The Fall of the House of West

Battling Boy #2.2

by Paul Pope, J.T. Petty, David Rubín (Illustrations)

Aurora West is on the verge of solving the mystery of her mother's death, but it's hard keeping her efforts a secret from her grieving father, the legendary monster-hunter Haggard West. Between her school work and her hours training and hunting with her dad, Aurora is hard-pressed to find time to be a secret sleuth. But she's nothing if not persistent.

What Aurora doesn't realize is that she's about to blow open a secret that may very well destroy what's left of her family...and, indeed, all of Arcopolis.

From Paul Pope, the legendary creator of Battling Boy , teamed up with JT Petty and David Rubín, comes the nail-biting sequel to The New York Times bestselling The Rise of Aurora West !

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Superheroes, Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 2015

About the author

PAUL POPE is an American cartoonist living and working in New York City. Pope has made a name for himself internationally as an artist and designer. He has been working primarily in comics since the early '90s, but has also done a number of projects with Italian fashion label Diesel Industries and, in the US, with DKNY. His media clients include LucasArts, Paramount Pictures, Cartoon Network, Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Conde-Naste, Kodansha (Japan), Sapporo (Japan), Marc Ecko, Dargaud Editions (France), EMI Canada, Warner Brothers, and The British Film Institute. His iconic Batman: Year 100, a science fiction take on the classic Batman origin tale, has won numerous awards, seen print in many languages, and appears frequently on many Top 10 Batman story lists. In 2010, Pope was recognized as a Master Artist by the American Council Of The Arts, and is currently sitting on the ACA advisory board. His 2010, short science fiction comic strip Strange Adventures (DC Comics)--an homage to the Flash Gordon serials of the '30s-- won the coveted National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award for Best Comic Book of the year. He has won 5 Eisners to date.

Reviews

[Damon · Rating 4 out of 5]

a neat ending to this enjoyable prequel.

[S.S. Julian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is great, but where's Battling Boy 2??!?!

[The_Mad_Swede · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second half of a narrative which serves as a prequel to Paul Pope's Battling Boy , and which started in The Rise of Aurora West . Also written by Pope and JT Petty, and drawn by David Rubín, The Fall of the House of West picks up where the previous volume left off and lets the reader follow Aurora West's continued attempts to uncover the mystery of her mother's death, and avenge her by confronting the monster whom she more and more believes to be responsible. But as the title suggests, and as the reader of the two-parter prequel knows well (if they have read Battling Boy), the story of the Wests is not a happy one, and whichever ways the narrative winds, the roads inevitably leads towards the terrible events which opens the original work (and the prequels does connect to them spectacularly well, in my humble opinion, which makes the narrative pay off all the more).

Clearly, The Rise of Aurora West and The Fall of the House of West need to be read more or less together as a single functioning story, and preferably after having read Battling Boy for best effect. That said, I would say that all three are highly recommended reads, and I sincerely hope that Pope will return to world of Arcopolis and let us know more of what happens after the original book.

[First Second Books]

This book is all about real-life heroes, and how they sometimes aren't all that they're cracked up to be.

I feel like this is a really interesting subject -- because through so much of everyones' childhoods, we're encouraged to build heroes for ourselves out of real people. (I even remember having to write a multitude of papers about my personal heroes, which was always an interesting time.)

But when you're talking about real-life heroes, there are always some bad bits -- no one is 100% perfect, right?

This book is about that.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent conclusion to the Battling Boy prequel, but still not as good as the original.

[Aleap · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this title to review by NetGalley and the publisher First Second in exchange for my honest review.

