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Spill Zone #2
The Broken Vow
Only the very brave or the very desperate dare enter the Spill Zone—Addison Merritt is a little of both. In exchange for a suitcase full of cash, she made one last to the Zone. She survived the encounter, but came back changed.
Addison is not alone. In a remote village in North Korea, a young man named Jae was touched by the unholy fire of the Spill Zone. He made it out alive—alive, but also changed.
Now bestowed with uncanny powers, Addison and Jae may be the only ones strong enough to face a new threat that has risen in the Spill Zone. This deadly entity is searching for his runaway bride—and his hunt is bringing him closer and closer to Addison and her little sister.
Addison is not alone. In a remote village in North Korea, a young man named Jae was touched by the unholy fire of the Spill Zone. He made it out alive—alive, but also changed.
Now bestowed with uncanny powers, Addison and Jae may be the only ones strong enough to face a new threat that has risen in the Spill Zone. This deadly entity is searching for his runaway bride—and his hunt is bringing him closer and closer to Addison and her little sister.
223 pages, Hardcover
First published July 10, 2018
31 people are currently reading
1605 people want to read
About the author
Scott Westerfeld
89 books21.3k followersScott Westerfeld is a New York Times bestselling author of YA. He is best known for the Uglies and Leviathan series. His current series, IMPOSTORS, returns to the world of Uglies.
The next book in that series, MIRROR'S EDGE, comes out April 6, 2021.
The next book in that series, MIRROR'S EDGE, comes out April 6, 2021.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 512 reviews
June 28, 2018
I'm not typically the sort of person who picks up a book the day it comes out, but while running errands yesterday, I stopped by the comic shop to clear out my box after at least a month or so, and found out that Spill Zone #2 was out. (But that they couldn't actually sell it to me yet, because it wasn't released until Wednesday.)
And I got pretty excited, because I remember reading the first one and really enjoying it. So today I actually made a special trip to pick this up, and I read both of them back to back over lunch.
I was kind of surprised that this seems to be the end of the arc. Surprised but pleased, as the story rounds out well. I just I was expecting more of a slow play revealing the mysteries established in the first book, and instead what we got was a action-packed resolution.
I'm curious to see if the story will continue. There's obvious a door left open for more, and if they write it, I'll be there to pick it up....
And I got pretty excited, because I remember reading the first one and really enjoying it. So today I actually made a special trip to pick this up, and I read both of them back to back over lunch.
I was kind of surprised that this seems to be the end of the arc. Surprised but pleased, as the story rounds out well. I just I was expecting more of a slow play revealing the mysteries established in the first book, and instead what we got was a action-packed resolution.
I'm curious to see if the story will continue. There's obvious a door left open for more, and if they write it, I'll be there to pick it up....
April 18, 2019
This was good, but not as good as the first. It was still a good story, and the art is superb, but having the past conflict shown would've put more emotion into it. There were parts that were really good, hence the four star rating, but I just felt like it was lacking that special something. I think it would've made all the difference to have a flashback to the other world, and showing us the drama between Vespertine and her fiancé, instead of just telling us what happened. A trilogy would've been even better, where the first book stayed the same, Vol. 2 was completely in the other world and showed the past up until Vespertine came to this world, and Vol. 3 could've been what Vol. 2 is currently. At least that's my opinion. It's a good read though, and I do recommend it, especially to lovers of sci-fi.
December 6, 2018
A disappointing conclusion to a very intriguing story from volume 1. The art is so muddled and messy, I couldn't really tell what was going on in the last half of the book. We get very little context for what actually happened the night of the incursion. I guess there was a free comic book day comic that explained some of it, but good luck finding that now. It's frustrating that the publisher didn't reprint that in this. Honestly, it felt like volume 3 was canceled halfway through the creation of this and they had to cram the rest of the story in the latter half of the book. Very disappointing.
July 11, 2018
Do you like sleep? No, you don’t, if you’re reading Spill Zone.
