Sequential Art

Step By Bloody Step

Step By Bloody Step

  • Downloads：9562
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-08-06 09:53:09
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Simon Spurrier
  • ISBN：1534322388
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

THERE IS A GIRL。 She has no memory and no name。 Nothing but a GUARDIAN。 An armored giant who protects her from predators and pitfalls。

TOGETHER THEY WALK across an extraordinary fantasy world。 If they leave the path the air itself comes alive， forcing them onwards。 Why？ The girl doesn’t know， but there’s worse than beasts and bandits ahead。 CIVILIZATION， with its temptations and treacheries， will test their bond beyond its limits。 STEP BY BLOODY STEP is a fantasy opus from the Eisner Award nominees behind CODA （sélection officielle Angoulême 2021）: MATIAS BERGARA （Hellblazer， THE SCUMBAG） & SI SPURRIER （X-Men Legacy， Hellblazer， The Spire）。 Breaking new ground for the possibilities of sequential art， this completely wordless visual feast will delight fans of Princess Mononoke， ISOLA， and the visionary works of Moebius。

Collects STEP BY BLOODY STEP #1-4

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Reviews

Alex Sarll ，

The creators of Coda reunite for another widescreen fantasy， in which a girl makes her way across a fabulous， dangerous landscape， accompanied only by an enormous armoured figure。 According to the blurb， "If they leave the path， the air itself comes alive， forcing them onwards。 Why？" Well， I didn't notice that about the air （I just thought it was bad weather）， and I still couldn't answer the 'Why？'， because the gimmick here is that the comic is silent。 Ish; there are no sound effects， and someti The creators of Coda reunite for another widescreen fantasy， in which a girl makes her way across a fabulous， dangerous landscape， accompanied only by an enormous armoured figure。 According to the blurb， "If they leave the path， the air itself comes alive， forcing them onwards。 Why？" Well， I didn't notice that about the air （I just thought it was bad weather）， and I still couldn't answer the 'Why？'， because the gimmick here is that the comic is silent。 Ish; there are no sound effects， and sometimes when someone opens their mouth we get a speech bubble with incomprehensible glyphs， but most of the time not， which makes me wonder why they didn't just go the whole hog， not least because then you'd save £££ on a letterer。 Still， you can understand the formal appeal; as writers go， Spurrier tends to be a chatty bastard， something his bio here admits （albeit not in so many words）， and his protagonists likewise， even if much of that tends to be between themselves and the reader。 So good on him to try writing something without that to fall back on， and this was definitely a sensible project on which to give that a go， because it means we get to see more of Bergara's gorgeous， fantastical world， its mountains and monsters， impossible trees and glamorous balls。 While it has plenty of dangers， Matheus Lopes' colours definitely play a part in making it look more seductive than the toxic， post-cataclysmic world of Coda; I can't see the double-page spread of a floor carpeted with petals working nearly so well in the earlier book， nor the vistas of fields and valleys having the same appeal， even if the blasted battlefields feel like a much closer point of contact。 All the same， while there were moments beyond the scenery which moved me， I could seldom entirely avoid thinking about how much more connection I would have felt had anyone been allowed to say something。（Edelweiss ARC） 。。。more

