East of West by Jonathan Hickman

East of West Volume 1
by Jonathan Hickman (illus. Nick Dragotta)
(pub. 9/13)

“You come face to face with love, and before the sun sets, you’ve become someone you didn’t used to be.”

I don’t know what took me so long to read East of West but I should have been reading it a lot sooner. SO AWESOME. It is a semi-futuristic western / love story set in a pre-apocalyptic world on the verge of the apocalypse. That is the briefest this story can be described. Not even mentioning the three horsemen of the apocalypse have come to earth in search of destroying the fourth horsemen, Death, and fulfilling the prophecy of the apocalypse. There are a lot of angles and sides being played in this story but not to the point of confusion and none overriding the overarching story of love and betrayal. I love this series. Fans of Saga or Preacher will feel right at home with East of West.

Recommended by:
Larry – Anderson’s Bookshop Naperville
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Saga by Brian K. Vaughan

Saga
by  Brian K. Vaughan
(pub. 10/12)

I’ve always disliked the term space opera but Saga has saved it for me. Part Star Wars part love story- mostly Romeo and Juliet (if they had a chance to have a baby). It’s a rare thing to find a sky-ence fiction story that portrays such a personal emotional character driven narrative so elegantly and personally. If you haven’t read Y: the Last Man (first of all what is your problem) and secondly you will be just as psychologically drawn in with the characters as you were with Y. Great for sci-fi fans and fans of indie comics. On top of the great story Fiona Staples’ illustrations are gorgeous and work perfectly with Vaughn’s story.

Recommended by:
Larry – Anderson’s Bookshop Naperville
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The New Deadwardians

The New Deadwardians
by Dan Abnett

In honor of San Diego Comic-Con this week I wanted to recommend a favorite comic of mine, The New Deadwardians. Start with Downton Abbey, add a vampire detective- throw in zombies and you have a good idea what The New Deadwardians is about. Written by Dan Abnett this series takes place in England during the Edwardian era where society has been divided into three classes. The lower class- zombies, the middle class- humans, and the upper class- vampires. The first issue introduces and focuses on a detective in Scotland Yard’s “Murder Squad”. The rest of the series focuses on the investigation of a mysterious vampire murder in broad daylight. This series is extremely well written and builds upon the traditional detective investigation with supernatural beings. I hate when lore and fantasy element overtake story. You are not beat over the head with the world. It is what it is and it is accepted. Abnett has tweaked the world of vampires and zombies enough to make it his own while keeping it familiar. For example the vampires where zinc based sun screen during the day (a classy touch). This is one of the best comics I have read in years. The trade containing all issues is available now.

Reviewed by:
Larry – Anderson’s Bookshop Naperville
Purchase