There is literally not one component of this story that is not creepy. The premise, the voice, the art…It’s the most uneasy feeling reading it. Which is why I couldn’t wait for Broken Vow.
Book one left us on a huge cliffhanger, desperate for answers. Broken Vow delivered that and more. When you thought the creatures and zombie-like bodies couldn’t get any creepier, they do!
Two sisters, one creepy doll, and a boy across the world hold our attention in this one. What’s the tie between the spill in America and the one in North Korea? More than you can imagine, I promise.
There’s not much I can say about the story other than the art is as much a storyteller as the words are. Pay attention to the use of colors and how the panels are laid out to attract your attention. Scott and Alex work well as a creative pair!
There is literally not one component of this story that is not creepy. The premise, the voice, the art…It’s the most uneasy feeling reading it. Which is why I couldn’t wait for Broken Vow.
Book one left us on a huge cliffhanger, desperate for answers. Broken Vow delivered that and more. When you thought the creatures and zombie-like bodies couldn’t get any creepier, they do!
Two sisters, one creepy doll, and a boy across the world hold our attention in this one. What’s the tie between the spill in America and the one in North Korea? More than you can imagine, I promise.
There’s not much I can say about the story other than the art is as much a storyteller as the words are. Pay attention to the use of colors and how the panels are laid out to attract your attention. Scott and Alex work well as a creative pair!
January 2, 2020
This was overall a good read. A lot of things remained with no answers, but I feel like If I have read the prequel I would get some of the answers I wanted. Unfortunately I cannot find the first story anywhere.
Regardless of that, still loved the colors and graphics of the book, and how the story ended. It wasn’t a great ending, but it wasn’t super predictable either. Although I really enjoyed, I do think this is will be an easily forgettable story.
Regardless of that, still loved the colors and graphics of the book, and how the story ended. It wasn’t a great ending, but it wasn’t super predictable either. Although I really enjoyed, I do think this is will be an easily forgettable story.
June 30, 2018
The second volume in this series lives up to all the promise of the first, and expands on it to bring us an even better book this time around.
The art isn't what I usually like but it's effectively used - drawing the completely other, non-euclidean creatures of the Spill can't be easy but it's fantastically done here. The story itself offers more answers and less drawn-out frustration than this kind of story and it's much appreciated!
Free to read online: http://www.thespillzone.com/ - but the physical copy really is worth it.
The art isn't what I usually like but it's effectively used - drawing the completely other, non-euclidean creatures of the Spill can't be easy but it's fantastically done here. The story itself offers more answers and less drawn-out frustration than this kind of story and it's much appreciated!
Free to read online: http://www.thespillzone.com/ - but the physical copy really is worth it.
July 12, 2018
This was deliciously creepy and had such a good ending. I'm curious to see if there will be more because there definitely could be.
**Huge thanks to First Second for providing a finished copy free of charge**
**Huge thanks to First Second for providing a finished copy free of charge**
May 5, 2020
3.3 beware of the wolf stars
Although money doesn't solve everything, it does help. It seems that this time the price has been too high. Addi does not react well when learning certain things, and it seems that everything will end badly.
Jae is a good character, but so strange in certain aspects. My first northkorean one, political sheninagans et al. Government agents, spies and secret agendas. So cliche.
Suddenly, and strangely, this mystery story turned into a kind of twisted fairy tale.
Too bad there is no third book. Because there were many unanswered questions, like How
Open ending ppl.
--------------------------------------
Aunque el dinero no resuelve todo, aunque ayuda. Parece que esta vez el precio ha sido demasiado alto. Addi no reacciona bien al enterarse de ciertas cosas, y parece que todo va a terminar mal.
Jae es un buen personaje, pero extraño en ciertos aspectos. Mi primero de Corea del Norte, politicas y todo. Agentes de gobierno, espias y planes secretos. Tan cliché.
De repente, y extrañamente, esta historia de misterio se convirtió en una especie de cuento de hadas retorcido.
