This one’s several days late, because New Years. Plus, you know, the absurd amount of comics that come out the last Wednesday of the year. (That’s a lie).

East of West #16- Image

East of West continues to please- the art is great, the story is awesome, if a bit dense and hard to follow at times. My only real complaint is that the characters aren’t super sympathetic, but then this isn’t the type of story that you want particularly sympathetic characters in. The Endless Nation has started- and finished- its conquest of the Texan Republic with ease, but Governor Bel Solomon isn’t done yet. The creepy child Horsemen of the Apocalypse continue their hunt for Death, and… well, it’s hard to explain if you aren’t reading it. (Why aren’t you?)

Great Pacific #18- Image

Great Pacific #18 is the rather abrupt conclusion to the series. It’s not a bad one, necessarily, but it does feel rushed. For those unfamiliar with the series, it follows the rich scion of a Texas oil fortune as he embezzles the entire fortune of his company and uses it to found a nation (New Texas) on the Pacific Gyre- specifically, atop the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. (The book fictionalizes it to make it sturdy enough to walk on, which isn’t possible in real life. The actual patch largely consists of tiny plastic particles suspended throughout an area between the size of Texas and twice the size of the Unites States, making a kind of plastic soup- clumps are pretty rare.) The series follows him solidifying the Garbage Patch into an actual continent and forming a new nation atop it. (Also, finding old Soviet Nukes floating around. Don’t forget the giant octopi and genetically engineered, plastic eating anglerfish, either!) The art is good, though I don’t much like the faces. They frequently seem to slide around the faces. Overall, the series is pretty good. If you get the chance to read it, I’d go for it. The ending is kind of rushed, and leaves a lot open for a potential future followup, but I have my doubts about seeing that. As for actually buying the trades- well, read it first.