East of West #27

They set us up for this last issue and it delivered, big time. East of West has been in a perpetual state of war for several issues now, but almost impossibly so, the stakes are even higher now. What comes next is going to be good. Really, really good. Read Full Review

Hickman's script provides a nice balance between politicking and foreshadowing in the early pages and all-out chaos and bloodshed in the latter pages. Nick Dragotta's art seems a bit more rough than usual in those dialogue driven scenes (with the line-work appearing less precise and the figures unusually gaunt), but those problems quickly fade once the action heats up and Dragotta's twisted imagery comes into play. Read Full Review

The lead criticism with East of West has been a lack of forward momentum, which is a fair but not very nuanced view. Each issue has set things up and gotten pieces into place at a careful measured pace. There have, however, been places where the story has dragged a little, needing some big event to mark where the story is heading. This issue ends with just such a moment as a longtime character faces death in what is a stunning piece of spectacle and storytelling (I don't want to spoil it, but the final three pages by Dragotta are some of his most indelible work to date). To put it simply, I'm not worried about East of West anymore, it's in good hands. Read Full Review

An action-heavy issue after a load of build up, to good effect. Read Full Review

Poor Nick Dragotta: he must be sick of drawing the same ten faces sitting around tables talking each other to death. While there isn't a lot of variation in panels or structure in the first half – other than Frank Martin's steadily reddening colour palette, which works nicely, if not subtly, to capture the rising fervor of the story – he at least gets to draw a balls-out action scene towards the end, creating one of the most striking images of the last few images that ends up being is all too brief. That such an artist, kinetic and manga-esque in his expression of rapid movement, is restrained to such a degree is a real shame, particularly when it looks like he'll stay onEast of Westto the bitter end and Hickman apparently has no intention of curbing his bad habits. Read Full Review

JBL Reviews

Nov 20, 2016

Battle at the gathering