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Dark Engine #1-4
Dark Engine Volume 1: The Art of Destruction
“If you're a fan of Conan and Red Sonja and wish they'd appear in a Lovecraftian tale, this is probably the book for you.” -- Kirkus
The world is cracked and in ruin. The air is full of dead men's ashes, fallen colossi smother the earth with their decayed husks, and infectious monsters roam freely. In their desperation, a group of alchemists have created a killer named Sym from obscene magic, outfitting her with an engine that will allow her to travel back in time to stop whatever it was that made their world so. But the alchemists don't realize that the engine is sentient, that their unstoppable killer is powered by the seed of their destruction.
Newcomers Ryan Burton and John Bivens present the opening arc to what industry veteran JH Williams III ( Overture , Batwoman , Promethea ) describes as "an otherworldly horrific poetic movement that is immediately immersive."
Collects Dark Engine #1-4.
The world is cracked and in ruin. The air is full of dead men's ashes, fallen colossi smother the earth with their decayed husks, and infectious monsters roam freely. In their desperation, a group of alchemists have created a killer named Sym from obscene magic, outfitting her with an engine that will allow her to travel back in time to stop whatever it was that made their world so. But the alchemists don't realize that the engine is sentient, that their unstoppable killer is powered by the seed of their destruction.
Newcomers Ryan Burton and John Bivens present the opening arc to what industry veteran JH Williams III ( Overture , Batwoman , Promethea ) describes as "an otherworldly horrific poetic movement that is immediately immersive."
Collects Dark Engine #1-4.
112 pages, Paperback
First published December 30, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
March 30, 2015
A group of alchemists created a killer named Sym from magic and outfitted her with a engine that allowed her to travel back in time to stop whatever made the world a ruin and full of infectious monsters that roam freely.
Well...eh let see, the graphic novel was a bit...strange, and sometimes confusing, but also slightly fascinating. But in the end; neither the art nor the story appealed that much to me.
2 stars
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!
Review also posted on And Now for Something Completely Different and It's a Mad Mad World
Well...eh let see, the graphic novel was a bit...strange, and sometimes confusing, but also slightly fascinating. But in the end; neither the art nor the story appealed that much to me.
2 stars
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!
Review also posted on And Now for Something Completely Different and It's a Mad Mad World
September 23, 2015
Bullet Review:
Holy everlasting crap, what the f$&@ was that?! Random naked woman runs around a barely discernible landscape trailing red...because of alchemists talking gibberish? Am I reading Volume 15 in a long series?!
Holy everlasting crap, what the f$&@ was that?! Random naked woman runs around a barely discernible landscape trailing red...because of alchemists talking gibberish? Am I reading Volume 15 in a long series?!
January 7, 2015
*NetGalley book review*
Holy crap! This book was awesome. Excellent art work. I was totally reading more from the illustrations than the actual written word. A great story and I hope to find the next book in the series.
Holy crap! This book was awesome. Excellent art work. I was totally reading more from the illustrations than the actual written word. A great story and I hope to find the next book in the series.
February 12, 2020
Interesting art, messy story...
January 16, 2015
Dark Engine (Vol. 1) The Art of Destruction is inventive and imaginative but at times has difficulty connecting to the reader. Its dis-jointed storyline leaves it troublesome to follow.
In a world decaying around them, a group of alchemists create a killer named Sym from dark magic to travel through time until she can find and kill whatever it is that made their world become what it has become. But the power within Sym, the dark engine, has instead become enamored with its power to kill.
The artwork is reminiscent of the early Marvel UK line, which gave us Death's Head so you cannot hate it too much, but the lack of a cohesive storyline dooms this graphic novel. Had I thought to purchase these comics individually, I really don't think I would have both the second issue. Which only means that it will become a critic's favorite and popular with the esoteric comic book crowd.
But for us old mainstays of the comic book crowd, Dark Engine is a miss.
In a world decaying around them, a group of alchemists create a killer named Sym from dark magic to travel through time until she can find and kill whatever it is that made their world become what it has become. But the power within Sym, the dark engine, has instead become enamored with its power to kill.
