Falling in Love on the Path to Hell has it all—otherworldly intrigue, gunslingers and samurai, the dead, the dying, the undead, and of course… romance.
The sun set on samurai and gunslingers at roughly the same time, but our two leads didn’t die off quietly. In the East, a samurai would rather die with her weapons than surrender them to a sword hunt. In the West, the gunslinger follows his revenge to the bitter end. The future lovers are mortally wounded a world apart and awake together in a purgatory ruled by a ruthless society of damned warriors. Asami and MacRaith will need to overcome the dead, the dying, and the undead. Can love redeem them?
Thanks to NetGalley & the publishers for this ARC!
I was really interested in the synopsis, I got to it right when I got it. I think it had potential but there’s not enough… everything. We don’t get to know the characters and I feel like the romance went from -1000 to 100 real quick. It has a really strong start but I wish we got to know the characters better… it would’ve explained many of their decisions. The artwork is truly well done and the world building was interesting but something was missing.
Weird; but not really good weird, just weird. A gunslinging Cowboy and a female Samurai are hurtled to a random purgatory like island. There they find undead, dictatorship, no escape, and love… yeah you read that right a bizarre romance based on nothing but proximity and shared ability to efficiently kill. So… weird. There’s enough blood, gore, and killing in these first five issues that (if you’re into that kind of thing) tries to hide the weak plot and sub-par characters; but that’s not enough for me. It was just lacking some real substance. I also felt the characters were too simple and standard archetypes. Rugged brash cowboy and quiet clever female are not new or unique. Making our gal a Samurai was almost interesting but didn’t add much to her except to reinforce the quiet and killer aspects of her non-existent personality. Finally this is just too slow! 5 issues and so little happens! These five issues could have been the first two for set-up before getting into an actual robust story. Sadly I think the story here is just so simple they want to stretch it out. A somewhat typical Image comic publication these days. Seems like a great idea but execution is missing something. Really too bad as the art is good enough, and the idea could be cool but it needs a lot more work and added complexity before I would bother to pick-up any further issues.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
I wanted to love this. The premise is wonderfully bizarre, a fierce female samurai (Asami) and a revenge-driven American gunslinger (MacRaith) are mortally wounded a world apart, only to wake up together in a shared purgatory ruled by damned warriors.
Unfortunately, this blend of genres and the weird plot, which centers on their path to a desperate romance, still failed to capture my attention. I could deal with a weaker plot if the characters work and have good chemistry, but sadly, Asami and MacRaith felt bland throughout this entire book, making their supposed unlikely love completely unearned. Some decent fight scenes against the rulers of this afterlife and the undead, and some funny lines, can't save this title from feeling too generic.
A little offbeat but non the less compelling. A Gunslinger and female Samurai find themselves on an island fighting their way through Hell Hordes to survive. As the title suggests...they get closer by the end of this Volume. interesting to see if it gains enough attention to last
The premise intrigues me, like drifters (the manga) meets Valhalla, with killers of n purgatory fighting monsters. Garry Brown and the art team are doing amazing work, the whole book looks great and fits the tone, especially the colors. My one big detractor is Duggan's plotting and dialog feels .... underwritten? It feels like it's missing juice, some kind of punch. I'll read another volume for the world building, but it isn't lighting me up.
"Falling in Love on the Path to Hell" is a messy, violent and ultimately unconvincing love story that is essentially a mashup of "Lost", "Gun Smoke" and "Shogun" with zombies. Expect gritty and above average artwork, a slew of beheadings and dismemberments, zombies - lots and lots of zombies, a set of protagonists who seem profoundly mismatched and the least imaginative selection of Indian names possible.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
First of all, it should be illegal to use an almost-black font on a dark-ish grey background. Whoever approved that choice needs to be arrested.
The art style, though, was genuinely gorgeous. And Asami was such a badass, easily the highlight of the whole thing. Because of those two things I really wanted to like the story.
I felt like the world and the characters needed more grounding. Some backstory was given at the start, but it still felt a bit thin. The dialogue felt underwritten. And the love story fell a bit flat.
My Selling Pitch: A cowboy and a samurai in purgatory. They might kiss.
Pre-reading: Love the moon on the cover!
(obviously potential spoilers from here on) Thick of it: For our wives is so cute!
I’m thinking it’s gonna be Buffalo Hunter Hunter-y.
Cowboys and samurais-I’m in.
How are they speaking the same language? (Supposedly they all just know English.)
How is he not out of bullets? (Book attempts an explanation. I dont think it's good enough.)
When do they have time to collect all this stuff and fight off the dead every night? Also, I didn’t need full peen. You could’ve strategically put a flower there.
It’s kinda like Minecraft where the monsters show up every night, right?
