

For the most part, this is the same poetic, yet harsh world presented by Hickman as this issue deals a lot more with the other horsemen, characters that do need a bit more fleshing out. While there is one scene that shows what Death is up to, the rest is given to the horsemen, who becomes a bit more complex and interesting as a result. Showing their personality throughout scenes in the present and in the past, Hickman allows us to see something a bit more complex with these characters, with Conquest being a particular treat. Making a comparison to how they see worship, how they used to banter a bit with Death and their relation to the keeper of the message makes for some characterization that gives much more opportunities for these characters in the long run.

East of West #6 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Nick Dragotta (Artist), Frank Martin (Colorist)

The Story: Solomon becomes the target of the council, as he himself decides to seek the help of someone else to deal with them.

The Review: It’s a great time to be a Hickman fan. His event and his general Marvel work is going strongly without seeming to be losing steam for the time being and this goes the same for most of his indie work. With Manhattan Projects still going on and Secret supposedly continuing soon, his star is continually on the rise, yet it seems it never is enough as Hickman continues his ongoing projects.

One of his latest is East of West, an ongoing story featuring an alternate take on American history with a splintered U.S.A in three factions. Continuing the ambitious style of storytelling Hickman is known for, there are a lot of elements put in place with each issue as the world-building is never completely done with. However, does this issue continue to use this new setting in inventive ways or did the concept run a bit fry after explaining its premise in the first five issues?

It is my delight to affirm that the world-building still continues and find ways to continue being utterly fascinating. Putting Death and the other horsemen away for this issue, Hickman instead focus on the politics and some of the history of this different America he has created to great success. Focusing instead on Solomon and Chamberlain, Hickman starts yet another subplot as the treachery and the motivations between some of its characters become apparent and mysterious at the same time.

East of West #5 – Review

Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Nick Dragotta (Artist), Frank Martin (Colorist)

The Story: Death and Xiaolian have a lot to discuss about; now that a multitude of people have died in trying to make sure they did not meet.

The Review: Mixing genres, for writers and the like, can be a pretty challenging notion. Making sure that none of the elements clashes against each other, negating what makes them work is something that sounds difficult, as a lot of writers tend to stick to a single genre or to experiment with others without completely leaving behind what they know. For readers, it creates worlds and concepts that can make them invest their time toward the book. For creators, though, it must be an accomplishment to see that nothing stumbles against each other as the world they built continues to work.

This very notion is what makes East of West a particularly unique and satisfying book. Combining the tropes and other such elements of western, politics, science-fiction, romance, post-apocalyptic in its narrative in a successful manner, Hickman made a world that we may think we can completely understand, yet continues to go in directions and adding new stuff to surprise us. Characters, ideas and action become then something meaningful as we never know what to anticipate from this strange version of America that is presented to us.

In this issue, following the bloodbath of the previous one, we finally get the meeting between Death and his loved one, Xiaolian, the new ruler of the house of Mao. Right from the very beginning of their conversation, Hickman goes toward a route that is unexpected, as the baggage that both characters carry within themselves gives the dialogue a whole new flavour– combining traditional lover’s quarrel, like an old couple that have marital problems, with the prophecy of the message as it written for us to read. Mixing the prophetic, the metaphysic and the down-to-Earth situation between those two lovers create a scene that create a slow build toward a very potent revelation, one that propels this book toward a new direction that is full of potential for the book itself. The poesy that a warrior and Death ceased to be such things in order to love make for a touching irony, yet the scene they do share after such an act is filled with revelations and some neat moments.