Daughter of celebrated Haggard West – hero extraordinare of the monster-rampaged Arcopolis – and a hero-in-training herself, 15-year-old Aurora West continues on her quest to find the monster that killed her mother eleven years ago. All signs point to the responsible monster being Coil, Aurora's not-so-imaginary and not-so-friendly childhood companion, who just so happened to disappear from Aurora's life on the night her mother died. Aurora is hot on Coil's trail and ready to exact her revenge but Haggard, desperate not to lose another person he loves to the fight against monsters, is trying (and failing) to keep Aurora on a short leash. In her haste and desperation to rid Arcopolis once and for all of the fiendish Coil, Aurora plays right into the monsters' hands and puts not only her own life but the life of her father in even more danger than she realizes. Pope and Petty crafted a suspenseful and completely engrossing story that artfully explores the dangers of giving in to emotions in the midst of despair. Flawed characters abound – Aurora and her unfettered arrogance, Ms. Grately's well-intentioned secretiveness, Haggard's blind rage and over-protectiveness – bestowing a realistic complexity to an already layered story. Thankfully, the restrained violence is peppered with humor and heart-warming scenes which, alongside the story's breakneck pacing, prevents the dark tone from taking over completely. For his part, Rubín delivers an explosive style that dares the writing to keep up with it. Whether it is the orientation of the panel itself or the scene within, there is no shortage of diagonal lines, which imbues the story with the action and excitement that keeps it moving forward. Put this into the hands of readers who have advanced from Mike Maihack's Cleopatra in Space or Ben Hatke's Zita series.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been looking forward to this as I really enjoyed Aurora West's first book! This is a continuation of the story as she concludes the search for the killer of her mother and continues training to be her father's sidekick and one day replace him. A rip-roaring adventure with lots of action, humour and fabulous art. Great characters return from the first book. But also quite a serious theme and heavy topic that deals with heroes having to believe in themselves, when to tell the truth versus when not to, and there sometimes being a right time to die and a right time to kill. Very deep, high impact from start to finish and a stand-out adventure with tough female leads.

[Diz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This concludes the prequel to Paul Pope's Battling Boy. Aurora West discovers she may not know the truth about the major event that drives her to revenge. The reveal is unexpected, and it makes a big change to how you view the relationships between the characters in the series. There are some really good action sequences in this. However , the art is a bit uneven at times--especially when it comes to characters' faces.

[Derek Royal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting the next Paul Pope Battling Boy book for this year, but it's nonetheless good to get another Aurora West volume. This was one of the books we discussed on our publisher spotlight on First Second fall releases: http://comicsalternative.com/episode-....

[CJ - It's only a Paper Moon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun entry in this series. The artwork is quite fun and we learn more of the West backstory.

[Larakaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

a lot of background history of the characters is revealed. I loved it even more than "the rise of aurora west".

[Alasondro Alegré · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★½

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a city besieged by monsters of unusual types, this story manages to remain warm-hearted and occasionally funny. Aurora's attempts to free herself from her father's constrictive reins will resonate with any adolescent who wishes mom and/or dad would just allow them to be on their own for once. But Aurora isn't an ordinary girl and Haggard West no ordinary dad. When your only daughter is going up against gun-toting fiends, it makes sense for daddy dearest to be more than a little concerned.

You understand Aurora's zeal to be as competent a hero as her father. Then the writers remind you why it pays to be cautious, as her father demands she be. In one single panel, we get Aurora itching to strap on a jetpack and her father wryly telling her that his impatience when he was her age is why he has an old injury that aches whenever it rains. Ha!

The action is as packed as it was in the previous book, with even more secrets being uncovered. Amidst the mayhem, we get hints of a larger conspiracy than one employed by Sadisto's gang. Terrifying secrets come to light and Aurora comes to realize that there are more important things than her consuming urge to find her mother's killer. Indeed, her zeal in this pursuit puts her and her father in danger...yet she persists. It's as the Chinese saying goes: When bent on vengeance, be prepared to dig two graves.

The shocking denouement tosses an extra layer of grit on our heroes. The illustrations teem with chaotic action and it can be a bit tricky to tell who's who in some cases. (It doesn't help that the same members of a gang wear masks that render them all anonymous.) But a careful reader can keep abreast of the action and understand the story as it unfolds.

This book is what Batman would be if he had humor and heart and that's why I will prefer the Wests, warts, flaws and all, to that grumpy caped crusader.

[Jaime Guzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read books 1 & 2 back to back which made the entire story more enjoyable.
The clues that lead to the killer of Aurora West's mother put both her and her father in grave danger.
Truth and lies blur together to preserve an ideal and quite possibly a hero.
A great story by Paul Pope and wonderfully drawn by the kinetic art of David Rubin!

