vanquishingvolumes's review
3.0
I am interested to keep reading as this volume was clearly the set up for a supernatural battle that has been building for centuries with two mortal twins stuck in the center. Good set up but I think the action will happen later on.
magnetgrrl's review
3.0
I bought the first short trade paperback collection of the Crossing Midnight series because I had heard many good things about it, but it took me nearly a year to actually finish the trade - which I think is saying a lot because it's comprised of only 5 issues, and I generally read single issues of comics in under two minutes – at least the first time through, anyway. There is something incredibly... dense, and a little hard to get into about these first issues, most likely due to the difficulty of simultaneously trying to set up realistic and interesting characters, to be respectful and faithful to the Japanese setting, and to start digging into the amazingly complicated Japanese folklore world, all while beginning to tell what will hopefully turn out to be an engrossing and entertaining story. But if you can manage to sink in, I suspect Crossing Midnight will be worth it.
Mike Carey, writer of the long-running Lucifer series, has always been a little hit-or-miss for me in some aspects, but he's an ambitious writer and while sometimes certain phrases falter or details ring false, his overarching plots and concepts are grandiose and moving in a way a la Sandman or [b:Watchmen|472331|Watchmen|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175041710s/472331.jpg|4358649] that I tend to love. I look forward to reading more of Crossing Midnight. While some issues will hopefully have really good moments, and other issues or story arcs may likely fall flat, the overall series definitely has the potential to be interesting and poignant and an exciting, fantastical story.
I would love to know what those more into Japanese culture, or who have read more Manga centered around Shinto beliefs and ancient animistic Japanese folklore think of this series, especially as it goes on and the plot threads began in this first arc develop further.
Mike Carey, writer of the long-running Lucifer series, has always been a little hit-or-miss for me in some aspects, but he's an ambitious writer and while sometimes certain phrases falter or details ring false, his overarching plots and concepts are grandiose and moving in a way a la Sandman or [b:Watchmen|472331|Watchmen|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175041710s/472331.jpg|4358649] that I tend to love. I look forward to reading more of Crossing Midnight. While some issues will hopefully have really good moments, and other issues or story arcs may likely fall flat, the overall series definitely has the potential to be interesting and poignant and an exciting, fantastical story.
I would love to know what those more into Japanese culture, or who have read more Manga centered around Shinto beliefs and ancient animistic Japanese folklore think of this series, especially as it goes on and the plot threads began in this first arc develop further.
dereksilva's review
4.0
This is a review of the entire Crossing Midnight series.
I loved this series from the very first issue.
First of all, let me say that I am biased. This book dealt with the spirit world of Japanese myth and legend. I am very interested in the folk lore of other countries in general, so I was basically guaranteed to like Crossing Midnight as long as it was at least halfway decent.
With that being said, this book was definitely more than halfway decent. It was great. The characters were all interesting with their own things going on. Carey did a good job developing the characters (even in the span of just the first few issues) and they felt realistic. The secondary characters were also strong and did a great job of supporting the main characters and plot. This was also one of the (very) few western comic books I've seen with no white characters.
The story was set up well with a strong back story, but I suppose the story follows the same basic plot lines of any "hero journey": The characters are born with abilities that they have to learn to live with; they're contacted by another world, and then they're asked to journey into that world in order to save the people and world that they love. However, the plot was unique by virtue of being set in Japanese culture. I liked the way everything evolved and I think the ending was perfect. It's unfortunate that the series had poor sales because I think Carey could've done more great things if he had the chance to write more issues. The story doesn't feel very rushed, but it could have used more detail.
There is only one part of the story that I would take issue with. I don't want to spoil anything (because I really think you should read the series yourself), so let's just say one of the characters is instructed to kill another character. This happens around the middle of the second volume and it's a major plot point for the second half of the series. It definitely made things interesting, but I'm not totally clear on the motives behind the vendetta. Actually, I think that character had to die for the story to be fully realized. Mike Carey probably knew that and so he made it happen. He just didn't devote as much time as I would like to explain why the characters wanted it to happen.
Overall, I loved this series. I highly recommend it. It explores a different culture than the vast majority of American comic books and is a worthwhile based purely on that. Mike Carey wrote an afterwards for the first and second volumes, which put some of the uniquely-Japanese elements into context for the western reader (like me).
I loved this series from the very first issue.
First of all, let me say that I am biased. This book dealt with the spirit world of Japanese myth and legend. I am very interested in the folk lore of other countries in general, so I was basically guaranteed to like Crossing Midnight as long as it was at least halfway decent.
With that being said, this book was definitely more than halfway decent. It was great. The characters were all interesting with their own things going on. Carey did a good job developing the characters (even in the span of just the first few issues) and they felt realistic. The secondary characters were also strong and did a great job of supporting the main characters and plot. This was also one of the (very) few western comic books I've seen with no white characters.
The story was set up well with a strong back story, but I suppose the story follows the same basic plot lines of any "hero journey": The characters are born with abilities that they have to learn to live with; they're contacted by another world, and then they're asked to journey into that world in order to save the people and world that they love. However, the plot was unique by virtue of being set in Japanese culture. I liked the way everything evolved and I think the ending was perfect. It's unfortunate that the series had poor sales because I think Carey could've done more great things if he had the chance to write more issues. The story doesn't feel very rushed, but it could have used more detail.
There is only one part of the story that I would take issue with. I don't want to spoil anything (because I really think you should read the series yourself), so let's just say one of the characters is instructed to kill another character. This happens around the middle of the second volume and it's a major plot point for the second half of the series. It definitely made things interesting, but I'm not totally clear on the motives behind the vendetta. Actually, I think that character had to die for the story to be fully realized. Mike Carey probably knew that and so he made it happen. He just didn't devote as much time as I would like to explain why the characters wanted it to happen.
Overall, I loved this series. I highly recommend it. It explores a different culture than the vast majority of American comic books and is a worthwhile based purely on that. Mike Carey wrote an afterwards for the first and second volumes, which put some of the uniquely-Japanese elements into context for the western reader (like me).
bengriffin's review
4.0
Dark and mythic with some truely horrific moments and cliffhangers. The artwork is beautiful and Carey's writing is spot on. Definitely worth reading.
theatlantean's review
4.0
Superb. Gutted to find out that the end wasn't the end... and then excited for the next two :)
coffeeandink's review
3.0
Twins in Japan, the boy born before midnight and the girl after. The girl is promised to a kami associated with her family, and knives can't touch her; the boy appears to have mysterious associations of his own. They become entangled with a mysterious world beyond their ken.
I have no idea whether Carey's version of Japanese folklore is authentic, but it is convincing and fun and slightly horrific. The series is taking a while to get up to speed, though, possibly hampered by its focus on the cautious boy twin, Kai, who seems beyond his depth; impetuous Toshi is strangely a supporting character rather than the protagonist. Also, the obigatory Yakuza element makes me roll my eyes.
Mixed feelings about how color is used in the book, and I have the uneasy feeling the twins' family's features are getting less Asian as the series goes on.
I have no idea whether Carey's version of Japanese folklore is authentic, but it is convincing and fun and slightly horrific. The series is taking a while to get up to speed, though, possibly hampered by its focus on the cautious boy twin, Kai, who seems beyond his depth; impetuous Toshi is strangely a supporting character rather than the protagonist. Also, the obigatory Yakuza element makes me roll my eyes.
Mixed feelings about how color is used in the book, and I have the uneasy feeling the twins' family's features are getting less Asian as the series goes on.
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