"All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened
and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you
and afterwards it all belongs to you; the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse,
and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was."
Ernest Hemingway

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Geis: A Matter of Life and Death

Nobrow
Geis:  A Matter of Life and Death
Alexis Deacon
2016

The Summary
"The chief matriarch is dying.  Drawing her last breath, she declares a contest:  let fate decide the one worthy to rule.  Fifty souls are summoned in the night; fifty souls bound to the same fate.  But this is no ordinary trial...

"And so begins the first task."

The Good
Honestly, I was unexpectedly fascinated by Geis.  It's a book that I did, but somehow didn't, like.  That probably sounds strange, but Geis is a graphic novel that's difficult to explain.  It's rich with imagination, but terrifyingly dark, hinted with macabre undertones that make you shiver and make you think.

It's a startling combination of adventure and horror and supernatural elements, fabricating a dark and fascinating world that's rich, but stark in its shadows.  I was reluctantly intrigued by Geis.  I almost didn't want to read it, but, at the same time, I ended up devouring it in a matter of hours.  It's so morbid that you almost can't help following along with the story.

Overall, it's a fine comic.  It had an interesting story, a well-developed world, and a fascinating cast of characters that caught my attention.  Although I'm still not sure how I feel about Alexis Deacon's book, I will probably read the second volume when it arrives on the scene.  I could use some closure--I feel I'm invested now.

The Bad
I can't quite put my finger on it, but something didn't quite catch me with Geis.  It left me with a lot of conflicting emotions, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it.  I wasn't overcome with joy when reading it, yet I didn't find it horrible or distasteful; rather, I liked it.  I liked it even if I didn't care to like it.

It's a muddle.

The Ugly
The premise of this book is a competition.  Fifty individuals are summoned to the castle of the chief matriarch to witness her death and receive her decree on who shall succeed her; however, a dark enchantress is added to the mix....and she has other plans in mind.  The chief matriarch creates a trial:  whosoever succeeds in the competition shall be crowned the new ruler.

And everyone else dies.

Seriously.  That's how it goes.

Only one person will survive the trial, which means everyone else will meet horrible, gruesome deaths--and, somehow, the enchantress will triumph over all.  I won't say anything more for fear of ruining the story; however, I will note that I was surprised by the dark turns that Geis seemed to make.  It's almost difficult to read in that regard, because I don't foresee the series ending very well.

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