Just like the last volume, I was teetering towards a 3, but then those last two issues happened. So the first half is more world building. Actually the most so far, with Hickman's famous big ass charts explaining everything. On top of that we get little more story of Death and his next move as well as what the Horseman and the leaders of the different nations will do. Then the last two issues focus on Babylon and his adventures to become a independent warrior!The first half didn't grab my attent...

I reviewed volume 1 of 'East of West' when it came out, and while I liked it at the time, I found it a bit confusing. I just finished 'East of West Volume 4: Who Wants War?' written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Nick Dragotta, and I really like the way this series has progressed. It's still strange, but I have a better idea of what's going on. Especially because there is a standalone issue that brings readers up to speed with breakdowns of the regions and infographics of the timelines to get to...

This was good to have breakdown of all the major players and kinda explain why the world is screwed up.

Bullet Review:I don't know what Hickman's doing to me, but I may actually like this one. Either that or I've been so burned by this Summer of Love Challenge/Flop that even the things I hate, I now like.Not saying it's not hella confusing, but you know, at least there's story, it's interesting, and I'm invested in the characters. Better than the book I'm working on now.

This provided a few more answers to some questions. The plot is unfolding and developing at a less confusing pace. Still really enjoying this atm

This series consistently proves itself to be great. Each volume really builds well off of the previous ones. In vol. 4 we get a lot more back story, which helps explain some connections and historic events, and we also see some events unfold that will definitely propel the series forward in a really interesting way. I love the complexity because it's so much more satisfying when things come together and you start to understand the alliances and driving forces of each character's actions. Also in...

Yet another great Image title. I look forward to each volume that comes out. Nick Dragotta has hit it out of the park. I never really liked his art until now. It's rock star quality.

Wow, business is picking up. Lines drawn, quests begun and metamorphoses abound. The road to hell seems paved with undetermined intentions and I can't wait to see where it takes us!

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR VOLUMES 1-3 AHEAD!What’s it about?As a general rule, I’m gonna mostly skip this bit in East of West reviews.Pros:The story is great as it always is in this series.The art is still extremely well done with this book being full of amazing panels!The characters are still very interesting. The action scenes are exciting.This volume is unpredictable.There’s a little bit of humor thanks to some great, more cartoony panels showing how Babylon sees the outside world.The world build...

Volume 4 has more great splash pages and moments of climactic violence which seemed to be in lesser quantity in Volume 3. The Beast now called Babylon and his faithful Balloon are free from their prison and now walk on a soul quest, eventually led by Ezra Orion's reprogramming of Balloon to help Babylon become a bringer of death. It's creepy to see how Balloon distorts his sense of reality, twisting friend and foe. But he's still a cute kid.The nations are now at war, as Hickman beats this point...

I am sure I am in the minority in saying this but the story progression is slowing down and I feel like the books are not getting better. When they have to include a timeline and character bio that is close to 10 pages, that should tell you that the story is cumbersome and bloated. I was a huge fan when East of West started but Hickman is turning more poetic and drawing the story out. The art continues to be fantastic with Dragotta continuing to create great panels. At this point I am hoping the...

Hickman and Dragotta pull the reader into their beautifully surreal and terrifying world even deeper with this volume.East of West is one of those series that is greatly enhanced by re readings of the previous volumes before starting a new one. With the added benefit of a little bit of history and background into their alternate world, volume four helps fill in some blind spots and create new questions. The mix of science fiction, alternate history, dystopian, and apocalyptic themes is genius. H...

Mao & Death get together again. Dawww. Very sweet. <--ish. Their kid takes off on an adventure with that creepy balloon, and you find out some interesting things about the program that has been taking care of him. This is plugging along at an interesting pace. And while I'm not 100% sure where this is going, I'm pretty into it.

It's more like 3.75 stars.The first half was oooookay, more world-building and continuing with the tone of volume 3, which was my least favorite. Don't get me wrong, a war between the Nation and the Republic and seeing different alliances being made is compelling to read. But, after the plot twist of the last page in volume 3? I'm all for Babylon's story.Children are not born evil, but is there hope for him? Being lied and now manipulated to become a killer? To let hatred and fear into his heart...

This graphic novel series continues to be very unusual. It is a cyberpunk western with cultural and religious conflict at its core. You could say that it takes the conflicts we see in our society today to an extreme and then puts them in a futuristic, yet late 1800s America. Like I said, unusual!Is unusual good? I think that is for the eye of the beholder. There is some very cool and interesting stuff here. But, for me, the few cool and interesting things do not make this entire volume mind shat...

Jonathan Hickman!! Y U SO GOOD?!?!?!?

While the third volume made things on track in East of West, volume 4 makes it a good read. I liked this volume. It seems that Hickman cleaned the mess from the previous issues and started with a wholly refreshing and lighter tone in the story while not sacrificing the overarching end of days plot.Volume 4 did not hesitate to build up the Babylon character without exposing his true nature. The unexpected childishness of the character made him more likeable and gave him personality, instead of ju...

Reread in April, 2016: Definitely my favorite volume so far. I highly recommend this series! I am going to be picking up Volume 5 soon, and I am quite excited for it! First read in Aug, 2015: Ah I was very pleased with this one. I was in the story the whole time, and I really enjoyef it.

When I first started reading this series I complained about this book being confusing and lacking definitive plotting and character development, at times; well, four volumes in, the characters have fleshed out and the plotting is more cohesive (despite being spread over seven nations and different timelines); the art although wonderful, might be a tad bit too minimalist for a story itself that seems so convoluted and is multi-arced, although this might be intentional. The overall story and world...

This is the first East of West volume that feels like more of a mixed bag. The previous volume set up a war between the Endless Nation and the Republic of Texas and also showed Death's son breaking free of his shackles in thrilling fashion. And then here, in the fourth volume, we get...a large amount of encyclopedia content. Which I dig, to be clear! But it does lend some choppiness to the narrative.Fortunately, in the back half of the volume, we get Babylon's story continued as well as Death an...