East of West, Vol. 1: The Promise
- Downloads：6381
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-21 13:54:33
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jonathan Hickman
- ISBN：1607067706
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Reviews
Steve Long
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I generally like post apocalyptic stories but this one didn’t really do anything for me。 I think I might have been expecting more out of something written by Hickman。 The writing itself was well done but the story was a little bland。 The artwork was really good。 I gave it 3 stars because of the artwork and the quality of writing itself but I probably won’t read any of the other volumes。
Jacob Snider
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Decent story。 Fun concept。 Will make you feel a little lost at times。
Sarah
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3。5 stars
Nate
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This one took me FOREVER to get through。 I kept picking it up and starting - not quite remembering all of the plot points and characters。After finishing， I realize that I definitely need to re-read this eventually。 I can tell that the story and player within are pretty unique and well-written， and deserve my full attention。For now， I'll give it a 3/5 - seeing as something was keeping me from really diving into this。 It may have been just me being busy， OR it was my subconscious really not diggin This one took me FOREVER to get through。 I kept picking it up and starting - not quite remembering all of the plot points and characters。After finishing， I realize that I definitely need to re-read this eventually。 I can tell that the story and player within are pretty unique and well-written， and deserve my full attention。For now， I'll give it a 3/5 - seeing as something was keeping me from really diving into this。 It may have been just me being busy， OR it was my subconscious really not digging this story。 。。。more
Duncan Rice
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Really good。 However， Takes three chapters to figure out exactly what is going on。
Amanda
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For the majority of my time reading this， I was just confused。 It only got interesting to me at the end。 I do not think that I will be continuing this series。
Carolyn
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This book is a wild ride。 An alternate history of the world with fantasy elements （“the message，” “the chosen，” the witches and their animals， reincarnation）， sci fi elements （the mechanical horse-shaped vehicles， the robotic weaponry）， religious/myth elements （the four horsemen of the apocalypse， a child as the savior） along with very real world issues （corrupt politicians， giving up everything for love）。 I love how they handled the art for the violence—the use of red panels in this book is int This book is a wild ride。 An alternate history of the world with fantasy elements （“the message，” “the chosen，” the witches and their animals， reincarnation）， sci fi elements （the mechanical horse-shaped vehicles， the robotic weaponry）， religious/myth elements （the four horsemen of the apocalypse， a child as the savior） along with very real world issues （corrupt politicians， giving up everything for love）。 I love how they handled the art for the violence—the use of red panels in this book is intense！ I love the spooky epigraphs for each section。 This series finished in 2019 and I believe there’s 10 graphic novel compilations so I’ve got some fun reading ahead of me！！ 。。。more
DOUGLAS J BERRY
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The end times from the east to the west。Prime freebie。 Suitable for teens and adults。 Good color artwork。 Start of a complex series。 Easily misinterpreted this is a tale of two apocalpses seeking a missing element to reach the final solution to the burden of existence。 Be warned！ Profligate use of turgid prose， full of meaning。
Michele Monteleone
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Morte si innamora e rompe il patto con gli altri cavalieri， l'apocalisse è rimandata e Il Messaggio， la profezia che unisce tutti i governi del mondo in cui si ambienta la serie， sembra vana。 Hickman e Dragotta costruiscono un mondo complesso e stratificato un west contaminato dalla fantascienza che però mantiene l'afflato della frontiera più selvaggia。 Morte si innamora e rompe il patto con gli altri cavalieri， l'apocalisse è rimandata e Il Messaggio， la profezia che unisce tutti i governi del mondo in cui si ambienta la serie， sembra vana。 Hickman e Dragotta costruiscono un mondo complesso e stratificato un west contaminato dalla fantascienza che però mantiene l'afflato della frontiera più selvaggia。 。。。more
Dain
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I'm intrigued。 This story was too convoluted to be meaningful until more than halfway through， hence the 3 stars， but I definitely enjoyed it enough to want to read more！ Loved the artwork。 I'm intrigued。 This story was too convoluted to be meaningful until more than halfway through， hence the 3 stars， but I definitely enjoyed it enough to want to read more！ Loved the artwork。 。。。more
Shruti Vellanki