The artwork is reminiscent of the early Marvel UK line, which gave us Death's Head so you cannot hate it too much, but the lack of a cohesive storyline dooms this graphic novel. Had I thought to purchase these comics individually, I really don't think I would have both the second issue. Which only means that it will become a critic's favorite and popular with the esoteric comic book crowd.
But for us old mainstays of the comic book crowd, Dark Engine is a miss.
January 24, 2021
Confusing. I never really got a clear understanding of what was going on. It was egregiously violent. The artwork was sometimes hard to understand as well. It's never a good thing for me when I have to stare at a picture for several minutes to just figure out what was being drawn there. I don't know if there is a second volume, but I don't think I would read it if there were.
March 13, 2015
Human-bodied weapon sent back in time to kill someone. Ok. I liked the Terminator films (all of them, unapologetically). I’ll give this a try.
Sym is a ridiculously good killer, a construct that results in a barbarian sort who doesn’t even have the survival instinct to steal armor, but who obliterates her foes. This isn’t new to comics, and despite feeling silly when described, if you’ve ever read something like “Weapon X” you’re familiar with the trope. What makes it unique is the setup/backstory, and Sym’s alchemical construct, and her biological sex. The background is in the description so read that there. Her construct is alchemical, so Sym seemed to have transformative effects on material around her due to the engine – like turning stuff around her into a crystal, or being able to pop out of animals – but it wasn’t clear how she was doing so, especially when she was popping out of animals, which made no sense. I attribute that ability to the engine, but it wasn’t clear to me.
The cover implies a female-centric story, and it is … kinda. Sym is a construct of men sent to carry out their plan, which is to kill a bad guy. She has no real personality, and doesn’t even speak until (I think) almost the fourth chapter. Please note, she taught herself to talk, since she was initially just meant to purely be a killing machine, so this does show some degree of growth for her, with another potential moment being when she has another character spending time with her and she doesn’t kill him, despite that supposedly “everything she sees will die” until she reaches her target. I know it’s just the first volume, so maybe Sym gets more interesting later.
I find it curious that there is the quandary with several characters: Is Sym a woman or not. Sym is by most people's standards a killing machine or construct, not a woman, despite the body. In the beginning issue where she’s surviving in some sort of jungle Sym is “her’ and “she” but once she starts killing men male characters – particularly those she encounters in a limited capacity such a in battle -- begin referring to her as a “demon,” “devil” or they’ll fiercely asserted that she may be anything but she’s “not a woman.” I guess women can't be brutal? Maybe they lose their gender when they become murderers.
We see one other fierce female towards the end of the book. When a male character finds Sym and refers to her as a “devil,” the female character replies “No, that is a woman or I am a fool.” It was a humanizing moment that came after a long period of assertions that Sym is not a woman … and which happens right before . *sigh* I can’t tell if this is something that’s going to be explored by the authors or not. I hope so, because Sym is pretty boring as a person – if she is one, har har. I’ve thought about continuing this series to see how Sym is portrayed, but I just don’t see enough of her that is interesting to care. She still feels like a Terminator, which if she is that’s fine, but the characters around a Terminator need to be interesting if I’m going to care about what happens. And right now there’s no really developed people around her, and she isn’t developed as a person.
Trigger warning, while we're speaking of side characters: My main dislike for this book is because of a morning-after-rape scene. The night before a pygmy drugged Jin which he finds out the morning after he awakes next to a man he'd told he would never have sex with again. Jin was "insatiable" due to being drugged, the other man gloats, standing there naked while Jin hides himself under covers. Ugh. Yet conversation churns onward. Ugh Ugh. It felt like the rape was used as a cheap way to get the men to talk. UGH. This is clumsy and I have no desire to read or recommend books with such a pathetic way to set up exposition.
*disclaimer* I was reading this book on Adobe Digital Editions, which is a special sort of torture, so I probably lost the flow due to random lags and hops in its navigation. So keep that in mind with my review. This was a free download from NetGalley. I received no compensation and the opinions are my own.
Sym is a ridiculously good killer, a construct that results in a barbarian sort who doesn’t even have the survival instinct to steal armor, but who obliterates her foes. This isn’t new to comics, and despite feeling silly when described, if you’ve ever read something like “Weapon X” you’re familiar with the trope. What makes it unique is the setup/backstory, and Sym’s alchemical construct, and her biological sex. The background is in the description so read that there. Her construct is alchemical, so Sym seemed to have transformative effects on material around her due to the engine – like turning stuff around her into a crystal, or being able to pop out of animals – but it wasn’t clear how she was doing so, especially when she was popping out of animals, which made no sense. I attribute that ability to the engine, but it wasn’t clear to me.