Lástima que no hay un tercer libro. Debido a que había muchas preguntas sin respuesta, como ¿Cómo
De pronto, y extrañamente, esta historia de misterio se paso a convertir en una suerte de cuento de hadas torcido.
Final abierto, sin duda sigue. Aunque parece que no habra otro libro.
Although money doesn't solve everything, it does help. It seems that this time the price has been too high. Addi does not react well when learning certain things, and it seems that everything will end badly.
Jae is a good character, but so strange in certain aspects. My first northkorean one, political sheninagans et al. Government agents, spies and secret agendas. So cliche.
Suddenly, and strangely, this mystery story turned into a kind of twisted fairy tale.
Too bad there is no third book. Because there were many unanswered questions, like How
Open ending ppl.
--------------------------------------
Aunque el dinero no resuelve todo, aunque ayuda. Parece que esta vez el precio ha sido demasiado alto. Addi no reacciona bien al enterarse de ciertas cosas, y parece que todo va a terminar mal.
Jae es un buen personaje, pero extraño en ciertos aspectos. Mi primero de Corea del Norte, politicas y todo. Agentes de gobierno, espias y planes secretos. Tan cliché.
De repente, y extrañamente, esta historia de misterio se convirtió en una especie de cuento de hadas retorcido.
Lástima que no hay un tercer libro. Debido a que había muchas preguntas sin respuesta, como ¿Cómo
De pronto, y extrañamente, esta historia de misterio se paso a convertir en una suerte de cuento de hadas torcido.
Final abierto, sin duda sigue. Aunque parece que no habra otro libro.
October 3, 2018
Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfer...
*Thank you to Raincoast Books and FirstSecond for this copy in exchange for my honest review!*
After making her final trip into The Spill Zone in exchange for a suitcase full of money, her life is changed when she accidentally touches the spill and gains some unique powers. She meets a boy from North Korea named Jae who had a similar experience after touching the spill in his zone. Addie's little sister Lexa was also affected by the night the Zone was created. Lexa's possessed doll, Vespertine, is speaking of a creature trying to emerge from the Zone that could potentially be a danger to society.
The art is my favourite part of this story! I love the bright colours and feel like they really grasp the readers attention. I definitely enjoyed the first graphic novel better, but I still found this one to have the creepy atmosphere I loved in the first. It's left on a major cliffhanger, but from what I've read, this is the last installment in the series.
*Thank you to Raincoast Books and FirstSecond for this copy in exchange for my honest review!*
After making her final trip into The Spill Zone in exchange for a suitcase full of money, her life is changed when she accidentally touches the spill and gains some unique powers. She meets a boy from North Korea named Jae who had a similar experience after touching the spill in his zone. Addie's little sister Lexa was also affected by the night the Zone was created. Lexa's possessed doll, Vespertine, is speaking of a creature trying to emerge from the Zone that could potentially be a danger to society.
The art is my favourite part of this story! I love the bright colours and feel like they really grasp the readers attention. I definitely enjoyed the first graphic novel better, but I still found this one to have the creepy atmosphere I loved in the first. It's left on a major cliffhanger, but from what I've read, this is the last installment in the series.
October 2, 2018
Expanded on the world, but left just enough for me to desperately want more. I must admit, though, that I liked the atmosphere of the first book more. The very ending of this was pretty cool though.
September 14, 2018
This second installment of the Spill Zone series does not disappoint. Full of twists and turns, I couldn't put this book down!
May 13, 2020
Gostei bastante dessa duologia e fiquei bem feliz de ter conseguido ler a continuação já no dia seguinte (chocada com a rapidez com que o livro chegou aqui em casa).
Vi que tem um Spill Zone 0.5. Vou procurar o e-book.
ps: quinta leitura do Especial Ficção Científica 2020.
Vi que tem um Spill Zone 0.5. Vou procurar o e-book.
ps: quinta leitura do Especial Ficção Científica 2020.
