Thursday, March 17, 2022

Undiscovered Country Vol. 1 - Review

Author: Scott Synder
Genre: Graphic Novel
Format: Paperback
Pages: 144
This was a lot. Like I had to take breaks, a lot. So I found this gem while I was looking for something else at my library. I'm a huge Scott Snyder and Charles Soule fan. So it was a no-brainer to pick this one up. Ultimately, I did like this first volume and I've put the second volume on hold. The underlining plot has my attention, and I want to see how it pans out. But, like a said it's a lot. It's a lot of information to be taken in for one volume and it's a lot emotionally as well.  While the book is science fiction, it doesn't so much feel like our world is too far from this. 

Not to mention how tropes are already been introduced in under a hundred and fifty pages: chosen one's trope, dystopian, pandemic scare, etc. 

Did I mention this was a lot, but somehow I think I managed to keep it all straight in my head? Because not only are we jumping into with no back story on why the USA sealed off, or what has happened in the thirty years prior. Even at the end of the book, we've only got a small look at what led to this moment. Even the timeline at the end doesn't offer much help. So even by the end of the book, I'm still in the dark about what's going on, what this Aurora is. 

Though part of me thinks it's AI-related. I hope it's AI-related. I do love a good evil AI trope. 

Despite not getting much information on what happened thirty years ago, we know it connects to Daniel and Lottie and their parents. We know they were chosen to go on this weird journey to save the country, and in the end, they'll be given a choice. Though, we have no idea what kind of choice they'll be given. We also know that they have to do it with a cast of misfit characters that no one wanted. They can die along the way, but they cannot just quit. Something that left me with more questions.

What information we do get is everyone's backstory of how/why they joined the team. Which added to the obscene info drop of this volume. I can't say I'll remember each story as the story progresses, but I'm glad we got a number of those backstories out of the way first, instead of dragging it over several volumes. So that was a plus. Though as for right now I'm kind of attached to one character. That's Ace our historian. He's the character no one listens to, despite the fact he's the only person they should be listening to. I'm already over Daniel, he is a hundred percent that chosen one guy. Lottie is no better, I'm over her and her high horse as well. Both are annoying and over-looking the bigger picture that Ace has been trying to tell them.

And while we've only got a hint of how bad it is, I have a few theories on how the time thing happened. Which is another reason I want to continue this series. I want to see if I'm right, or if it's time travel. The latter will annoy me. Not a fan of time travel, not only does it screw with tenses, we need to stop messing with the timeline.

However, I was in love with the Mad Max intro to the new USA. Only this version had genetically modified animals. So it had my attention. 

Another plus to this was I liked the artwork throughout the volume. There were a lot of details in the panels. A lot of hidden gems of the "old" world. I liked when graphic novels use the art to world build, instead of waiting for panels on it. I think it's a great way to make the art feel more like a part of the story than just an afterthought to give people something to look at.

So, I liked it. The plot has my attention because it left me with a few questions. I hope I retained everything because it's a lot happening in a hundred and forty-four pages. We'll see when volume two rolls in. I've got my fingers crossed this plot will start to iron itself out and a clear path will appear in the next installment as well. Because I'm still not sure where we're headed on this crazy train.



HAPPY READING!!

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