What do you think?
Rate this book
Protector #1-5
First Knife
From SIMON ROY (Prophet), Sideways Award-winning author DANIEL M. BENSEN (Junction), ARTYOM TRAKHANOV (UNDERTOW), JASON WORDIE (GOD COUNTRY), and HASSAN OTSMANE-ELHAOU (Red Sonja) comes a sci-fi adventure equal parts Conan the Barbarian, Mad Max, and The Expanse.
In the hot ruins of far-future North America, a slave stumbles across an ancient and bloody power and a conqueror bargains with godlike beings. The remaining humans of Earth find themselves standing between the forces that once nearly destroyed it.
Collects PROTECTOR #1-5.
In the hot ruins of far-future North America, a slave stumbles across an ancient and bloody power and a conqueror bargains with godlike beings. The remaining humans of Earth find themselves standing between the forces that once nearly destroyed it.
Collects PROTECTOR #1-5.
136 pages, Paperback
First published October 6, 2020
7 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
October 10, 2020
First Knife (formerly known as Protector, a better title I feel) shows us how you can have all the worldbuilding in the world, but it ultimately all hangs on the story you're telling within that world.
Because, oh boy, there's a LOT of worldbuilding here. It has worldbuilding coming out of the ears. Quite a lot of it is in supplemental material, and not so much in the story, but still. Muchos worldbuilding, guys. And that worldbuilding is okay. It did not blow me away, it's riffing on a lot of post-apocalyptic ideas you'll have come across before.
And then there's the story, which really did not blow me away. It's slow and lumbering, and it goes pretty much where you think it'll go.
The art is messy, too messy for the story it's supposed to tell. Basically it looks like you've zoomed in on an illustration. There is not a lot of fidelity, while there is a lot of information to process. Action scenes become nearly indecipherable. When I'm repeatedly asking myself what I'm even looking at, something has gone wrong.
(Received an ARC through Edelweiss)
Because, oh boy, there's a LOT of worldbuilding here. It has worldbuilding coming out of the ears. Quite a lot of it is in supplemental material, and not so much in the story, but still. Muchos worldbuilding, guys. And that worldbuilding is okay. It did not blow me away, it's riffing on a lot of post-apocalyptic ideas you'll have come across before.
And then there's the story, which really did not blow me away. It's slow and lumbering, and it goes pretty much where you think it'll go.
The art is messy, too messy for the story it's supposed to tell. Basically it looks like you've zoomed in on an illustration. There is not a lot of fidelity, while there is a lot of information to process. Action scenes become nearly indecipherable. When I'm repeatedly asking myself what I'm even looking at, something has gone wrong.
(Received an ARC through Edelweiss)
October 11, 2020
**Read the rest of the issues. The world building is pretty cool but you still need a great story and it's too messy.
Cant seem to find just #1 one on here. However this just wasnt good for me. Story was muddled and the art is not something that is for me. Will 100% be for the right audience.
Cant seem to find just #1 one on here. However this just wasnt good for me. Story was muddled and the art is not something that is for me. Will 100% be for the right audience.
January 16, 2020
This is a fast start to what promises to be a big story. Trouble lurks in the ruins of a far-future Chicago after a climate catastrophe. Survivors fight over what remains of North America. Different tribe and nations have staked out territories, but no one is satisfied with what they have.
Agile artwork creates a complex setting and memorable characters with plenty of telling details. It includes Chicago in ruins, and, as a Chicago resident, I enjoyed that. Most human technology has dropped down to medieval level or lower, but some artifacts remain functional from earlier times. Now these super-advanced machines (if they are machines) are mysterious to the humans, but apparently not to each other, and they seem to have their own conflicts to settle.
A lot is going on, and this is only Volume 1. Much more good stuff seems likely to come, and, I hope, with more mysterious ruins.
Agile artwork creates a complex setting and memorable characters with plenty of telling details. It includes Chicago in ruins, and, as a Chicago resident, I enjoyed that. Most human technology has dropped down to medieval level or lower, but some artifacts remain functional from earlier times. Now these super-advanced machines (if they are machines) are mysterious to the humans, but apparently not to each other, and they seem to have their own conflicts to settle.
A lot is going on, and this is only Volume 1. Much more good stuff seems likely to come, and, I hope, with more mysterious ruins.
July 14, 2022
Roy vuelve a demostrar que domina los recursos de cf y, sobre todo, la aventura postapocalíptica con este tebeo de aventuras en unos EE.UU. de regreso a una pseudo Baja Edad Media y dominados por una especie alienígena. Sin embargo, cualquier afirmación positiva sobre la primera parte de Primer cuchillo se estrella miserablemente contra algunas de las escenas de acción más confusas de la historia del tebeo de su segunda parte. Es difícil saber quién dibuja cada una porque el tomo que ha editado Gigamesh no incluye ningún crédito concreto, pero el (los) encargado(s) de la mayoría de enfrentamientos necesita(n) una academia que le(s) enseñe a secuenciar y dibujar peleas. Y en este tebeo hay bastantes.