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Volume 1 of East of West does a great job of setting the stage for what is going to follow after it。 Upon finishing Volume 1， you leave with a really solid sense of the world that it introduces you to， its main characters， as well as the main source of conflict。 That being said， it is jam packed with information and it does get a bit confusing to juggle all the storylines that are unfolding in parallel。 The Background:This book is set in an alternate history where the American Civil War was exte Volume 1 of East of West does a great job of setting the stage for what is going to follow after it。 Upon finishing Volume 1， you leave with a really solid sense of the world that it introduces you to， its main characters， as well as the main source of conflict。 That being said， it is jam packed with information and it does get a bit confusing to juggle all the storylines that are unfolding in parallel。 The Background:This book is set in an alternate history where the American Civil War was extended until 1908。 It ends upon a comet's impact in Kansas （"Armstice"） where 6 warring parties meet to sign a truce， forming "The Seven Nations of America"。 On the day of the treaty signing， Elijah Longstreet （Confederate leader）， Red Cloud （The Endless Nation leader） prophesize two parts of "The Message" （a telling of the Apocalypse） and immediately die。 A little later， Mao Zedong prophesizes the third part of The Message， completing it。 The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse:1。 Famine2。 War3。 Conquest4。 Death - the main character of the story （at least for Volume 1）。 He deserts the 3 other Horsemen and their goal of bringing about the Apocalypse because he falls in love with Xiaolian and has a son with her （The Beast of the Apocalypse）。 The Chosen:The Chosen are Believers of the Message （at least on the surface） and most of them are high-ranking officials of each nation。 1。 Ezra Orion - The first member of the Chosen and the Keeper of the Message 2。 John Freeman - The Prince of the Kingdom of New Orleans3。 Cheveyo - Shaman of the Endless Nation4。 Madame President Antonia LeVay - The leader of the Union- The bloody， murderous path to LeVay's inauguration by Famine， Conquest and War was cool to witness as they worked their way down the ranks from The President， through Secretary of Defense， Press Secretary， etc。 5。 Bel Solomon - Governor of the Republic of Texas - He confesses to Archibald Chamberlian that he wants to revolt against The Chosen because he believes that their actions to orchestrate the Apocalypse are getting out of hand- He confesses that he only joined The Chosen to protect the Republic of Texas from how power hungry the chosen are6。 Mao Hu - Member of the PRA - Sister of Xiolian （who kills her and becomes premier of the PRA） and very pro-apocalypse- Seems disgusted by the fact that Xiaolian falls in love with Death7。 President Archibald Chamberlain - President of the Confederacy- By far the most interesting of the Chosen。 He plays all sides， with the end goal of looking out to maintain his own power。 - He negotiates with Death to spare his life by giving him the valuable information that Xiaolin is alive- He is Bel Solomon's confidante， though he doesn't seem to give a shit either wayThe Beast:- Death and Xiaolian's child - He's currently a baby being trained by some sort of computer or AI and as far as we know doesn't know what feelings are Cool Side Characters:- The Tracker from the Atlast - helps Conquest， War and Famine track down Death- Crow and Wolf。 Companions of death from the Endless Nation。 Crow and Wolf are in love and they are just the cutest！ 。。。more
Sananab
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The art was someotimes nice， and I like it when a writer is willing to go totally bonkers， but the characters were all very one dimensional so there was nothing to draw me in。
Caleb McDaniel
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These comics are incredible。 Mature writing， incredible art work， fascinating setting， interesting concepts。。。 right up my alley
David Agranoff
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I am not going to go into depth because graphic novels are something I enjoy but not feel like I can add very little to the discussion here。 Last year I read most of SAGA by Brian K Vaughn and the thing that attracted me to that title is the fact that many said BKV wrote it with the intention of making a book that would be impossible for it to exist in any other form。 I think if that is a genre East of West is firmly in said genre。 So I want to thank Jacob Hall of the /Film Daily podcast who men I am not going to go into depth because graphic novels are something I enjoy but not feel like I can add very little to the discussion here。 Last year I read most of SAGA by Brian K Vaughn and the thing that attracted me to that title is the fact that many said BKV wrote it with the intention of making a book that would be impossible for it to exist in any other form。 I think if that is a genre East of West is firmly in said genre。 So I want to thank Jacob Hall of the /Film Daily podcast who mentioned this in a water cooler episode because that is how I found it。What I find most interesting and exciting about this title is the cross-genre aspect of the book。 Yeah， it is a sci-fi dystopia， but it has elements of political alternate history， Cowboy yee-hah Western and supernatural horror。 With villains like death and the fourth horsemen， you know this is a dark piece of work。 The creator Jonathan Hickman plays with weird and wild ideas that TV and movies would struggle with。 Like evil little kids。 That reminds me to note although the show has been mostly forgotten the best evil kid on TV was Millie Bobby Brown pre-Stranger Things in Intruders。 I digress。East of West is bananas and since it was nominated for every award in comic I feel pretty late to the part eight years after it came out。 Well shit， I have some reading to do。So this alternate history presents a future where the old western leaves a lingering cultural stamp。 Not only did Native Americans getting involved in the civil war extend it， but it shaped America in a very different way。 That is not all a super Mao-ist china under the rule of Mao 5。0 is a major player。 Three of the fourth Horsemen of the apocalypse rebirthed as kids and Death being goth Chinese style （white is the color of death there that black is here）。 The story so far is confusing but never boring and that is most important I think。 I am interested enough to keep reading。 May only review on Goodreads and not the blog moving forward， we will have to see。 。。。more