The cover implies a female-centric story, and it is … kinda. Sym is a construct of men sent to carry out their plan, which is to kill a bad guy. She has no real personality, and doesn’t even speak until (I think) almost the fourth chapter. Please note, she taught herself to talk, since she was initially just meant to purely be a killing machine, so this does show some degree of growth for her, with another potential moment being when she has another character spending time with her and she doesn’t kill him, despite that supposedly “everything she sees will die” until she reaches her target. I know it’s just the first volume, so maybe Sym gets more interesting later.
I find it curious that there is the quandary with several characters: Is Sym a woman or not. Sym is by most people's standards a killing machine or construct, not a woman, despite the body. In the beginning issue where she’s surviving in some sort of jungle Sym is “her’ and “she” but once she starts killing men male characters – particularly those she encounters in a limited capacity such a in battle -- begin referring to her as a “demon,” “devil” or they’ll fiercely asserted that she may be anything but she’s “not a woman.” I guess women can't be brutal? Maybe they lose their gender when they become murderers.
We see one other fierce female towards the end of the book. When a male character finds Sym and refers to her as a “devil,” the female character replies “No, that is a woman or I am a fool.” It was a humanizing moment that came after a long period of assertions that Sym is not a woman … and which happens right before . *sigh* I can’t tell if this is something that’s going to be explored by the authors or not. I hope so, because Sym is pretty boring as a person – if she is one, har har. I’ve thought about continuing this series to see how Sym is portrayed, but I just don’t see enough of her that is interesting to care. She still feels like a Terminator, which if she is that’s fine, but the characters around a Terminator need to be interesting if I’m going to care about what happens. And right now there’s no really developed people around her, and she isn’t developed as a person.
Trigger warning, while we're speaking of side characters: My main dislike for this book is because of a morning-after-rape scene. The night before a pygmy drugged Jin which he finds out the morning after he awakes next to a man he'd told he would never have sex with again. Jin was "insatiable" due to being drugged, the other man gloats, standing there naked while Jin hides himself under covers. Ugh. Yet conversation churns onward. Ugh Ugh. It felt like the rape was used as a cheap way to get the men to talk. UGH. This is clumsy and I have no desire to read or recommend books with such a pathetic way to set up exposition.
*disclaimer* I was reading this book on Adobe Digital Editions, which is a special sort of torture, so I probably lost the flow due to random lags and hops in its navigation. So keep that in mind with my review. This was a free download from NetGalley. I received no compensation and the opinions are my own.
May 16, 2016
The blur of this sounded really interesting:
"The world is cracked and in ruin. The air is full of dead men's ashes, fallen colossi smother the earth with their decayed husks, and infectious monsters roam freely. In their desperation, a group of alchemists have created a killer named Sym from obscene magic, outfitting her with an engine that will allow her to travel back in time to stop whatever it was that made their world so. But the alchemists don't realize that the engine is sentient, that their unstoppable killer is powered by the seed of their destruction. "
However I was barely able to get through it. I somehow thought the protagonist was Sym the female warrior but she is barely in the comic. When she is she's mostly silent and the action was confusing to follow. The plot itself was hard to follow. The art was really good but I had no idea what was going on 90% of the time. I'm tired of these comics where the ideas and the art are great but the execution is sloppy and not cohesive. Argh.
"The world is cracked and in ruin. The air is full of dead men's ashes, fallen colossi smother the earth with their decayed husks, and infectious monsters roam freely. In their desperation, a group of alchemists have created a killer named Sym from obscene magic, outfitting her with an engine that will allow her to travel back in time to stop whatever it was that made their world so. But the alchemists don't realize that the engine is sentient, that their unstoppable killer is powered by the seed of their destruction. "
However I was barely able to get through it. I somehow thought the protagonist was Sym the female warrior but she is barely in the comic. When she is she's mostly silent and the action was confusing to follow. The plot itself was hard to follow. The art was really good but I had no idea what was going on 90% of the time. I'm tired of these comics where the ideas and the art are great but the execution is sloppy and not cohesive. Argh.