Well, that’s upsetting. I don’t need that drawn.
Dear god, there is so much rape in this. I thought it was an author insert, and now I’m like I really hope this isn’t an author insert! (Like reluctant soldier with an artist’s heart meets a lady soldier.)
How do you get compatible ammunition? Don’t guns take all different kinds?
Exfluncticated
Patel is like the most common Indian name. Are you kidding?
I understand why he likes her. I have no idea why she likes him. (And then the book tries to be like because he doesn't shoot animals! And Sam’s like so she feels like she should reward him with her body? Sus. Male author sus.)
That’s it??? A good start but that’s hard to stand on its own.
Post-reading: This is fun setup for a story, although I have qualms. I think they’re aiming for feminist, but it’s coming off a little manic, pixie dream girl. There’s a whiff of fetishization of the exotic. There’s quite a bit of rape in the book, and it’s explicit. I don’t love that. I think the book is pretty clear that it’s never sexy, but it’s still pretty upsetting to stumble into in a book that pitches itself as a romance.
I have a hard time buying a romance that has no banter. It’s a bit insta lovey and not particularly romantic yet.
Still, I’m interested to see where the plot goes. I’d try another volume. I don’t think this has a satisfying enough story arc to stand on its own. It’s very pilot episode. The art is good, but nothing I’ll be thinking about after I put it down.
I’d have to read another volume before I recommend this, and while I wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading it, I would caution them about the explicit rape.
Who should read this: Western fans
Ideal reading time: Anytime Pirates of the Caribbean fans
Do I want to reread this: Maybe? I might continue and refresh myself.
Would I buy this: No, but ask me again when the series finishes.
Similar books: * Hotblood! by Toril Orlesky-historical, urban fantasy, western graphic novel, queer romance * The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones-historical, Dracula retelling, gothic horror, revenge thriller * The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim-myth retelling, urban fantasy, mystery, romance, enemies to lovers * Damsel from D.I.S.T.R.E.S.S. by Andrew Clemson-YA fantasy romance graphic novel, family drama * The Pale Knight by Peter Milligan-historical, graphic novel
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A male gunslinger and a female samurai are killed on opposite sides of the world, then both wash up on the shore of a mysterious island alongside a heap of other corpses. Except they're still alive and the island is filled with monsters.
Is this Lost? Basically yes, but it somehow makes even less sense than that TV show. We never really learn who our two main characters are or what's up with the island and its inhabitants. Then the last issue sees the gunslinger die and go somewhere even weirder for a brief time.
It's nonsense, essentially, and not even pretty nonsense with Garry Brown's rough-hewn art. Maybe it would make sense with a few more volumes on hand, but this intro volume is certainly not enough to grab my interest.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and Image Comics and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
I wanted to like this story, but it just wasn't for me. The art is beautiful, and I feel like the story has promise, but I didn't personally feel like it made for a great comic/Manga.
There was a lot of backstory, which was explained in blocks of text throughout the pages. However, I still feel like a lot was missing and there was more to cover, while at the same time, there was so much backstory covered that we didn't get a lot of time to see the actual character development and everything felt rushed.
I think this would do better as a novel, where the author has time to flush out everything. I am not sure if this is an original idea or based on a story or not, as I didn't do much research, but either way, I think it struggled as a Manga.
I think it has a chance to level out in later issues, as the story builds, but this first one definitely isn't hitting right.
For something I picked up completely on a whim this turned out to be an interesting, unique read for me. A good introduction to a story about a sort of purgatory world, and of an unexpected romance blossoming out of the middle of he nightmare our two leads find themselves in. Granted, we are only getting the merest glimpse of both of those things in this initial volume, but there's enough here to have me honestly pumped for more. Asami and MacRaith hold lots of potential for some great character development and there's a bit of a twist in issue 4 that sets up what I assume will be the first proper arc of the story. I may have to find a comic shop and start grabbing this in single issues because the wait till December for volume 2 is a wee bit too far in the future.
Two people from completely different worlds, one a cowboy and the other a samurai, end up in Purgatory. Sounds like the beginning of a joke, right? They must band together to fight actual undead and find a way to play nice in order to survive. Really enjoyed the artwork and the current story arc. I’m hoping the next volume fleshes out some questions that arose during the reading.
The most creative graphic novel I've read in a long time, the contrasting visuals of warriors from throughout history come together beautifully in this Valhalla purgatory romance between two unlikely people, can't wait to read more volumes to get more development in the loves and characters
The art for the comic was gorgeous and so well done. was probably the prettiest depiction of Hell/ Purgatory that I have ever seen.
Parts of the comic were gory; a main element of the story was murder. If you are sensitive, you might want to skip this one. There was one part that I wasn’t expecting that caused me to deduct a star but I enjoyed reading it. This book does end with a cliffhanger but I’m sure part 2 will be just as good.
