It feels a bit like Metabarons mixed with Lovecraft. There's a lot, I mean, a lot, of established sci-fi, new weird, and post-apocalyptic tropes in here. Enough that you won't be surprised by anything besides, perhaps, sword pregnancy.

That being said, the art is gorgeous. A sketchy style with watercolor. Its gorgeously grotesque. ( )

I requested this graphic novel from Net Galley because a few of my friends checked it out and thought it was pretty good. They were right.

I found this to be action packed fun! I liked the characters and I enjoyed the artwork quite a bit. I found that I enjoyed looking at the panels more from a distance rather than up close. Once I got a feel for the artist, I knew in which few parts I wanted to zoom in to see the details. The artwork reminded me a little bit of Impressionist paintings. It all came together best when viewed from a little ways back.

The story was a little confused. I'm not sure that's the word I'm looking for. These are some of the familiar themes that came to mind while I was reading: The Cthulhu Mythos (sort of obvious), Mad Max, Dune, (riding a behemoth squid instead of a worm), Rambo (made into a killing machine, but now idle), The Terminator (sort of), and the Borg from Star Trek (hive minds and whatnot). Despite all that, I did like the idea of The Squidder, a genetically modified soldier designed to fight against the invading legions of squid. I am interested to see where it will go from here.

Overall, I enjoyed this graphic novel and I found it to be entertaining. While not wholly original, I think it still has the potential to visit some entirely new places in the future and for this reason, I will be looking for the second in the series.

Recommended for sci-fi graphic novel fans, fans of Lovecraft and of horror in general.

I was provided a copy of this graphic novel by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This is it. ( )

Ben Templesmith's art is incredible in this volume (though it can be difficult to make out everything that is happening). The writing is less so. Great premise, but it didn't feel adequately evolved, edited for story arc, or copyedited in some cases.

Templesmith is at his best when the work doesn't take itself too seriously. Wormwood: Gentlemen Corpse is a better read for those that want to give this author a try. ( )

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was potentially an interesting concept, but the font and font color used made it impossible to continue past page 44. If the publisher would fix this, it will be a solid four stars. ( )