January 6, 2015
The story is pretty damn messy and hard to follow but I think I got most of the plot. The art was pretty great so if volume 2 falls into my lap I'll read it.
May 20, 2016
Interesting premise, but too messy to follow.
November 4, 2018
Ugly, disjointed non-sense with a completely predictable "twist".
January 29, 2015
Dark Engine Volume 1: The Art of Destruction
By: Ryan Burton and John Bivens
Genre(s): Comics, Graphic Novel, Dark Engine, Time Travel
Publisher: Image Comics
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this Graphic novel however no half naked skull helmet wearing woman held a bone sword to my throat to write this review.
Description: The world is cracked and in ruin. The air is full of dead men's ashes, fallen colossi smother the earth with their decayed husks, and infectious monsters roam freely. In their desperation, a group of alchemists have created a killer named Sym from obscene magic, outfitting her with an engine that will allow her to travel back in time to stop whatever it was that made their world so. But the alchemists don't realize that the engine is sentient, that their unstoppable killer is powered by the seed of their destruction. Newcomers Ryan Burton and John Bivens present the opening arc to what industry veteran JH Williams III (Sandman: Overture, Batwoman, Promethea) describes as "an otherworldly horrific poetic movement that is immediately immersive." Collects Dark Engine #1-4.
I don’t have many good things to say about this collection. Normally I don’t have a huge problem with comics that throw you right into the water and force you to learn how to swim with them. With Dark Engine, not only was I thrown into the water but there was a gore covered hand pushing my head under, rather than letting me get to the shore.
This story is odd, I sort of got what they were trying to do, but the story quickly got lost in busy panels, writing that made way too many assumptions and a general discordant execution that combined for a product that was difficult to read and even harder to finish. Overwhelming is a word that comes to mind. I understand graphic novels that are “high concept” and this is not one of those. It might have started out that way but it quickly denigrated into a combination of biological gore porn, naked people fornicating or fighting and blood lots and lots of blood. Nothing seemed to make sense and the few coherent parts this Graphic Novel had were so buried in a pile of entrails that even they made little sense.
Each frame of this graphic novel seemed like they were trying to shove ten pounds of gore into a five pound bag. The scenes where the dragon as actually inside the giant corpse were drawn as they should have been but it seemed like no matter what was happening there was too much art per frame. Visually things went from busy to busy and rarely showed any unused space. I’m all for getting my monies worth when it comes to art content in a Graphic Novel, but the parts of the art that were good were lost in a fleshy tumor of overdone.
I don’t see the appeal of this story or this style and I’m surprised this series has gotten this far. There is some substance buried deep in the bowels of all of the bio-gore presented in this collection, but it was buried too deep for me to find and not compelling enough for me to really care to look again. There will be plenty of people who will enjoy this, I just happen to be one of the ones who didn’t. Maybe the next volume will illuminate things for, or maybe not…
Note: This review was first posted at www.popcults.com
By: Ryan Burton and John Bivens
Genre(s): Comics, Graphic Novel, Dark Engine, Time Travel
Publisher: Image Comics
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this Graphic novel however no half naked skull helmet wearing woman held a bone sword to my throat to write this review.
Description: The world is cracked and in ruin. The air is full of dead men's ashes, fallen colossi smother the earth with their decayed husks, and infectious monsters roam freely. In their desperation, a group of alchemists have created a killer named Sym from obscene magic, outfitting her with an engine that will allow her to travel back in time to stop whatever it was that made their world so. But the alchemists don't realize that the engine is sentient, that their unstoppable killer is powered by the seed of their destruction. Newcomers Ryan Burton and John Bivens present the opening arc to what industry veteran JH Williams III (Sandman: Overture, Batwoman, Promethea) describes as "an otherworldly horrific poetic movement that is immediately immersive." Collects Dark Engine #1-4.
I don’t have many good things to say about this collection. Normally I don’t have a huge problem with comics that throw you right into the water and force you to learn how to swim with them. With Dark Engine, not only was I thrown into the water but there was a gore covered hand pushing my head under, rather than letting me get to the shore.