[D.M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to say I was a bit let down by the ending of this two-part story, though I can't really say why. Naturally, monsters are battled, secrets revealed and truths (and lies) spoken (and unspoken). Naturally, there's plenty of human-on-monster bashery involved throughout. Naturally, Pope's writing is stilted but inventive. And somehow, by the end, the whole thing just feels a bit flat.
This is not to say I had high expectations after the first book. That was just a passable but fun adventure with a lot of possibility. Perhaps that's why this book feels a bit of a letdown: this tale could have gone anywhere and been a beautiful parable of hope and family. Instead, it's just a clunky, vaguely offensive mess. Of course, I don't know that I'm the ideal audience for this story (I'm not even the one this book was for: it's my daughter's, and she liked it fine), so maybe that's what's at the root of my disappointment. But I'm a firm believer in not writing down to an audience, and that's just what this feels like.

[Norman Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are more than just superhero monster hunters with cool gadgets. There are poignant family relations that are on the forefront of this story. My only reservation is that the artwork is sometimes too dark and sometimes too busy for the small pages of the book.

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art by Rubin is awesome, but the story really falls apart here, in a jumbled mess that feels rushed.

Took me a long time to finish this series up, I'd forgotten I had the last book in a box somewhere. This one had promise, but just didn't live up to what it could have been, in my opinion.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the artwork and black and white pulp format. The story is pretty good but a direct continuation of previous book so not stand alone. The universe is interesting if a bit repetitive at times. The best part being the variety of different monsters. The action scenes are a lot of fun.

[Pedro Carvalheira · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book is ok! It has good character development, good action panels, but I think Haggard West’s relation with his wife’s murder is not developed properly and hiding his murder from him was kind of a bummer ending…

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun and unusual duet of graphic novels. The ending made me genuinely cry

[Trey Piepmeier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the first volume, this was a lot of fun. Even after waiting a long time between volumes, I felt like I could remember and follow enough to get the impact of the story. I want more.

[Khalid Albaih · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not great. Nothing as good The original story line me.

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huh, this is the horse after the cart that was The Rise of Aurora West. An inventive world in which to narrate the events leading up to the aforementioned cart.

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in one sitting. Loved it! Enjoyed the previous GN as well.

[Vik Venkatraman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little story on the making of a hero, and the role played by secrets small and great.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Substantially more coherent than previous volumes.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first word that came to mind was pulp fiction. Nothing
wrong with it!

[Chris Tower · Rating 4 out of 5]

8.9/10

A good conclusion to the set. I enjoyed it, though I cannot say the main reason why due to spoilers.

[Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read review in its entirety at http://www.compassbookratings.com/rev...

The Fall of the House of West, is the second volume in the Aurora West series, which is a prequel to Paul Pope's, Battling Boy.

Just as any graphic novel should be, The Fall of the House of West is action-packed! With panels chalk full of visuals, charismatic characters, and a dark secret on the verge of exposure, this is an entertaining escape for comic-loving youth.

In regards to teen connection, you have juvenile protagonist Aurora West, an arrogant adolescent trying to ascertain independence, – relatable. She has a decent dad who is a bit over protective – also relatable. They also happen to be a crime fighting duo set on ridding their city of Acropolis of shadowy monsters – not as relatable, but very COOL! Oh, she is also trying to a avenge her mother's murder, again, not as relatable, but it adds drama, depth, and even more turmoil to the intrigue that is Aurora West.

It's highly recommended that those who wish to really enjoy this book, read first its predecessor, The Rise of Aurora West. This will save the reader a lot of the who, what, where, when, and how questions that would otherwise doubt plague them.

Though the setting is a bit dark (think Batman's Gotham), the dialogue is simple and more often than not humorous; this lightens the tone of the book, making it more appropriate for a younger audience (13+), and certainly keeps the gloominess from dominating the outcome.

A clever twist more than halfway through piques readers' attention even more, until the final animated panel, which to some may not feel so final. Though there is some nice character resolution between Aurora and her father pertaining to her mother's death, threats still loom over the West household. Readers who want more of a finality will have to make do, as this is the final installment in the series.