Stuart McInally ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Read via single issues #1-4I ended up reading this twice over the course of this past week， not because I was particularly lost， but I wanted to ensure my gut feelings I'd built over the reading experience would hold up after knowing the full picture。For context the premise of this comic is absolutely my jam and half the reason I pre-ordered the single issues - I deeply love narratives with minimal dialogue in which one person （with or without some sort of companion） must brave out on a journey Read via single issues #1-4I ended up reading this twice over the course of this past week， not because I was particularly lost， but I wanted to ensure my gut feelings I'd built over the reading experience would hold up after knowing the full picture。For context the premise of this comic is absolutely my jam and half the reason I pre-ordered the single issues - I deeply love narratives with minimal dialogue in which one person （with or without some sort of companion） must brave out on a journey through alien landscapes with challenges to overcome。 I am a whore for anything Team Ico （now GENdesign） puts out， I adore the animated show Samurai Jack， and Blame！ is a manga I can just lose myself in。 These stories all have narratives that can occasionally require a little deciphering， with understandable characters and goals whilst being able to balance it all with wildly interesting and unique world building。Step By Bloody Step's plot comprises of a mysterious girl being shepherded by an imposing armoured guardian， possibly over many years from one corner of an alien world to another。 Along the way we discover many things about the nature of both protagonists and the journey they both have to and cannot make， whilst learning about the world and the current war taking place between two prominent races。 We learn about the antagonist of the comic and why he's doing what he does， as well as the fallout of his war and where that leaves the girl and her companion， leading to the final issue and the girl's actions to change the fate of everything。It's the ending that ultimately throws me for a loop - not the "what" of it since that was pretty clearly telegraphed all the way back in the first issue， but the "why"。 Why is any of this journey happening and for what reason does the antagonist seek to stop them？ It was something that leapt out at me by the end of the first issue as the motivations of the driving character of the guardian isn't elaborated on or even clarified later in the comic。 I guess you could say it's left up to interpretation with regards to the true nature of the protagonists and what they exactly are to this world， but it all feels a little too vague to me personally。 The girl's blood creates life （but coming into contact with water possibly creates too much life or dilutes their cycle like food does or simply makes her guardian go crazy？） and her guardian has their own secret origin of sorts but why this is happening or what the two of them are seems fairly nebulous。 There were a lot of cool actions and set pieces in this comic but the actions didn't lend themselves to motivations as far as I could see so I couldn't really find a real anchor point to ground myself to the story and connect to the characters。The art in this comic rarely disappoints however， from the layout to the rendering， to the inks and colours - this is truly a spectacular-looking comic and was the other half of my reason for pre-ordering it。 I learned to love the large， sweeping double-page splashes showing alien environments with the footsteps and sun position being the only indication to the characters' walking direction， and there is a panel sequence very early on where the girl sees a flower above her which is drawn outside her panel with her following panel having her reach for the same drawing of that flower on the other side of it - simply excellent composition。 The bright and varied hues of the world really help sell the alien nature too in a way that holds your attention to each scene's moods and compliments the base art impeccably。But there was also the very odd occasion where the art did not indicate very clearly what was transpiring between panels and pages。 In one sequence the girl points excitedly towards a landscape from a hilltop but her guardian points down， seemingly towards the same direction as they both start walking down the hill towards it whilst the girl looks grumpy。 Similarly later on when they reach a shoreline the girl excitedly jumps in the sand whilst her guardian looks sadly on and then one page turn later where the time of day is much later the girl is looking grumpy whilst the guardian constructs a raft to cross the water。 There's just lots of little moments like that throughout the entire comic that pull me out entirely while I try to wildly decipher just what the hell characters are doing or what's going on。 It was a big flaw in the otherwise amazing storytelling that the artists were achieving and sadly detracted a little too much for me at times。I really wanted to love this comic but it just loses me too many times along its journey。 No doubt I'll come back to it again at a later date and it has pushed me to check out more of Spurrier and Bergara's collaborations （this was a first time for both creators for me） but ultimately this silent comic just doesnt quite hit the landing for me。 I don't disagree with all the raving reviews this is getting either but I hope all this word vomit explains why I just can't give it the same praise others are giving。 This is a solid 7/10 for now - I just wish it resonated with me more。 。。。more

Mike Jorgensen ，

I love it。 Very creative， very beautiful。 Not quite as easy to follow as I'd expected， but I enjoyed the challenge of a wordless book。 I love it。 Very creative， very beautiful。 Not quite as easy to follow as I'd expected， but I enjoyed the challenge of a wordless book。 。。。more

Matty Dub ，

Incredibly well delivered story， I wouldn’t change a single thing about it！ The best part is how powerfully emotional Bergara’s art can be， not a word is spoken but holy fuck does this bring the feels！

Maellis ，

Graphiquement splendide mais l'histoire sans texte ne m'a pas transcendée。 Graphiquement splendide mais l'histoire sans texte ne m'a pas transcendée。 。。。more

Mitchell ，

Just a lovely mini series。 I read it as it came out， but it really needs a reread or graphic novel in order to make sense of everything。 The art and coloring is fantastic， which is necessary since it has no legible script。 There is a bit of a pictograph type written dialog， one symbol of which is pretty decipherable （and the others may be as well， for the cryptography inclined）， but that's it。It tells the story of a young girl and her huge protector。 Her protector is doing her best to shield her Just a lovely mini series。 I read it as it came out， but it really needs a reread or graphic novel in order to make sense of everything。 The art and coloring is fantastic， which is necessary since it has no legible script。 There is a bit of a pictograph type written dialog， one symbol of which is pretty decipherable （and the others may be as well， for the cryptography inclined）， but that's it。It tells the story of a young girl and her huge protector。 Her protector is doing her best to shield her from physical harm and from loss of innocence， so this is essentially a mom and daughter type tale。 There are several scenes where the protector is doing battle with some monstrosity while the girl is blissfully unaware。 But， as we do， the girl begins to chafe under the protection of her knight in armor and yearns to rebel。The art has to do all the narrative work here， so it takes some careful scrutiny and memory to follow along。 But they keep things simple enough， even if there's no way to explain the finer details。 The art is amazing。 Many gorgeous two-page spreads。 And the story is touching and sweet。 I'm glad my local comic store suggested it。 。。。more