Lucas
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Wow。 This is one confusing but intriguing graphic novel。 The relationship between the protagonist "Death" and Xiaolian is powerful and visual。 There is an enormous amount of exposition as this is the first in the series but still finds time to provide comedy and violence。 The structure of "East of West" is original and entertaining while the illustrations are fantastic。 The story however， left something to be desired。 I am intrigued to continue with the series and see what comes next。6。0/10 Wow。 This is one confusing but intriguing graphic novel。 The relationship between the protagonist "Death" and Xiaolian is powerful and visual。 There is an enormous amount of exposition as this is the first in the series but still finds time to provide comedy and violence。 The structure of "East of West" is original and entertaining while the illustrations are fantastic。 The story however， left something to be desired。 I am intrigued to continue with the series and see what comes next。6。0/10 。。。more
Fadzlee Abdul Rahman
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Not bad。
Steve
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Interesting read and solid comic book overall。 Got it through a Hoopla bonus borrow rental， so certainly worth the free read and easily consumed within a day。
Danielle
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This was such a unique， fun， and entertaining graphic novel。 I came across this book by chance while looking for a book to fit a “western” criteria in one of my book club groups。 The characters and world they live in keeps you turning the pages to read more。 I look forward to Vol2 to see what happens next。
Paco Isaac
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Will I read the next volumes？ Maybe。。。maybe not。
MrGlascott
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I'm a little late to the series but damn！ it is incredible。 The art is amazingly simple and absolutely beautiful。 The story is timeless and new。 I'm heading the comic shop asap to buy the series。 I'm a little late to the series but damn！ it is incredible。 The art is amazingly simple and absolutely beautiful。 The story is timeless and new。 I'm heading the comic shop asap to buy the series。 。。。more
Kevin Mullier
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A cool sci fi western in which Death is an outlaw， travelling and avenging the death of his wife while the 3 remaining horsemen （reborn as deadly children） hunt him down。However not only is his wife still alivie and head of a powerful Japanese family but they had a son who is the fabled beast set to bring upon the apocalypse。Will definitely be buying more of these when the next Comixology sale is on
Michael Quinn
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It has some cool story ideas and visuals， but I have no earthly idea what's going on！ There's not enough world building or character development to get this off the ground， which you'd think is the main goal of a first volume。 It has some cool story ideas and visuals， but I have no earthly idea what's going on！ There's not enough world building or character development to get this off the ground， which you'd think is the main goal of a first volume。 。。。more
Pablo Molina Cortés
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Una ucronía western-sci-fi。 Eso es East Of the West， donde Hickmam se toma la libertad de proponer una nueva historia de los Estados Unidos donde la Guerra de Secesión culmina en la conformación de siete naciones diferentes， que tendrán conflictos entre sí pero que "El Mensaje" （una especie de profecía cifrada y entregada a los elegidos de cada nación） parece ser el elemento que las mantiene unidas ante el inminente Apocalipsis que se avecina。Y cuando me refiero a Apocalipsis estoy siendo litera Una ucronía western-sci-fi。 Eso es East Of the West， donde Hickmam se toma la libertad de proponer una nueva historia de los Estados Unidos donde la Guerra de Secesión culmina en la conformación de siete naciones diferentes， que tendrán conflictos entre sí pero que "El Mensaje" （una especie de profecía cifrada y entregada a los elegidos de cada nación） parece ser el elemento que las mantiene unidas ante el inminente Apocalipsis que se avecina。Y cuando me refiero a Apocalipsis estoy siendo literal， ya que los Cuatro Jinetes son parte importante de esta historia， sobre todo Muerte， quien acá se nos presenta como un letal cowboy totalmente blanco que busca saldar algunas cuentas del pasado。Como siempre， Hickman presenta la información de manera parcial， intentando generar un enganche del lector a su historia， pero siento que en esta ocasión dicha estrategia genera más confusión que atención。 El primer volumen no llega a desarrollarse lo suficiente como para dar un veredicto final sobre este cómic， falta mucho por conocer y será en los próximos volúmenes cuando pueda tener un mejor criterio。Eso sí， el arte me gustó mucho， siento que se logró un buen mezcla entre los escenarios del lejano oeste y la ambientación futurista de ls ciudades y poblados。 。。。more
Subham