April 8, 2025
Maybe Scott should be focusing more on doing these gorgeously colored graphic novels because with his crazily imaginative consciousness it’s so much harder to write in some of his more wild dystopian/science fiction with this right here being the golden example. Just when I thought the explosively colorful adventures of the spill zone couldn’t get any crazier, Westerfield went and took it up another notch and blew me away having me want to stop and look closely at every terrifyingly captivating page and just in his fashion he isn’t afraid to give a good yet still bleak and more open ended ending which with most authors I tend to not enjoy but his just let my imagination take over the rest post final chapter. 4.75/5
September 22, 2018
Excellent follow-up to the first volume in this graphic novel series. I love the use of color in this story. Still so much more I want to know.
September 13, 2018
Not quite as ambitious or gripping as the first, but still gorgeous art, creepy action, mysterious happenings. A nice round ending (though left open for more).
November 15, 2018
Series conclusion. Addie meets her North Korean counterpart, addresses her "agent's" betrayal, meets Vespertine, discovers the cause of the Spill, and learns to fly.
Overly dense. This reads like it got canceled and the writer had to smush his planned three volumes into one.
There's a sequence involving American missiles that's a four-page muddled mess. It's clear from what follows that something key happened but damned if I could tell what it was.
And the things from another dimension may not have stuff like gravity or physics or a coherent biology...but that doesn't stop them from having a society that works like medieval European court intrigue on a cable TV soap opera.
Disappointing.
Overly dense. This reads like it got canceled and the writer had to smush his planned three volumes into one.
There's a sequence involving American missiles that's a four-page muddled mess. It's clear from what follows that something key happened but damned if I could tell what it was.
And the things from another dimension may not have stuff like gravity or physics or a coherent biology...but that doesn't stop them from having a society that works like medieval European court intrigue on a cable TV soap opera.
Disappointing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 14, 2018
A pretty decent conclusion to the story started in the first volume. I had forgotten a lot of the background info so it took a few pages for me to jumpstart my brain but once I did I found myself getting back into it. This volume finally fills us in on what actually happened on Spill Night and the reasons behind the formation of the zone. I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about the artwork because the general style is very blocky and sketchy but the colors are gorgeous and so are so many of the designs of things inside the zone that it actually ends up working in a weird way.
July 12, 2018
Three years ago something happened in Poughkeepsie, New York that left the town changed. Inside the Spill Zone nothing is quite right anymore. Dead bodies stand motionless, caught where they fell; strange creatures wander the zone; no one who goes into the zone comes out the same.
Addison thought she was done with the zone when she took one last job to retrieve something from inside. Except she got close enough to touch the spill and now she's changed--just like Jae, a mysterious boy from North Korea's own spill zone.
Addison's little sister, Lexa, was changed the night of the spill herself. And now her doll, Vespertine tells them that something worse is trying to get out in Spill Zone: The Broken Vow (2018) by Scott Westerfeld, illustrated by Alex Puvilland with color by Hilary Sycamore.
Spill Zone: The Broken Vow is the conclusion to Westerfeld's latest graphic novel duology which began with Spill Zone. You can find a copy at your local library, buy a copy, or you can read the entire comic online with neat blog posts from Scott and Alex talking about their process at thespillzone.com.
This concluding volume is even creepier than the first with higher stakes, scarier creatures, and a lot more suspense. While Addison tries to make sense of what happened the last time she went into the spill she also has to figure out how to protect her sister and her town from whatever is trying to get out.
The Broken Vow expands the world of the comics as readers learn more about Don Jae and North Korea's own spill. The eerie illustrations and psychedelic colors from the first volume return in this installment and continue to evoke a world gone subtly (and sometimes not-so-subtly) wrong. The use of different speak bubbles for each character also adds another dimension to the story.
Spill Zone: The Broken Vow is fast-paced action and nail-biting suspense. A satisfying conclusion to a truly original duology.
Addison thought she was done with the zone when she took one last job to retrieve something from inside. Except she got close enough to touch the spill and now she's changed--just like Jae, a mysterious boy from North Korea's own spill zone.
