Scan barcode
A review by mariahistryingtoread
Bitter Root, Vol. 2: Rage & Redemption by Chuck Brown, David F. Walker
1.0
Bitter Root continues to befuddle and disappoint me. It is such a cool concept, that is muddied by poor pacing, underdeveloped characters, and weak worldbuilding.
This volume feels like it should be the third. There were so many little things that I feel should have been expanded upon before jumping to the events of this book. None of the story beats from volume one had time to breathe.
For example, Johnnie Ray's entire character and Ford's connection to him is missing any sense of meaning because of how rushed their bonding was. It makes no sense that a character that was introduced as being part of the Ku Klux Klan is just besties with a Black man in 1924 without any exploration of what in his life caused him to join up with them even though he apparently had no hate in his heart (which again doesn't make sense because he was all too willing to 'scare' a bunch of Black people for funsies yet doesn't actually hate them? Yeah, okay) or what in Ford's life has caused him to soften up to this random kid particularly when the kid is white and it's 1924.
Still no word on what exactly Uncle Enoch did that was so bad. Yes, it led to the murder of a bunch of people. But, was what he did necessary or not? Like there's a huge difference between playing around in matters you shouldn't or taking a risk because of how dire circumstances are. Bitter Root always glosses over the specifics as it's clearly been determined that Blink being angry at him is too essential to her character to add actual nuance to the situation.
Speaking of Blink, the whole schtick of her being the best monster hunter is unconvincing. Most of the time she's doing exactly what everyone else is doing. She is no smarter, or resourceful, or stronger than any other character. It's a lot of showing not telling that, to be honest, feels predicated on her being a woman rather than the desire to have a strong character. It's a selling point to have a strong Black female character so she's hyped up in-text even though there is no evidence of her actually doing anything special via the writing.
The ultimate evil Adro is no more terrifying than the previous villain. She's not doing all that much different than the guy from the first volume. The only thing she has going for her is scope. Otherwise, they were totally on the same page so I didn't see how her showing up was so much worse. Either way they are facing demons which is what they have always done. A prophecy about Adro ushering in the apocalypse or some body horror or Berg permanently transforming into an inzondo would have helped to raise the stakes.
The layout of the panels was confusing. I frequently had a hard time telling who was supposed to be speaking because the speech bubbles were weirdly placed. Many of the male characters looked way too similar; I struggled to tell them apart. The action also looked static and stiff. There were a lot of abrupt transitions from sequence to sequence where I could not tell what had just happened since there was no sense of movement through the art.
And on a personal note, I cannot stand Berg's character. I get the joke but I find it annoying and tedious to parse what he means.
This volume feels like it should be the third. There were so many little things that I feel should have been expanded upon before jumping to the events of this book. None of the story beats from volume one had time to breathe.
For example, Johnnie Ray's entire character and Ford's connection to him is missing any sense of meaning because of how rushed their bonding was. It makes no sense that a character that was introduced as being part of the Ku Klux Klan is just besties with a Black man in 1924 without any exploration of what in his life caused him to join up with them even though he apparently had no hate in his heart (which again doesn't make sense because he was all too willing to 'scare' a bunch of Black people for funsies yet doesn't actually hate them? Yeah, okay) or what in Ford's life has caused him to soften up to this random kid particularly when the kid is white and it's 1924.
Spoiler
When Johnnie Ray died, I felt absolutely nothing. This character has had no time to endear himself to me. It feels like the only thing I know about him is his name. This meant that the plot point about Cullen's soul becoming corrupted by his time away as demonstrated by his hardened attitude towards Johnnie Ray fell totally flat. Why should he trust Johnnie Ray? I barely care about him let alone trust him.Still no word on what exactly Uncle Enoch did that was so bad. Yes, it led to the murder of a bunch of people. But, was what he did necessary or not? Like there's a huge difference between playing around in matters you shouldn't or taking a risk because of how dire circumstances are. Bitter Root always glosses over the specifics as it's clearly been determined that Blink being angry at him is too essential to her character to add actual nuance to the situation.
Speaking of Blink, the whole schtick of her being the best monster hunter is unconvincing. Most of the time she's doing exactly what everyone else is doing. She is no smarter, or resourceful, or stronger than any other character. It's a lot of showing not telling that, to be honest, feels predicated on her being a woman rather than the desire to have a strong character. It's a selling point to have a strong Black female character so she's hyped up in-text even though there is no evidence of her actually doing anything special via the writing.
The ultimate evil Adro is no more terrifying than the previous villain. She's not doing all that much different than the guy from the first volume. The only thing she has going for her is scope. Otherwise, they were totally on the same page so I didn't see how her showing up was so much worse. Either way they are facing demons which is what they have always done. A prophecy about Adro ushering in the apocalypse or some body horror or Berg permanently transforming into an inzondo would have helped to raise the stakes.
The layout of the panels was confusing. I frequently had a hard time telling who was supposed to be speaking because the speech bubbles were weirdly placed. Many of the male characters looked way too similar; I struggled to tell them apart. The action also looked static and stiff. There were a lot of abrupt transitions from sequence to sequence where I could not tell what had just happened since there was no sense of movement through the art.
And on a personal note, I cannot stand Berg's character. I get the joke but I find it annoying and tedious to parse what he means.