This story is odd, I sort of got what they were trying to do, but the story quickly got lost in busy panels, writing that made way too many assumptions and a general discordant execution that combined for a product that was difficult to read and even harder to finish. Overwhelming is a word that comes to mind. I understand graphic novels that are “high concept” and this is not one of those. It might have started out that way but it quickly denigrated into a combination of biological gore porn, naked people fornicating or fighting and blood lots and lots of blood. Nothing seemed to make sense and the few coherent parts this Graphic Novel had were so buried in a pile of entrails that even they made little sense.
Each frame of this graphic novel seemed like they were trying to shove ten pounds of gore into a five pound bag. The scenes where the dragon as actually inside the giant corpse were drawn as they should have been but it seemed like no matter what was happening there was too much art per frame. Visually things went from busy to busy and rarely showed any unused space. I’m all for getting my monies worth when it comes to art content in a Graphic Novel, but the parts of the art that were good were lost in a fleshy tumor of overdone.
I don’t see the appeal of this story or this style and I’m surprised this series has gotten this far. There is some substance buried deep in the bowels of all of the bio-gore presented in this collection, but it was buried too deep for me to find and not compelling enough for me to really care to look again. There will be plenty of people who will enjoy this, I just happen to be one of the ones who didn’t. Maybe the next volume will illuminate things for, or maybe not…
Note: This review was first posted at www.popcults.com
December 11, 2015
Experimental comics can be a challenge. They defy convention; is it arrogance or persistence? They purposely disorient; is it strategy or incompetence? They wound you.
DARK ENGINE is a book whose extravagant artwork is hampered by very clumsy storytelling. In fact, the narrative is so clumsy, one wonders how much drafting ever really took place. The writer withholds information from the readers but provides no clear, obvious, or evident reason for doing so. It's a bummer because DARK ENGINE may very well house a world that is rich with fantastical terror, but we'll never know simply because the writer never tells us.
Further, since the central narrative is split between (1) an unkillable warrior woman, (2) homosexual alchemists, and (3) a man-turned-dragon in search of power, there is no sense that any one of these is more important than the other -- again, no guidance from the authors. As a result of this indifference, none of these stories feel particularly important at any given time; this in spite of the fact that they are all inextricably (and inexplicably) intertwined.
What would make DARK ENGINE a better comic? Actually showing the origin of Sym, the warrior woman. Actually detailing the specific purpose of her creation and what she's meant to destroy. Actually showing readers where the setting is and why it matters. Providing additional interior dialogue, because one page from one character is not enough. And clarifying whether there is a reason everyone is so afraid of doing the right thing.
DARK ENGINE is a book whose extravagant artwork is hampered by very clumsy storytelling. In fact, the narrative is so clumsy, one wonders how much drafting ever really took place. The writer withholds information from the readers but provides no clear, obvious, or evident reason for doing so. It's a bummer because DARK ENGINE may very well house a world that is rich with fantastical terror, but we'll never know simply because the writer never tells us.
Further, since the central narrative is split between (1) an unkillable warrior woman, (2) homosexual alchemists, and (3) a man-turned-dragon in search of power, there is no sense that any one of these is more important than the other -- again, no guidance from the authors. As a result of this indifference, none of these stories feel particularly important at any given time; this in spite of the fact that they are all inextricably (and inexplicably) intertwined.
What would make DARK ENGINE a better comic? Actually showing the origin of Sym, the warrior woman. Actually detailing the specific purpose of her creation and what she's meant to destroy. Actually showing readers where the setting is and why it matters. Providing additional interior dialogue, because one page from one character is not enough. And clarifying whether there is a reason everyone is so afraid of doing the right thing.
January 18, 2015
'Dark Engine Volume 1: The Art of Destruction' is one of those stories that dumps you right in the middle and lets you sort things out. I'm still not completely certain I sorted everything out by the end of volume 1.
A time travelling killer named Sym has been created out of dark magic and sent back in time to correct errors made to the world. She is violent, not very talkative, and also not afraid to fight with her clothes off and take and use trophies of her kills as armor and weapons. That all sounds pretty cool, but it's kind of a mess to understand that. The visual clues are all there, but it's lacking some cohesion and coherency. I don't mind Syn's lack of dialogue, and the stuff we learn towards the end is fine to keep until the end, but a bit more exposition from the future folks would have made it a little better.