Addison's little sister, Lexa, was changed the night of the spill herself. And now her doll, Vespertine tells them that something worse is trying to get out in Spill Zone: The Broken Vow (2018) by Scott Westerfeld, illustrated by Alex Puvilland with color by Hilary Sycamore.
Spill Zone: The Broken Vow is the conclusion to Westerfeld's latest graphic novel duology which began with Spill Zone. You can find a copy at your local library, buy a copy, or you can read the entire comic online with neat blog posts from Scott and Alex talking about their process at thespillzone.com.
This concluding volume is even creepier than the first with higher stakes, scarier creatures, and a lot more suspense. While Addison tries to make sense of what happened the last time she went into the spill she also has to figure out how to protect her sister and her town from whatever is trying to get out.
The Broken Vow expands the world of the comics as readers learn more about Don Jae and North Korea's own spill. The eerie illustrations and psychedelic colors from the first volume return in this installment and continue to evoke a world gone subtly (and sometimes not-so-subtly) wrong. The use of different speak bubbles for each character also adds another dimension to the story.
Spill Zone: The Broken Vow is fast-paced action and nail-biting suspense. A satisfying conclusion to a truly original duology.
July 13, 2019
So, uh, this was a disappointment. It did not deliver thrilling answers, just another weirdly-drawn cliche plot with tropey twists. The finale was flat and rushed, and I'm sorry but this really isn't creepy because no true point is given WHY it should be creepy beyond the horrific setting of the Spill. And again I'm really not a fan of how the Asian characters in here are drawn, written, and it's kinda sad how all the other Koreans are drawn in a very ugly light but the North's you-know-who leader is as fresh-faced and glowing as a top-star idol.
October 28, 2018
I eagerly anticipated this follow-up to the first book. Our oldest daughter loved it and I think my hopes were a bit too high. So I was somewhat disappointed by the conclusion of the story. I'm not sure why, but it just didn't leave me feeling satisfied with how it all turned out.
Nevertheless, the storyline was engaging and the illustrations are marvelous, if quite disconcerting in their abstractness. The powerful female protagonist is a highlight of the story and I did appreciate the ending, even if it wasn't as mind-blowing as I'd been told it would be.
interesting quote:
"For always and always kid." (p. 223)
Nevertheless, the storyline was engaging and the illustrations are marvelous, if quite disconcerting in their abstractness. The powerful female protagonist is a highlight of the story and I did appreciate the ending, even if it wasn't as mind-blowing as I'd been told it would be.
interesting quote:
"For always and always kid." (p. 223)
February 14, 2018
Continuing the awesome series debut, the second installment has the action, the oddness, the intrigue, and the next-level artwork that the first one had. And includes the crazy talking doll who takes possession and others get drunk on the power that might lie within the spill zone.
February 23, 2018
The second volume of Spill Zone really doesn't disappoint - the art is still fantastic and there is still a lot to be discovered about the world these characters inhabit.
June 3, 2019
A few years ago reality was broken in a section of Poughkeepsie, caused by a combination of unknown forces. The event claimed the lives of some of the citizens of this city, including the parents of a young woman called Addison and her younger sister Lexa, and since then Addison has taken on caretaking duties for her little sister which is funded by the pictures she takes of the contaminated spill zone - where reality is at its most perilously fragmented.
At the end of the first graphic novel Addison came back from the Spill Zone both with the results of a successful commission (that will be very well rewarded) and changed by something she got too close to in the zone. It is this latter facet that becomes one of the intriguing threads of the Spill Zone 2, as more is discovered about what caused the otherworld intrusion and as other players are revealed. Particularly North Korea and a young man Don Jae whose village was the centre zone for another Spill Zone. He also has been affected and has more developed powers but what was really interesting was seeing the dynamics of a fictional North Korean life intertwined with their politics in a way that is not normally depicted in Western literature - where there is still evidently a dictator but one of the main sympathetic characters is not shown in opposition to this.
