Graphic Novel Review
Finished on 1/15/2019
Genres: Graphic Novel, Fantasy, SciFi, Science Fantasy, Image Comics
Similar books: Star Wars (Movie Franchise), Long Way to a Small Angry Planet
Previous books in the series reviewed: 0
Highly Recommended Science Fantasy Graphic Novel
Spoiler-ific review
Okay, so I’ve read like 5 graphic novels before. However, THIS is the best graphic novel I’ve ever read. By a LOT.
Plot: They’re two young kids on the run, with more love for one another than common sense. Marko and Alana are two soldiers escaping a war neither of them wanted to fight. Born on opposite sides of the struggle between the planet Landfall and the moon Wreath, they fell in love and deserted their war. The book opens with Alana giving birth to their first child, Hazel, inside a mechanic’s garage.
Underscoring the plot is a post-factual narration by Hazel from the far future, where she provides commentary and explanations for the events going on.
Characters: Marko is a magical satyr from Wreath, who has sworn an oath of pacifism. He’s keeping his secrets from his wife, trying to be a noble father figure to his just-born daughter. Alana is a rough-and-ready woman who has sworn no such oaths, and just wants to live life to it’s fullest with her new family. They’re very personable and understandable protagonists.
Perusing them are three people, The Will, The Stalk and Robot Prince IV. The Will is a human bounty hunter, the best hunter in the business save for his ex-lover The Stalk, a humanoid arachnid. Robot Prince IV is a humanoid android with a TV for a head. Prince is struggling with PTSD in the wake of a disastrous campaign against the satyr-folk of Wreath, sent by his father to capture or kill the deserters.
All of the characters are amazing in terms of characterization and development.
Pacing: Good.
Setting: Imagine Star Wars, but with more aliens and buckets-upon-buckets of magic. War has come upon the galaxy, and no where is beyond it’s reach. Even Cleave, the dumpyard planet of the galaxy, is highly contested by the two factions of Satyrs and Fliers. This is a setting where ghosts and wooden spaceships and robot dandies can fill the same panel of the same page.
Art: Is detailed, but not as detailed as ‘White Sands’ I read last year. It’s colorful and glorious at times, and at others moody and hopeless. The art enlivens the novel, adds context, and never holds it back.
Constructive Criticism
Nothing comes to mind. It was really good, and I’ll be reading more in the future.
John Mendez- Book Reviews and More 
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