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5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent Sci-Fi tale, July 9, 2010
This review is from: Tribes: The Dog Years (Paperback)
If I had to describe Tribes in one phrase it would be Lord of the Flies meets Mad Max. In tribes a nanotech virus has caused the human life span to shorten to 21...fast forward 300 years later where tribes of kids have formed for survival. The story while not completely original is brilliant. Since I do not want to spoil anything for readers you will have to take my word for it. In fact the greatest downfall of the book is it's greatest strength in that it leaves you wanting more.
While the story is exceptional the art is even better. I have never heard of Inaki Miranda before Tribes (and I read a lot of comics and graphic novels) that will probably change, this artist's cinematic style will win you over immediately. Also Miranda's clean line-work and great backgrounds really pop with the coloring of Eva de la Cruz.
While Tribes is great it is not without flaws, the dialogue can be stiff at times and there are some corny bits. However overall Tribes is fantastic.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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5.0 out of 5 stars
thrilling adventure in the post-apocalypse, August 20, 2010
This review is from: Tribes: The Dog Years (Paperback)
It is said that print is dying. Well, Tribes: The Dog Years makes a strong case for its survival.
Two centuries into the future, a nano-virus has limited the human life span to 21 years. The surviving population has been reduced to disparate and oft competing tribes of hunter gatherers.
The events which brought humanity into this primal age are a hinted-at catastrophe diluted through generations of retelling, and reduced to the archaic myth-speak comprising the book's opening text: "The ancients who lived in the sky towers made the irons that blackened the sky, made the forests brown and the rivers run backwards..." It's a compelling mystery and the promise of its unlocking kept me engaged to the end.
We're introduced to young Sundog and his tribe, the Skyshadows. They inhabit the ruins of what appears to be a formerly advanced society somewhere in America's northwest. The exotic, sweeping tone of this post-apocalypse is vivid and instantly grasped in the first few pages.
You'll hear the term "widescreen" used in reference to Tribes. It becomes quickly apparent that that's not hyperbole. Tribes is bigger than your standard comic; it's horizontally oriented, which allows the action to play out in a panoramic, wide-screen aspect ratio.
But its 'widescreen' quality is not solely a result of its format; Artist Inaki Miranda's bold, clean lines sharply convey the ruined landscapes, accenting the contrast between the bucolic beauty of centuries-regrown nature and shards of a techno-industrial wreckage. It's with Colorist Eva de la Cruz's rich palette though that Miranda's lines jump off the page, achieving an almost painterly beauty. In a genre of cobbled-together costumes and junkyard vistas, it's a special thing to see such nuance and care put into creating an ambitious fantastical reality. The creative symbiosis of Miranda and de la Cruz presents a fresh and unique style that I can't wait to see applied to more projects.
The characters and plot all stay within the bounds of classic sci-fi adventure. This, to me, is a good thing as no character's subplot goes on for too long or becomes too heavy that it bogs down the fun, lean trajectory of the group's journey. If you're looking for twists or big, unforeseen revelations though, you'll be disappointed. It's a delicious puree of Goonies, Mad Max, and Lord of the Flies with a pinch of Star Wars. In the end, the stakes are raised for our protagonists and we're promised more adventures with them. I can't wait to see where they go next!
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Tribes review, August 18, 2010
This review is from: Tribes: The Dog Years (Paperback)
I don't usually review stuff here, but this is definitely worth a mention.
Just a little FYI about myself; I generally read manga (Japanese comics) which are often put in the graphic novel section. I do, however, tend to dislike anime (Japanese animation which are often based on manga)...I guess because they are a bit too slow for me compared to manga. I have started picking up western graphic novels as of late, but overall, I don't have as much exposure to them as I do with manga. Keep this in mind as you read the rest of this review.
The book is almost like an A4 size printer paper in landscape view....this is what they mean by 'widescreen' view in the description. I don't think it is actually A4 size, I'm just trying to describe what it feels like when you pick it up and look at the book. It isn't like your typical manga book size and since all the shelves I have for graphic novels are built for that size, it causes a slight problem. No worries, I just have to lay it on its side. However, this format allows the creators of Tribes to show gorgeous images that take up quite a bit of real estate. The pages are nice and don't have that rough newspaper feel to its so it is worth taking good care of. Unfortunately, you may be wiping off the smudges from the pages.
The book comes fully colored and is beautifully done. The art is different than what I'm used to (and I don't just mean the lack of 'big manga eyes') but that isn't a bad thing. It is detailed but not extremely realistic; obviously though, by looking at the art, you can tell the author could pull off a super realistic look if he chose to. Looking through the pages, you can only imagine the amount of work involved in getting the Tribes art to this point. Everything works well to bring the story together and make it convincing.
Speaking of the story, unlike some western graphic novels, it felt well thought out and flowed very well. It didn't dwell on depicting excessive violence or gratuitous sex/nudity...just for the sake of shock. I'm not saying that western graphic novels aren't thought out, but they often feel choppy or confusing. Maybe I just don't have the IQ to piece things together and make a timeline in my head (without the use of a pen and paper). Tribes, however, flowed and built up the story piece by piece. There were some situations that could've been executed a little differently to make it flow better (and sometimes, the panel arrangement was a little confusing for me...made me read the page a couple of times), but overall the background of the world and the flow of the story were well done and sucked me into the events taking place in the pages. Note that there are some things discussed that may not be suitable for the kiddies; there were also fight scenes that could be disturbing for the pure of heart (and mind?). Nothing I would give to my kid brother, but teenagers should be ok with it....assuming they are of a sound mind (or as sound as a teenager mind could be).
So, lets wrap this up....
Will I get the second volume when it is released? Hell yes.
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