Read
October 25, 2020In some senses, not a million miles from the work Roy* did on Prophet, pushing recognisable components centuries into the future and seeing how they turn out, all of it rendered in a scuzzy yet solid fashion. But where that series was working from a starting point of daft old Liefeld superheroes, this one is going from the likelier if less lovely starting point of the 'Anthropocene Thermal Maximum', and so inevitably has fewer pieces in play, fewer advances to set against the long declines. It's not the most radical vision of post-apocalyptic culture - barbarism haunted by fragmentary memories of 'the Profligate Age', spiced with occasional hi-tech survivals - and right now the backmatter's implication of a recognisable academia surviving seems like a demented excess of optimism. But from the weary yet still dangerous First Knife himself, to the lovingly rendered sound effects, it has a vigour to it which kept me invested. And whether the swathes of desolation, or the lush profusion of life at the oases, Trakhanov's art renders landscapes particularly well; sadly the action, though always lively, can at times be tough to follow. And while the series must have at least been underway before the Event, the moment when the inevitable survivor from nowish screams "I need my fucking world back!" has a ton more impact read afterwards.
*And yes, now I inevitably picture him as an offshoot of the Succession dynasty, the poor bastard.
(Edelweiss ARC)
*And yes, now I inevitably picture him as an offshoot of the Succession dynasty, the poor bastard.
(Edelweiss ARC)
November 6, 2023
interesting book with very familiar in-depth worldbuilding from Simon Roy. Like many reviewers here I think the art and in particular the storytelling done by the images is just a bit off for a Simon Roy story. He tends to make these near-documentary tales of strange imagined realities and in this the art is too impressionistic and the panelling to twisted to make what is going on easily readable, which turns the read into a translation.
The very-near animal and plant evolution, and the cybernetics, ethnography and terraforming were fascinating but not Top Roy I am afraid.
The very-near animal and plant evolution, and the cybernetics, ethnography and terraforming were fascinating but not Top Roy I am afraid.
October 1, 2020
The area around the Great Lakes is rife with troubles, as the white peoples enslave the coloureds, and both sides see the work of the devil in their enemy. One slave girl slips away, and stumbles on a world-changing entity, that could upset the entire status quo of both societies. She yacks to it of demons, a character brought down by God and died yet was born again, and such like. It, however, is something we would recognise as a robot – and the robot is much less concerned with religion and tribal superstition when it learns of other artefacts the whites are in possession of – other artefacts that like it bear the emblem with four marks on – NATO.
Yes, we're in a future world here, where America has had enough setbacks to set the politics back to the days of the founding fathers. But it's all to very little use – this is quite a poor book, where the artwork just is nowhere near up to scratch. Characters look the same, action scenes are almost unreadable – I was struggling with this and no mistake. Too much of the plot boils down to the old adage (I think from Arthur C Clarke) that anything you can't understand, even if it's actually science, just seems magic – or, in this case, religion. I wanted to enjoy the story of the girl who gets no end of status and power when she makes out she is acting as helpmeet, translator and conduit for the robot's unearthly battle prowess. But this did not appeal. I didn't like the robot's way of muttering to itself, I didn't like the little inset images or FX splashes (or indeed pretty much anything of the design) and the story as a result did not engage.
Yes, we're in a future world here, where America has had enough setbacks to set the politics back to the days of the founding fathers. But it's all to very little use – this is quite a poor book, where the artwork just is nowhere near up to scratch. Characters look the same, action scenes are almost unreadable – I was struggling with this and no mistake. Too much of the plot boils down to the old adage (I think from Arthur C Clarke) that anything you can't understand, even if it's actually science, just seems magic – or, in this case, religion. I wanted to enjoy the story of the girl who gets no end of status and power when she makes out she is acting as helpmeet, translator and conduit for the robot's unearthly battle prowess. But this did not appeal. I didn't like the robot's way of muttering to itself, I didn't like the little inset images or FX splashes (or indeed pretty much anything of the design) and the story as a result did not engage.
February 9, 2021
DNF. Very disappointed. The story barely moves forward in this trade collection, just reiterates itself over and over. At first glance the artwork was cool, but when reading, well it was sloppy and vague. Mind you, I enjoy abstract illustration and am not knew to Image comics. Just couldn't get into this one. Thought the synopsis had promise, nope.
September 5, 2020
First Knife (formerly Protector), despite having all kinds of elements that I should love (a post-apocalyptic setting with an anthropological focus, a close relationship between a human girl and an ancient killer cyborg, that thing where you phonetically render the names of old cities), and being partly written by Simon Roy, is an all around disappointment.
The art is not terrible, at times it's actually quite nice. But it's also frequently obstructively unclear, and looks flat and untextured (or at least the texturing appears to have no relation to the objects it's overlaid on). It's actually much better than the artist's previous major project, Undertow, which I found so visually muddled I couldn't follow it at all.