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Reread: 03/04/21The book is mostly about this guy death looking to take revenger on the chosen who kind of took his wife and killed his son and this apocalyptic world is the one where civil war never ended and a comet struck this place and the 7 nations were born and the representatives signed a treaty and they are the chosen who are to bring about the apocalypse and thats what this message is and for that the four horsemen were born but death fell in love with a girl named Xiaolin in 2054 and t Reread: 03/04/21The book is mostly about this guy death looking to take revenger on the chosen who kind of took his wife and killed his son and this apocalyptic world is the one where civil war never ended and a comet struck this place and the 7 nations were born and the representatives signed a treaty and they are the chosen who are to bring about the apocalypse and thats what this message is and for that the four horsemen were born but death fell in love with a girl named Xiaolin in 2054 and then these things happen in 2064。 This first volume was mostly about death dealing with this and taking out the names on the list and reuniting with his love and embarking on a new mission， because their son may not be dead。 And we also learn of what the Chosen's plan for their son is。 Its fascinating read and can be a confusing read but well done by the author。 Also the artwork is gorgeous。____________________________________________________________This was quite good！ We pick up in an apocalyptic land and death is looking for his wife and he takes down all those who tried to stop him。 There is something called "The message" written in Apocrypha （apocalypse like holy book）？ And from there we are introduced to other horsemen- war， famine， conquest and the chosen who want to stop death。 We learn about Xiaolin and the house of mao and how she conquered death and their child and how he will be the great beast and then we have Death promising his wife he will look for their children。 Interesting book， premise。 The art is gorgeous and there are so many mysteries。 。。。more
Malum
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Almost everything in this comic fell flat for me， from the unconvincing and forced feeling mashup of sci-fi and Western and the annoying and cliche evil kid villains， to the main character that is supposed to be a badass cowboy but compared to similar characters from other media （The Saint of Killers from Preacher， The Man in Black from Westworld） just felt toothless and bland。
Lyca
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4 starsUsually， I steer clear of anything Wild West related because I simply don't like it， but I'm glad I gave East of West a chance。 The plot isn't the most unique at first， the arrival of the four horsemen signaling the end has been used countless times already。 But this has its own twist to it which intrigued me。 Death， ironically， has become humanity's last hope for survival against the apocalypse。The beginning was HELLA CONFUSING but that's the thing with graphic novels， you really have to 4 starsUsually， I steer clear of anything Wild West related because I simply don't like it， but I'm glad I gave East of West a chance。 The plot isn't the most unique at first， the arrival of the four horsemen signaling the end has been used countless times already。 But this has its own twist to it which intrigued me。 Death， ironically， has become humanity's last hope for survival against the apocalypse。The beginning was HELLA CONFUSING but that's the thing with graphic novels， you really have to give them some time。 And after the first couple issues， it really picked up！ And we have some really interesting characters which， aside from the four horsemen， are Crow and Wolf。 I find those two more interesting than Death， Conquest， War， and Famine LOL。The art is brutal and quite nice！ And the humor is refreshing。 Overall， I really enjoyed reading this in one sitting。 I still have so many questions like WTF is The Message and， well， basically WTF is happening？ I still haven't fully grasped how everything is。 But I am excited to find out more！ 。。。more
47Time
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The Four Horsemen have awakened。 But there's only three of them - the fourth， Death， is already out there。 War， Famine and Conquest set out to find him even if they have to destroy the world to do it。The Chosen have been working very hard to orchestrate the end of the world - this was prophesied by the Message。 They are the ones who locked up Death because he wanted to prevent the Apocalypse， so they are on his hit list - the US president was the first。（view spoiler）[Andrew Archibald Chamberlain The Four Horsemen have awakened。 But there's only three of them - the fourth， Death， is already out there。 War， Famine and Conquest set out to find him even if they have to destroy the world to do it。The Chosen have been working very hard to orchestrate the end of the world - this was prophesied by the Message。 They are the ones who locked up Death because he wanted to prevent the Apocalypse， so they are on his hit list - the US president was the first。（view spoiler）[Andrew Archibald Chamberlain from the Black Towers， one of the seven Chosen， offers Death a deal for his life - the location of his long-lost wife Xiaolian who was believed to be dead。 Reuniting with her becomes Death's next goal。 She is being held by Mao V in the well-defended Imperial City of New Shanghai， but that doesn't stop Death。 He cuts through the defenses like a hot knife through butter。 Xiaolian seizes the opportunity to punish her sister and father for her ordeals before reuniting with Death。 She blames him for not being with her when it mattered - when their son was killed and she was imprisoned。 But their son is not dead。 He is being kept by the Chosen and guided to become the Beast of the Apocalypse。 （hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Nẹdu
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oooh i'm definitely intrigued now oooh i'm definitely intrigued now 。。。more
Georgia
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Tough guys and titty armor。I don't understand how so much could happen in such a short span of pages and still be so utterly boring。 The only reason this isn't a 2/10 is because of a certain badass scene。4/10 Tough guys and titty armor。I don't understand how so much could happen in such a short span of pages and still be so utterly boring。 The only reason this isn't a 2/10 is because of a certain badass scene。4/10 。。。more
Stacey
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