Raqiya 5
2 journalers for this copy...
I got this softcover at The Comic Store. The artwork's lush and beautiful, with the characters each having distinct and near-photo-realistic faces - though the author clearly enjoys drawing very lush, beautiful women, from all angles! This is the fifth and, apparently, final volume in this series about a woman who makes a deal with a demon for her personal happiness, only to find that she's triggered the apocalypse...
Without a detailed story-so-far, I did have some bafflement over some of the plot-points, but it's all so over-the-top that I don't think that mattered. (Well, perhaps if I'd read the series from the beginning I'd be more attached to the characters - or maybe not...) Anyway, there are epic scenes of destruction, confrontation, near-celestial beings - indeed, some of the layouts reminded me of CLAMP works, though the art here is way more on the realistic side.
I don't know why a gigantic stone cross flies through the side of a building, but it was a very cool scene.
While most of the story is very heavy on the epic-battle/cosmic-warfare/goddess-on-Earth stuff, there are a few bits of humor - notably in a scene were Isa, son of a scientist, volunteers to be sent to the world of Raqiya in an attempt to retrieve a weapon that might save the world. He's shown full-page, slouching and brooding and hollow-eyed, volunteering for duty in words a slacker might use - and the main male character who witnesses this gets the goofy-faced-reaction-shot in the corner of the page. It... was really out of tune with the rest of the story, but I rather liked it. (Isa gets a similarly "whoa, dude!" reaction when confronting "the being that created your universe".
The story wraps up with - um, well, that'd be a spoiler, so never mind. It seemed a bit abrupt given the destruction up to this point, but it was very pretty. Ah, well - I give this one points for artwork and audacity, if not for the actual plot!
Without a detailed story-so-far, I did have some bafflement over some of the plot-points, but it's all so over-the-top that I don't think that mattered. (Well, perhaps if I'd read the series from the beginning I'd be more attached to the characters - or maybe not...) Anyway, there are epic scenes of destruction, confrontation, near-celestial beings - indeed, some of the layouts reminded me of CLAMP works, though the art here is way more on the realistic side.
I don't know why a gigantic stone cross flies through the side of a building, but it was a very cool scene.
While most of the story is very heavy on the epic-battle/cosmic-warfare/goddess-on-Earth stuff, there are a few bits of humor - notably in a scene were Isa, son of a scientist, volunteers to be sent to the world of Raqiya in an attempt to retrieve a weapon that might save the world. He's shown full-page, slouching and brooding and hollow-eyed, volunteering for duty in words a slacker might use - and the main male character who witnesses this gets the goofy-faced-reaction-shot in the corner of the page. It... was really out of tune with the rest of the story, but I rather liked it. (Isa gets a similarly "whoa, dude!" reaction when confronting "the being that created your universe".
The story wraps up with - um, well, that'd be a spoiler, so never mind. It seemed a bit abrupt given the destruction up to this point, but it was very pretty. Ah, well - I give this one points for artwork and audacity, if not for the actual plot!
I'm sending this to BCer HI77 in Florida as part of a multi-book swap. Enjoy!
*** Released for the 2019 One-Word Title release challenge. ***
*** Released for the 2019 One-Word Title release challenge. ***
Every dream has a little
of the shadow edge,
with the hope it won't consume.
of the shadow edge,
with the hope it won't consume.