Thank you Netgalley for approving me for this arc.
Garry Brown’s pencils and Chris O’Halloran’s colors are quite phenomenal in this. I mean, absolutely up my alley and something I crave. The “skiddish lines” and decisive coloring, I mean wow.
Macraith is a cool character and nothing we haven’t seen before, but, Dugan writes him well and funny enough. I wish Asami spoke more than just the last few pages but she’s a badass. Their relationship and how it unfolds is what’ll keep me reading.
As for the worldbuilding, story, and intrigue…Dugan gives you JUST enough. He could’ve given you a bit more, but, then again, this first volume is only four issues so I’ll cut him some slack. But I wish there was a tiny bit more meat he left for us to chew on, because the worldbuilding to me falls a little short.
The action is great fun. Again, I’m just curious to see Macraith’s and Asami’s relationship/dynamic unfold.
3.5 This certainly hooked me for now. I don't know what I was expecting but all the grisly western drama and female Shogun realness have me looking forward to this traipse into hell as long as it ends in love!
Interesting! The ending to vol. 1 ends on a bit of a cliff hanger, hope to continue on when vol. 2 is released. Like the art, like the concept, and like how gritty it's been so far.
Trigger warnings for: Gore, violence, attempted sexual assault
This is a slow burn, both in the romance as well as the plot. Two characters, both killers, neither of them truly terrible people nor truly good find themselves in a hellish purgatory where they are isolated from the other people there. Ogata Asami seems to be the only woman (there may have been others, but if so they didn’t stand out to me), and deliberately isolates herself from the men. She builds a shelter where she can feel safe and protected just in case.
MacRaith is tired of violence and fighting. He’d rather study this new world, relax and find peace, but the leader of the fallen warriors — Mohan — may allow Asami her privacy, because ruling a collection of men trained for battle and killing might cause scenes if allowed to come into contact with a woman; he will not, however, allow MacRaith to sidestep his duties to kill the undead, or his duty to bow to Mohan’s will.
It’s a conflict of ideologies, as well as showing how long conflict can warp someone, altering their view of what is and is not acceptable. And MacRaith, by choosing his own path, might give other men the idea that they don’t have to obey, don’t have to mindlessly follow Mohan. More plot and mysteries and hits of even more afterlives and choices are dangled before the reader … just in time for a cliffhanger.
Thank you so much to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.
With a title like Falling in Love on the Path to Hell, you already know that you’re getting something wild, loud, and pulpy. Gerry Duggan and Garry Brown deliver exactly that. A mashup of gunslingers, samurai, undead soldiers, and doomed romance. Blood sprays beautifully, swords clash with revolvers, and logic politely takes a back seat.
The premise is fun. A Japanese samurai and an American gunslinger die on opposite sides of the world and wake up together in a violent afterlife full of damned warriors. They fight, they flirt, and occasionally remember they’re supposed to be in love. The art by Brown is gritty, kinetic, and elegant. His purgatory looks surreal, and Chris O’Halloran’s colors keep the chaos alive.
The story itself, though, is less impressive. It’s fun but thin. I would say it coasts on energy rather than depth. Asami and MacRaith never quite spark; their "hell-born romance" feels more like a plot requirement than genuine chemistry. The pacing sometimes stumbles, and while the action never stops, it rarely surprises.
Still, it’s hard to stay mad at a comic this committed to its own ridiculousness. It’s stylish, fast, and proudly over the top. In short, it's a pulpy, violent romp that looks great and moves fast, even if the brains and heart are mostly left behind on the battlefield.
this is truly the week of me falling for pretty covers.
in the first volume of falling in love on the path to hell, a samurai and a gunslinger are mortally wounded and awake in a strange purgatory where they are forced to work together to survive.
this is an intriguing concept that never lives up to its potential. the authors seem more interested in gore and violence than in giving us any reason to root for macraith or asami, so their budding romance comes out of nowhere with no real explanation as to when or why feelings developed between them. the artwork is the highlight here, as it’s quite lovely when it isn’t just graphic violence.
i received an ARC from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Years ago I saw a Tumblr post pointing out that due to historical overlap Abe Lincoln could have gotten a fax from a Samurai or cowboy. This is the logical conclusion of that overlap.
A little hard to follow at times, but very engaging, with beautiful art!
Well researched, with interesting history tidbits sprinkled in (though a preacher misused sojourn on the very first page).
I'm not generally a fan of zombies, but I like this better than the sum of its parts.
There's some tropes for sure (of course I speak English! I just haven't done it yet), but it's a good time. Very R-rated.
Not sure if I'll pick up the next.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.