I enjoyed the second novel as much as the first and I thoroughly liked the first. The tension ratcheted up as the threat from the spill zone now looms out of its borders and becomes personally threatening. The main story arc was satisfyingly concluded but with hints for further thread development. It was a book that was mainly about actions and reflections in dealing with the zone entities and characters coming to terms with past events and actions that have emotional resonance. Having said that, the character Wiley, Addison's soldier friend, fell short in Volume 2 and was quite a lacklustre depiction. While on the plus side, now that Addison can hear her little sister's creepy doll Vespertine, there are some welcome extra snarky scenes such as the one below:
The other thing I loved of both novels is the use of beautifully surreal and bright art for the spill zone areas:
https://www.avclub.com/return-to-the-...
https://theslingsandarrows.com/spill-...
At the end of the first graphic novel Addison came back from the Spill Zone both with the results of a successful commission (that will be very well rewarded) and changed by something she got too close to in the zone. It is this latter facet that becomes one of the intriguing threads of the Spill Zone 2, as more is discovered about what caused the otherworld intrusion and as other players are revealed. Particularly North Korea and a young man Don Jae whose village was the centre zone for another Spill Zone. He also has been affected and has more developed powers but what was really interesting was seeing the dynamics of a fictional North Korean life intertwined with their politics in a way that is not normally depicted in Western literature - where there is still evidently a dictator but one of the main sympathetic characters is not shown in opposition to this.
I enjoyed the second novel as much as the first and I thoroughly liked the first. The tension ratcheted up as the threat from the spill zone now looms out of its borders and becomes personally threatening. The main story arc was satisfyingly concluded but with hints for further thread development. It was a book that was mainly about actions and reflections in dealing with the zone entities and characters coming to terms with past events and actions that have emotional resonance. Having said that, the character Wiley, Addison's soldier friend, fell short in Volume 2 and was quite a lacklustre depiction. While on the plus side, now that Addison can hear her little sister's creepy doll Vespertine, there are some welcome extra snarky scenes such as the one below:
The other thing I loved of both novels is the use of beautifully surreal and bright art for the spill zone areas:
https://www.avclub.com/return-to-the-...
https://theslingsandarrows.com/spill-...
August 6, 2018
I lost interest when the story became this...
'I hate you because you killed blah-dee-blah.'
'I only killed blah-dee-blah because they killed so-and-so.'
*** Insert comment from an eavesdropping character. I know, I know. She couldn't help it at this point...
'But I killed all the things so everything is all my fault.' ***
'Marry me so the civil war will end.'
'No! I want to stay with my new BFF!'
UGH.
'I hate you because you killed blah-dee-blah.'
'I only killed blah-dee-blah because they killed so-and-so.'
*** Insert comment from an eavesdropping character. I know, I know. She couldn't help it at this point...
'But I killed all the things so everything is all my fault.' ***
'Marry me so the civil war will end.'
'No! I want to stay with my new BFF!'
UGH.
April 8, 2019
Definitely suffered a bit due to the fact that I read the first one so long ago. But still so good, still creepy, and I very very very much liked the ending.
May 28, 2021
A little disappointing of a premise, which is not what I expected after reading the first volume, but I still think it was well done.
August 1, 2022
4 stars. My biggest issue with this one is that there's not a #3. Loved it just as much as the first.
July 24, 2022
Rushed but interesting ending. Kept up the creepy vibes but we finally learn what happened to start the whole mess. I’m curious to see if anything else happens after the story because of the way the epilogue was left somewhat open ended.
October 2, 2018
Nooo, that seemed like an ending! I'm not ready for that! I want more!
February 27, 2021
This was a solid continuation of the previous book. The reveal tbh, of the cliffhanger, was a let down and the ending was a bit anticlimactic hence the lower rating than the first. I wanted more on these characters but... hmm, I guess not.
Overall an okay, easy and quick graphic novel to read.
Overall an okay, easy and quick graphic novel to read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 512 reviews