Kam
So this didn’t feel quite as cohesive as the first volume, unfortunately. I know that nothing needs to necessarily “make sense” in that this is meant to show the minds of the characters breaking down in the face of everything they’re experiencing, but at the same time, there DOES need to be something holding everything together in a way that makes SOME kind of sense, and unfortunately that doesn’t exist here.
I think the lack of cohesion in the storytelling has to do with the creators choosing to continue with the narrative style of the first volume: telling part of the story from the point-of-view of one character, before shifting to another. It also doesn’t help that the first story in this volume is actually a flashback story to the past, which, though the ending of the first volume did set that up somewhat, still felt a bit jarring to start with. Now, that wouldn’t have been too much of a problem if that had been the only weird shift, but then the POV switches to that of a very unusual character for a little bit, and that chapter/issue doesn’t even consistently stay IN that character’s POV. So it really feels like the story is meandering in ways that don’t do the story many favors.
Given that the story doesn’t seem to come together well, it should come as no surprise that the ending doesn’t make much sense either. One gets the sense that the creators had a pretty decent IDEA of how to wrap this story up, but when it finally came time to execute it, they just got lost. So the ending feels a little tacked on, instead of something that emerges from the rest of the story in a way that makes sense.
Despite all of that, though, the art is still incredible. In fact, I believe the only thing really holding the story together is the artwork; without it, the story would be an even bigger mess than it already is - which is unfortunate, because if the story had matched the quality of the art, then this volume really would have been something spectacular.
Overall, this was not the best continuation of the story after the first volume. The first volume’s weaknesses were on much clearer display in this volume, not least because the narrative doesn’t come together in a way that makes sense, despite allowances being made for the genre. The art was the true hero here, holding whatever was there of the story and basically carrying the entire volume through to the sadly disappointing end. If more volumes follow after this one, I sure hope the creators get a better grasp of the story they want to tell, because good art can only carry a graphic novel so far.
Originally posted at kamreadsandrecs.tumblr.com.
So this didn’t feel quite as cohesive as the first volume, unfortunately. I know that nothing needs to necessarily “make sense” in that this is meant to show the minds of the characters breaking down in the face of everything they’re experiencing, but at the same time, there DOES need to be something holding everything together in a way that makes SOME kind of sense, and unfortunately that doesn’t exist here.
I think the lack of cohesion in the storytelling has to do with the creators choosing to continue with the narrative style of the first volume: telling part of the story from the point-of-view of one character, before shifting to another. It also doesn’t help that the first story in this volume is actually a flashback story to the past, which, though the ending of the first volume did set that up somewhat, still felt a bit jarring to start with. Now, that wouldn’t have been too much of a problem if that had been the only weird shift, but then the POV switches to that of a very unusual character for a little bit, and that chapter/issue doesn’t even consistently stay IN that character’s POV. So it really feels like the story is meandering in ways that don’t do the story many favors.
Given that the story doesn’t seem to come together well, it should come as no surprise that the ending doesn’t make much sense either. One gets the sense that the creators had a pretty decent IDEA of how to wrap this story up, but when it finally came time to execute it, they just got lost. So the ending feels a little tacked on, instead of something that emerges from the rest of the story in a way that makes sense.
Despite all of that, though, the art is still incredible. In fact, I believe the only thing really holding the story together is the artwork; without it, the story would be an even bigger mess than it already is - which is unfortunate, because if the story had matched the quality of the art, then this volume really would have been something spectacular.
Overall, this was not the best continuation of the story after the first volume. The first volume’s weaknesses were on much clearer display in this volume, not least because the narrative doesn’t come together in a way that makes sense, despite allowances being made for the genre. The art was the true hero here, holding whatever was there of the story and basically carrying the entire volume through to the sadly disappointing end. If more volumes follow after this one, I sure hope the creators get a better grasp of the story they want to tell, because good art can only carry a graphic novel so far.
Originally posted at kamreadsandrecs.tumblr.com.