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amdame1's review
4.0
Love how this graphic novel intertwines modern life with ancient Persian myths and beliefs. Illustrations make time and place very clear. Strong female protagonist! A tiny bit of sexual innuendo.
*Sad to note that my public library only had volume one and not volume two. I put in a purchase request, so hopefully they will get it!
*Sad to note that my public library only had volume one and not volume two. I put in a purchase request, so hopefully they will get it!
brucefarrar's review
4.0
The book starts “HERE. A PECULIAR TOWN ON THE OUTER REACHES OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE. SEEMINGLY OUT OF PLACE YET ODDLY FAMILIAR…” It appears to be a sword and sorcery fantasy setting, and Minoo and her companion Troy, have recovered some stolen treasure and having disposed of the guards they fight their way out with sword and a magic blast from Minoo’s palm when suddenly the story shifts to “THERE. SHIRAZ, IRAN. 4 YEARS AGO.” where Minoo Shirazi is driving an automobile while conversing with her father on a flip phone. The story alternates between events in her life in contemporary Iran, where she feels stifled by the repressive political climate and her father’s protectiveness and the uninhibited fantasy quest she lives in fulfilling a quest in HERE a land of Zoroastrian gods and demons where she fearlessly wields a sword on horseback and fights off a pride of lions.
Writer Nargahi and artist Bowman are both members of the Columbus, Ohio based comic book writers/artists collective, PANEL, so the THERE epilogue, Minoo’s acceptance for architectural grad school at Block O (THE Ohio State University, Nagahi’s alma mater), is hardly shocking. The epilogue for HERE is a bit more dramatic. Bowman’s style in THERE is clean black and white line, but in the fantasy tinged sequences he uses line shadings and halftone to provide a brooding atmosphere to HERE. Overall the book is a very interesting start to an adventure told in parallel tales.
Writer Nargahi and artist Bowman are both members of the Columbus, Ohio based comic book writers/artists collective, PANEL, so the THERE epilogue, Minoo’s acceptance for architectural grad school at Block O (THE Ohio State University, Nagahi’s alma mater), is hardly shocking. The epilogue for HERE is a bit more dramatic. Bowman’s style in THERE is clean black and white line, but in the fantasy tinged sequences he uses line shadings and halftone to provide a brooding atmosphere to HERE. Overall the book is a very interesting start to an adventure told in parallel tales.
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