Katelin ，

Mon coup de cœur BD de cette première partie de l'année。Une fille doit marcher inexorablement vers un destin dont elle ignore tout。 Guidé par un robot étrange， elle ne peut dévier de sa route sous aucun prétexte。 Alors que les saisons s'enchaînent， la fillette évolue et grandit dans un monde qu'elle découvre au fur et à mesure de son périple。 Mais dans quel but， et que l'attend-il au bout du chemin ？Saison de sang est récit muet porté par les dessins magnifiques et oniriques de Matías Bergara， n Mon coup de cœur BD de cette première partie de l'année。Une fille doit marcher inexorablement vers un destin dont elle ignore tout。 Guidé par un robot étrange， elle ne peut dévier de sa route sous aucun prétexte。 Alors que les saisons s'enchaînent， la fillette évolue et grandit dans un monde qu'elle découvre au fur et à mesure de son périple。 Mais dans quel but， et que l'attend-il au bout du chemin ？Saison de sang est récit muet porté par les dessins magnifiques et oniriques de Matías Bergara， non emprunt parfois d'une certaine violence。 On le dévore sans s'en rendre compte， faisant défiler les pages pour découvrir ce qui attend cette jeune fille， jusqu'au dénouement final qui peut surprendre， mais qui， personnellement， m'a beaucoup plu。Une BD qui je recommande 1000 fois et que je vous invite à au moins feuilleter si vous en avez l'occasion。 。。。more

Shannon ，

Individual issue reviews: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4Total review score: 3。69 Individual issue reviews: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4Total review score: 3。69 。。。more

Shreyas Gokhale ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Spoiler alert:Girl and robot journey together。Robot gets attacked and destroyed。Girl carries robot part somewhere。Next， we see the robot back in the middle of the war defending the girl and others。Whatt？？？？ This is absurd！！

Dylan ，

Fantastic Storytelling， if I were to describe the story （& art） it will be like Nausicaa with a mix of Moebius。 I've been reading this comic as the issues （chapters） were coming out （so monthly for 4 months）， and I am happy to say the ending delivered。 Silent Comics I feel are rarer these days， especially to this quality。 I'm glad that Si Spurrier （author） and Matias Bergara （artist） were able to collaborate and give us something so fantastic。 This is a simple yet effective story about a pilgrim Fantastic Storytelling， if I were to describe the story （& art） it will be like Nausicaa with a mix of Moebius。 I've been reading this comic as the issues （chapters） were coming out （so monthly for 4 months）， and I am happy to say the ending delivered。 Silent Comics I feel are rarer these days， especially to this quality。 I'm glad that Si Spurrier （author） and Matias Bergara （artist） were able to collaborate and give us something so fantastic。 This is a simple yet effective story about a pilgrimage。 Because the storytelling is told purely from the art， the panel work featured is fabulous and he is able to capture so much humanity to the characters through their posturing， reactions etc。 The worldbuilding is very intricate what I love about these types of narratives is that it really depends on you how deep you want to go。 Like in BLAME （by Tsutomu Nihei） there is a lot of intricate environment storytelling with hardly any exposition its having that sense of discovery and coming to your own conclusions which is very rewarding。 Furthermore， I love the use of colours， in a lot of modern comics， there are a lot of generic and bland colour designs。 But here it's very vibrant and alive and gives more depth to the scenes。 The other people in the team did an A-class job。 In conclusion， buy this comic， this type of comic should be rewarded in this industry。 When the physical edition comes out， you bet I will buy and reread it。 If I had a negative for this comic， I wanted it to be longer as I didn't want to say goodbye。 。。。more

A。J。 Anders ，

Beautiful， heartbreaking， jaw-dropping， and any number of adjectives you would usually use to describe graphic novels like this wouldn’t do this one justice。 Just go read it。 A silent comic that has a whole lot to say。 That ending man。。。Si Spurrier and Matias Bergara have made a genuine masterpiece with this one， and I couldn’t be happier with the final product。 Full review coming very soon。。。

Vijaya ，

7 caption bubbles and not a single one in a language any of us， but the author who created it， can understand。 Still， I'm intrigued。 The art really told a great story and I'm interested to see where this goes。 7 caption bubbles and not a single one in a language any of us， but the author who created it， can understand。 Still， I'm intrigued。 The art really told a great story and I'm interested to see where this goes。 。。。more

Gabriel ，

Bloody gorgeous！

Kastie Pavlik ，

I assume this version is for the trade paperback。 This review is for comic #1。 It's beautiful。 The lack of words means we need to linger on the panel and interpret the story。 At face value， the story is interesting with fantasy and sci fi elements that invoke metal giants， fae folk， monsters， and Dr。 Seuss。 ;） But， figuratively and metaphorically， this speaks loudly of how a child， protected from the ugly world at large， sees wondrous beauty instead of violence and giant spines interspersed with I assume this version is for the trade paperback。 This review is for comic #1。 It's beautiful。 The lack of words means we need to linger on the panel and interpret the story。 At face value， the story is interesting with fantasy and sci fi elements that invoke metal giants， fae folk， monsters， and Dr。 Seuss。 ;） But， figuratively and metaphorically， this speaks loudly of how a child， protected from the ugly world at large， sees wondrous beauty instead of violence and giant spines interspersed within the tree trunks of the forest。 That despite walls erecting between them and what they want that they may or may not still get it， and that if they don't get it immediately， they may be able to hone their abilities to create it later。 That even as they grow， children are curious and delighted in play even as their protector engages in battle。 It's absolutely beautiful on both fronts。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Step By Bloody Step

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Step By Bloody Step&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Step By Bloody Step&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0