This is only the first 4 issues of the series, so maybe it will even out and make sense as it goes. I liked the art sometimes, but not all the way through the book. It's got an ugly style that I don't mind. The story is dark and strange and I think I'd like it if I had more notion of what was actually going on. If I get a stab at Volume 2, I'll see if it makes more sense.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Image Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this strange graphic novel.
A time travelling killer named Sym has been created out of dark magic and sent back in time to correct errors made to the world. She is violent, not very talkative, and also not afraid to fight with her clothes off and take and use trophies of her kills as armor and weapons. That all sounds pretty cool, but it's kind of a mess to understand that. The visual clues are all there, but it's lacking some cohesion and coherency. I don't mind Syn's lack of dialogue, and the stuff we learn towards the end is fine to keep until the end, but a bit more exposition from the future folks would have made it a little better.
This is only the first 4 issues of the series, so maybe it will even out and make sense as it goes. I liked the art sometimes, but not all the way through the book. It's got an ugly style that I don't mind. The story is dark and strange and I think I'd like it if I had more notion of what was actually going on. If I get a stab at Volume 2, I'll see if it makes more sense.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Image Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this strange graphic novel.
September 15, 2015
The premise had me hooked and while I can't say it fully delivered, I'm looking forward to the second volume, not least because I'd like to see some of the slightly scattergun sub-plots here be given a fair hearing. It's both ambitious and slapdash: clearly the work of a couple of fanboys made good mixing in their favourite pop culture ingredients into the broth - Conan! Cthulhu! - and hoping to get away with it. And they do, for the most part.
While some of the character motivations remain unclear, the central thrust of it is simple as they come - a superpowered Frankenstein's monster of a woman is sent out to reclaim the world for humans after the planet is overrun by monsters. As 'Sym' rampages forward in what are both the most brutal and visually dazzling scenes in the book - John Bivens' rendering of the natural world is exquisite - other characters debate whether or not their hopes in her are misplaced, while others still are unfortunate enough to encounter the agile killing machine head-on.
A fascinating exercise in world-building with some great potential. Remains a tad rushed in the way it executes its storytelling, so here's hoping that the already-announced second volume will feel less pressured to jump-cut to another scene every two pages.
While some of the character motivations remain unclear, the central thrust of it is simple as they come - a superpowered Frankenstein's monster of a woman is sent out to reclaim the world for humans after the planet is overrun by monsters. As 'Sym' rampages forward in what are both the most brutal and visually dazzling scenes in the book - John Bivens' rendering of the natural world is exquisite - other characters debate whether or not their hopes in her are misplaced, while others still are unfortunate enough to encounter the agile killing machine head-on.
A fascinating exercise in world-building with some great potential. Remains a tad rushed in the way it executes its storytelling, so here's hoping that the already-announced second volume will feel less pressured to jump-cut to another scene every two pages.
February 28, 2015
The bit from the publisher is pretty much all the story you need for this one. Reading the panels doesn’t really divulge much more in the way of plot. In many instances, the artwork told a better tale than the writing within and the writing seemed a bit distracting. Reading this comic I couldn’t help thinking it reminded me of something I read a long time ago. When I came across another review that likened it to the tales within Heavy Metal, it clicked (I guess it’s been too long since I picked up an issue).
That being said, if you are a fan of the truly bizarre with a whole lot of blood and gore, not to mention random jumps in time with an ass-kicking half naked female warrior that just won’t die, this is the tale for you!
Truly compelling artwork within. I’m not really sold on the storyline and the jury is still out if I will pick up Volume 2 but that is a decision for another day…
That being said, if you are a fan of the truly bizarre with a whole lot of blood and gore, not to mention random jumps in time with an ass-kicking half naked female warrior that just won’t die, this is the tale for you!
Truly compelling artwork within. I’m not really sold on the storyline and the jury is still out if I will pick up Volume 2 but that is a decision for another day…
April 21, 2016
Every so often I experience a piece of art (music, movie, book, etc) and after I'm left with my face scrunched up wondering if I liked it or not. Not frequently, mind. Usually I've got a pretty firm grasp on what I do and do not enjoy. Just every once in a while ...
Which is exactly what happened when I read Dark Engine Volume 1: The Art of Destruction.
