Cross to Bear - Review

Author: Marko Stojanović

Genre: Graphic Novel

Format: eBook

Pages: 120

Huge thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this early.

Okay, let's start with the good. Right out of the gate I really liked the artwork. I wanted that the color palette changed from the London streets to when the story moved to the American West.  The American West had a warmer color whereas London was more dark and dreary. The wide shot panels were a lot a nice addition. It felt like a nod toward those group long shots in the old Western movies.

I liked the idea of this story, a secret society that hunts down creatures of the night. I'm also always a sucker for a Jack the Ripper story. So combining the two meant this graphic novel had my attention. And, I really liked where this one was going with the brothers, and the idea of the Ripper ending up somewhere in the American West. The story started out strong and held my attention, but the time the brothers were reunited was when it started to fall apart.

Maybe this should have been a longer story, broken up into several volumes. But, this felt like there were too many ideas all happening at once, and it felt busy. Just when I'd get more footing on the one storyline, another weird little turn would show up and add one more thing to the story. And, while these were supposed to be twists in the story, they felt more like they were dragging it down. Just another conflict to be handled, which was I think more volumes would have been better. Give that extra storyline its own pages. 

Ending the series with the big finale.

The end was also really weird. I was fine with the double cross, that way sort of caught me by surprise. I didn't even think about that option. But, at the very end, that statement. It was just another odd moment that didn't seem to fit. Like was he talking about Baltimore, or some other random character, or the women at the door? And, what was the point of her, other than to be the watcher? Okay, I understood the backstory she gave. It would have been a good cliffhanger, but it felt overplayed with the last few lines since there was no context.

This just wasn't my jam and I was a little disappointed.

 HAPPY READING!!