*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Ken faces the emperor Souther, Toki faces Raoh, brother against brother in epic battles.
This volume goes through a lot at a fast pace along with giving some back story. It’s worth it for the action alone, especially if you’re interested in seeing new abilities along with a bit of drama. It was wild to read but also felt chaotic and unfocused compared to the previous volumes. 3.9 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Arisa has been kidnapped so Gordon plans a grand rescue with her sister, Myra, and some old friends of his, Kyle and Dylan.
As this is the last volume, it’s packed with action and lore, has some great character moments, and keeps up the great artwork but I hated the ending. All that fun and adventure, and wackiness and… That’s it? Really? Ugh, what a let down. No spoilers but I really did not like the climax of this story. 2 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Ken faces the Holy Emperor, a tyrant who kidnaps and enslaves children.
Now, I like this series and I understand that in order to be a threat, the villains have to actually show they’re dangerous but I’ve never been a fan of a lot of collateral damage surrounding the main conflict. And the main showdown didn’t even happen so this ends on a cliffhanger. It just didn’t seem as thrilling as other volumes; it just felt like disaster porn. 3.8 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
A group of children believe they ate the last survivors on the planet and they are vampires. They were told to wait until come others return but it’s been many years. Thinking they’re alone, they are shocked to learn some humans still exist; humans they were told to promise never to eat.
This is a taste of a larger story that sets up a lot of information in a creative way without a bunch of info dumps. The art for this story is fitting, the slightly muted colors bringing out the red of the blood, but it feels lacking. It’s very short and predictable if you’ve ever read any other story like this but it’s not bad. 3.5 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is suggested for mature audiences.
Honeysuckle is finally moving in with her girlfriend but on the day of, the sky opens up and starts raining crystal spikes.Â
This is an interesting sort of apocalypse but Joe pulls it off well with all the sad, scary, and touching notes a story like this needs to hit. Other than the method of near extinction, this isn’t much different from the standard world-ending type stories. The art has a roughness to it that makes the violence gritty but it can still be soft when the story calls for it. This is a quick read but not bad. 3.7 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Gordon and Arisa are still traveling the dry apocalyptic wastelands, following the trail of various ingredients to use in Gordon’s cooking. But a former subordinate of Gordon, Kyle, is sent to retrieve them and is paired with a young woman with abilities like Arisa’s named Myna. Myna also happens to be Arisa’s little sister.
I think it’s funny that this is part post apocalyptic adventure and part cooking tutorial. There’s a good balance of the food stuff and action so one doesn’t overpower the other or grinding the story to a halt to have a random cooking session. I can tell there’s a bigger story brewing but this volume is some good, goofy fun. 3 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
This volume’s main focus is the showdown between Ken and Kenoh/Raoh, the most powerful of the brothers who trained together. After it ends, (spoilers, kinda?) Ken goes back to beating down various baddies across the dusty landscape. We do get to know Mamiya, who finally does something for a bit before getting sidelined again. I’m glad to see her around more and being involved in the plot in ways that aren’t cheerleader or hostage (although that still happens) and the volume ends at a point where I wonder if she will be more integral to the plot in the future.
Aside for that little nitpick, the battle between Ken and Roah is amazing; great art and action even though the dialog is very bombastic. But, it all fits together well. 4 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Ken journeys to a prison called Cassandra; The City of Wailing Demons in search for his brother, Toki. To find him, Ken must face off against the twisted and cruel Warden Uyghur and we meet another brother of Ken’s, Raoh; who wants nothing more than to rule over everyone and it seems nobody is powerful enough to stop him.
This plows right into the action and does not give the reader much downtime, making this volume fly by. Things surge forward in the plot, our main group is coming together, and there’s a bit of mystery brewing in the background. This one ends on a cliffhanger so I’m excited for more! 4 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
A food truck owner named Gordon laments his lack of customers in the apocalyptic landscape around him. While changing locations, he finds a naked woman sleeping in the middle of the road. When he takes her in, an armed militia is hunting her down.
This is an interesting way to tell a post-apocalyptic story. Gordon’s a classic grumpy protagonist with a secret and Arisa is the one to come into his life to give him something to care about again. With humor and some cool action, this is a fun volume and is perfectly paced to make me want to the next one. 3.9 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Ken is one of four who studied Hokuto Shinken and his older brother, Jagi, is now a vicious warlord impersonating Ken in an attempt to ruin his reputation. Ken goes on a journey to defeat Jagi and repair his good name.
I keep thinking Mamiya is going to do something in the plot other than swoon over Ken but unfortunately, no. She’s a good character and I’d like to see her bravery and ingenuity do more than have her end up as a hostage. But other than that, Ken and his brothers are a cool part of this story and the plot takes turns I did not expect, but it worked for me. Jagi is wrapped up quick and we move on to Toki, who I am much more curious about. This volume ends on a cliffhanger so, we’ll have to wait and see what his deal is. 4 out of 5.
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