I mean, the concept was interesting, once you could piece it together enough to know just what was going on. But before I did I kept wondering if I'd missed pages. As for the art ... well it wasn't really my style. So, like another reviewer said, I'd probably read volume two if it dropped into my lap. I'm just not sure this is a title I'd pursue if left to my own devices.
I received a review copy via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Which is exactly what happened when I read Dark Engine Volume 1: The Art of Destruction.
I mean, the concept was interesting, once you could piece it together enough to know just what was going on. But before I did I kept wondering if I'd missed pages. As for the art ... well it wasn't really my style. So, like another reviewer said, I'd probably read volume two if it dropped into my lap. I'm just not sure this is a title I'd pursue if left to my own devices.
I received a review copy via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
March 11, 2015
I was really not feeling this one, the art was good, but the storyline was meh.
It just didn't really feel like there was much of a story and you don't really see enough of any character to think "oh, good luck with you mission".
I took me forever to read the book because I just could not get behind it. The only reason I gave it two stars was because of the art, that is some really good time-travel art, plus any annoying character that appears gets killed by Sym. Sym is the looks like a woman but who know what she/it really is other than a lean mean killing weapon.
Rating 2 out of 5
Read@Book
It just didn't really feel like there was much of a story and you don't really see enough of any character to think "oh, good luck with you mission".
I took me forever to read the book because I just could not get behind it. The only reason I gave it two stars was because of the art, that is some really good time-travel art, plus any annoying character that appears gets killed by Sym. Sym is the looks like a woman but who know what she/it really is other than a lean mean killing weapon.
Rating 2 out of 5
Read@Book
January 17, 2015
Gory fantasy comic collection
This book tells of a woman sent back in time to stop the world becoming the way it is in the future. She carries the Dark Engine in her which helps to shift her to the correct time and place to kill the dragon responsible for the state of this world. Sym is programmed to kill – which is all she does.
Meanwhile the dragon waits knowing that she is coming.
Well-illustrated and written, this tale has plenty of action and blood.
March 5, 2015
Give me a W. Give me a T. Give me a F--k. Or, seeing as we're being edgy, give me a 'c**t' and be done with it. Impenetrable bollux with a potty mouth and no plot, badly presented so that even on the biggest TV screen I have access to I can hardly even read it. Life's too short to worry, anyway.
August 3, 2015
John Bivens are is amazingly gorgeous, but Ryan Burton's story is just too weird for my tastes. I consider myself a somewhat intelligent fellow, but I could not understand how this whole world is fitting together. Maybe I need to read the next volume, but it did not get its hooks in my like their "devilspores."
January 18, 2015
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The art style is interesting, although the gore might not be appreciated by some. The plot is a bit muddled though, and it leaves a bit to be desired.
The art style is interesting, although the gore might not be appreciated by some. The plot is a bit muddled though, and it leaves a bit to be desired.
February 22, 2015
......I don't know what to say. Blood, entrails, big sword made of bone. Felt a little Lovecraftian mixed with a little Hell Boy with a dash of Conan and a sprinkling of Lysergic acid diethylamide.
April 23, 2017
Suffice it to say, I was not terribly impressed by this book. The world is in ruins and a group of men create a female living weapon to go back in time and destroy whatever caused the problem to begin with.
None of the characters are particularly interesting. Sym, the weapon, doesn't have much personality until the end of the book. She hops from time to time killing anything she encounters. The group that created her is so shrouded in mystery that it's difficult to get to know them. They are mostly waiting for the end of time or for Sym to complete her mission. It doesn't seem like they care which one happens first.
I enjoyed the art. It can be a bit gruesome though. There isn't much for plot and things move at a turtle's pace. I couldn't get into it because there wasn't enough here to make me care about what happened next.
None of the characters are particularly interesting. Sym, the weapon, doesn't have much personality until the end of the book. She hops from time to time killing anything she encounters. The group that created her is so shrouded in mystery that it's difficult to get to know them. They are mostly waiting for the end of time or for Sym to complete her mission. It doesn't seem like they care which one happens first.
I enjoyed the art. It can be a bit gruesome though. There isn't much for plot and things move at a turtle's pace. I couldn't get into it because there wasn't enough here to make me care about what happened next.
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