Scan barcode
A review by whimpulse
Barbarous, Chapter 1 by Ananth Hirsh
4.0
A long-time fan here, inspired to suddenly rate this as the "Leeds-sized" physical copies chapters 1-5 finally made their way to me just recently. Also I'm falling behind on my reading challenge, and this is an easy way to catch up a little.
First off, these chapters are gorgeous. Thin as magazines and almost comically large - I never realized how big the panels are compared to each page, since I've mostly seen them through my phone's screen up until now. But I love the art, so having some big panels is fine. Normally I would've preferred thicker graphic novels that collect several chapters, but in this case I'm just delighted I can look at so many stunning front covers at once.
The UV gloss on the otherwise matte covers, the dynamic pose Persephone and Leeds are in, the bright magenta. The pages are in a semi-glossy paper that shows off the colors nicely. The new-book smell on these is awful though.
When it comes to the chapter's contents, rating is a bit tricky as they're pretty short. The first chapter also looks a little dull compared to some of the later installments, as most of the page count goes towards character introductions and story building instead of visual spectacles. And story-wise it's definitely building up the intrigue rather than instantly rewarding us. But while the characters are new and their dynamic isn't quite there yet, I feel like I was always drawn to Percy's over-the-top ferocity and raw emotions in this first chapter, and whatever I thought Leeds and Cecilia were up to when I first read it.
The chapter sets up the mood, story, setting and main characters well without dumping loads of information at once, which I feel is the most important thing a first chapter should be able to do.
First off, these chapters are gorgeous. Thin as magazines and almost comically large - I never realized how big the panels are compared to each page, since I've mostly seen them through my phone's screen up until now. But I love the art, so having some big panels is fine. Normally I would've preferred thicker graphic novels that collect several chapters, but in this case I'm just delighted I can look at so many stunning front covers at once.
The UV gloss on the otherwise matte covers, the dynamic pose Persephone and Leeds are in, the bright magenta. The pages are in a semi-glossy paper that shows off the colors nicely. The new-book smell on these is awful though.
When it comes to the chapter's contents, rating is a bit tricky as they're pretty short. The first chapter also looks a little dull compared to some of the later installments, as most of the page count goes towards character introductions and story building instead of visual spectacles. And story-wise it's definitely building up the intrigue rather than instantly rewarding us. But while the characters are new and their dynamic isn't quite there yet, I feel like I was always drawn to Percy's over-the-top ferocity and raw emotions in this first chapter, and whatever I thought Leeds and Cecilia were up to when I first read it.
The chapter sets up the mood, story, setting and main characters well without dumping loads of information at once, which I feel is the most important thing a first chapter should be able to do.