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rainmisoa's review against another edition
3.0
This comic was... okay. I felt most of it was rather dull and the plot was re-hashed from other works. The characters aren't memorable and the atmosphere just fell flat. Mind you, it wasn't a BAD read. Just a "meh" one. One thing that really stood out, however, is the artwork and its coloring. Seriously, I have never seen such beautiful coloring ever in ANY comic book. Call me impressed. There's really not much else to say about this graphic novel. I was a bit bored reading through it. However, just because I wasn't a huge fan of the book doesn't mean you won't be. Give this book a shot. You might end up liking it. If anything, you can at least appreciate the art. Trust me. It's beautiful! <3
ebil's review against another edition
5.0
Colorful and fresh; Meridian is/was a welcome break from the growing trend of arbitrarily grim comics in the 2000s. Sephie is an enjoyable and sympathizable heroine for girls, while also a nuanced enough character not to grate on the nerves of older readers -- when it comes to young female characters, this balance seems to elude many writers! The gorgeous art speaks for itself, and the premise and worldbuilding puts some fresh twists on a traditional hero's-journey/"learning to lead" narrative. Fans of alternative and fantasy comics will want to check this one out.
chenoadallen's review against another edition
1.0
from the intro "we had to entice girl readers without driving male readers away, so the book had to move and flow well. there needed to be some action, some danger, and some adventure to be certain that we wouldn't lose the attention of the traditional comic book audience"
LOLNOPE
so "girl readers" don't care about flow, action, and adventure?
God, if you want to attract female readers GIVE WOMEN THE REIGNS
also, the intro says they want their art to be DiFFerEnT and it is not, there's still tits out on page 11
LOLNOPE
so "girl readers" don't care about flow, action, and adventure?
God, if you want to attract female readers GIVE WOMEN THE REIGNS
also, the intro says they want their art to be DiFFerEnT and it is not, there's still tits out on page 11
quoththegirl's review against another edition
4.0
I read most of the Meridian series, with the exception of a couple issues. The first volume had incredibly beautiful artwork, reminiscent of Maxfield Parrish paintings. Later volumes switched artists and were not nearly as good, which did dampen my enjoyments in some small part. The writing stays the same, though, and the worlds that Kesel creates are fascinating and lovely.
familiar_diversions's review
2.0
The ground-level areas of the planet Demetria are toxic, so most people live on floating islands, each of which is governed by a Minister and specializes in a particular industry or type of work. Meridian, whose people specialize in building airships, is one such island. Meridian's Minister is Turos, and teenage Sephie is his heir. Turos' brother, Ilahn, is the Minister of Cadador.
A pair of gods (or something) decide to shake things up on Demetria by imbuing a pair of siblings with great powers: one with the power of destruction and one with the power of creation. They pick Turos and Ilahn, but the strain is too much for Turos and his heart gives out. Upon his death, his power is passed on to Sephie.
Ilahn has always been jealous of Turos and sees this as the perfect opportunity to take over Meridian and remake it as he sees fit. Sephie is initially naive and trusting but eventually realizes that she'll have to stand against her uncle if her people are to survive.
I found this and the second volume in a used bookstore and bought it primarily for the nostalgia aspect. I read it years ago, and all I could remember was thinking that the colors were pretty.
The colors were indeed pretty, but this was exhausting to read, and I ended up stalling partway through. Weeks later, I finally pushed myself to finish it. Although it did grow on me a little, eventually, I wouldn't be continuing on if it weren't for the fact that I already own the second volume.
There was a lot going on here: details about the world and its politics, a bunch of different characters and their relationships, the gods (or whatever they were) adding their own complications for their own reasons, the old lady who was maybe connected to those gods, etc. I'd have liked it a little more of it hadn't been for the "all-seeing gods imbuing unsuspecting humans with powers" aspect - grand-scale stuff like that kind of annoys me - but I'd still have had issues with how hard it occasionally was to follow what was going on. The characters weren't always drawn quite on model (the biggest offenders: Jad, who looked like every brown-haired guy ever, and his father, who looked like Ilahn), and different issues had different pencilers and inkers, so I had to put extra effort into keeping track of who everyone was.
Here's hoping volume 2 makes for more enjoyable reading.
Rating Note:
This is more like 2.5 stars, rounded down because I came close to just giving up on it due to lack of interest.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
A pair of gods (or something) decide to shake things up on Demetria by imbuing a pair of siblings with great powers: one with the power of destruction and one with the power of creation. They pick Turos and Ilahn, but the strain is too much for Turos and his heart gives out. Upon his death, his power is passed on to Sephie.
Ilahn has always been jealous of Turos and sees this as the perfect opportunity to take over Meridian and remake it as he sees fit. Sephie is initially naive and trusting but eventually realizes that she'll have to stand against her uncle if her people are to survive.
I found this and the second volume in a used bookstore and bought it primarily for the nostalgia aspect. I read it years ago, and all I could remember was thinking that the colors were pretty.
The colors were indeed pretty, but this was exhausting to read, and I ended up stalling partway through. Weeks later, I finally pushed myself to finish it. Although it did grow on me a little, eventually, I wouldn't be continuing on if it weren't for the fact that I already own the second volume.
There was a lot going on here: details about the world and its politics, a bunch of different characters and their relationships, the gods (or whatever they were) adding their own complications for their own reasons, the old lady who was maybe connected to those gods, etc. I'd have liked it a little more of it hadn't been for the "all-seeing gods imbuing unsuspecting humans with powers" aspect - grand-scale stuff like that kind of annoys me - but I'd still have had issues with how hard it occasionally was to follow what was going on. The characters weren't always drawn quite on model (the biggest offenders: Jad, who looked like every brown-haired guy ever, and his father, who looked like Ilahn), and different issues had different pencilers and inkers, so I had to put extra effort into keeping track of who everyone was.
Here's hoping volume 2 makes for more enjoyable reading.
Rating Note:
This is more like 2.5 stars, rounded down because I came close to just giving up on it due to lack of interest.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
melaniegaum's review
4.0
I remember buying this in 3rd or 4th grade at my elementary's book fair (over 15 years ago). It was my first ever comic book and it was so exciting! The art amazed me. I've always wanted to read the rest of the series.
orionmissing's review
3.0
This comic series from the early 2000s is one of my most under-hyped series. Meridian by Crossgen Comics is set in a world where all inhabitants live in sky-bound islands as the result of a past natural cataclysm. Our main character Sephie acquires both her father's island nation and a mysterious, magical, sigil on her forehead at the start of the series.
Because she is still young, her uncle takes her under his wing, claiming he will teach her to become a great minister, but truly, he has his own goals in mind.
The story is that of the the struggle between an enemy wishing to seize control over all surrounding nations and the people which fight to remain independent. To aid in this fight, Sephie must learn to use her new found power and influence, but first, she must discover what is really happening.
Because she is still young, her uncle takes her under his wing, claiming he will teach her to become a great minister, but truly, he has his own goals in mind.
The story is that of the the struggle between an enemy wishing to seize control over all surrounding nations and the people which fight to remain independent. To aid in this fight, Sephie must learn to use her new found power and influence, but first, she must discover what is really happening.
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