The handful of Simon Roy sketches were the highlight of the entire comic to me.
Storywise, it also has a host of problems. The scope of the setting and plot is too big for the length the story is told in, and no element is adequately explored. I think this is supposed to be the first of a series, but this volume tells a standalone story that appears finished and done with. I don't think, in concept, it was a bad story. But it's told at such speed and with such little detail that nothing about it sticks with me. It makes me wish this could have been a manga, with black and white art, that would simultaneously allow more pages to be drawn more quickly, and also force the artist not to rely on colour to provide all visual clarity.
The art is not terrible, at times it's actually quite nice. But it's also frequently obstructively unclear, and looks flat and untextured (or at least the texturing appears to have no relation to the objects it's overlaid on). It's actually much better than the artist's previous major project, Undertow, which I found so visually muddled I couldn't follow it at all.
The handful of Simon Roy sketches were the highlight of the entire comic to me.
Storywise, it also has a host of problems. The scope of the setting and plot is too big for the length the story is told in, and no element is adequately explored. I think this is supposed to be the first of a series, but this volume tells a standalone story that appears finished and done with. I don't think, in concept, it was a bad story. But it's told at such speed and with such little detail that nothing about it sticks with me. It makes me wish this could have been a manga, with black and white art, that would simultaneously allow more pages to be drawn more quickly, and also force the artist not to rely on colour to provide all visual clarity.
September 14, 2020
Disappointing and unclear post-apocalyptic comic series
Warring tribespeople in a post-apocalyptic Earth come into contact with an armoured relic of the industrial and military era. The story moves along at a reasonable pace but the over-indulgent colourful artwork renders the plot unclear. It’s a bit of a mess as far as I’m concerned. Not my cup of tea.
Warring tribespeople in a post-apocalyptic Earth come into contact with an armoured relic of the industrial and military era. The story moves along at a reasonable pace but the over-indulgent colourful artwork renders the plot unclear. It’s a bit of a mess as far as I’m concerned. Not my cup of tea.
December 22, 2020
This post-post-apocalyptic sci-fi graphic novel is full to bursting with deep world-building and a million fantastic ideas. In some ways the whole doesn't surpass the sum of its many parts, but the narrative is always propulsive and energetic. The artwork by Artyom Trakhanov is remarkably gorgeous and sits in a perfect sweet spot between art comix expression and genre action. Occasionally the narrative and pacing becomes very hard to follow, but the pleasures of the work transcend any failings. Looking forward to giving this a second (and third) readings down the road.
October 12, 2020
Wow THIS book. Beautifully drawn and strange, a wonderful combo of all of the things I want in comics. I want to read a thousand more pages of this thing.
January 9, 2020
I LOVE how well-researched and believable this fictional world is. It's clear that the authors understand how cultures work and use their knowledge to craft a multilayered universe with more details than I could ever ask for.
Considering the speculative nature, I like how the visuals draw inspiration from a lot of existing cultures, yet twisted enough so they look fresh and original—as opposed to an appropriation of living cultures. This makes a lot of sense considering the futuristic setting of the story.
In addition, the pacing feels right. Sometimes when I read fiction, I get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of worldbuilding details the author(s) try to cram into my brain. Protector lets me explore this new world at a very manageable pace—slow enough for me to digest, but fast enough to keep me entertained.
Considering the speculative nature, I like how the visuals draw inspiration from a lot of existing cultures, yet twisted enough so they look fresh and original—as opposed to an appropriation of living cultures. This makes a lot of sense considering the futuristic setting of the story.
In addition, the pacing feels right. Sometimes when I read fiction, I get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of worldbuilding details the author(s) try to cram into my brain. Protector lets me explore this new world at a very manageable pace—slow enough for me to digest, but fast enough to keep me entertained.
January 10, 2020
This was a pure delight from start to finish. Rich in mythology, steeped in cool post-apocalypticism and deep in mystery and intrigue, the first volume of this graphic novel poses thrilling questions that make you impatient to read the next one. And the next and the next! In addition to the engrossing sci-fi story and the interesting characters, you also have amazing art courtesy of Artyom Trakhanov. His earthy and beautifully simple, yet fascinating images jump from the page!
February 17, 2025
This book is worth reading for the artwork alone, it was intricate, bright, unique and gorgeous! The story was based on an awesome concept of a mix of post-climate change collapse and machine intervention to heal the effects of climate change. All of that mixed in with the human tendency to devolve into tribalism makes this a unique and compelling perspective. This is a great work of art!
January 10, 2020
Stunning stuff! A richly plausible future world full of beautiful little details. Roy and Bensen's plot is intriguing, the characters mysterious and compelling and the art is shut-up-and-take-my-money good. Trakhanov's art reminded me of a more metuculous Paul Pope.
Cannot recommend this enough.
Cannot recommend this enough.
February 13, 2021
It's good and the world and setting probably warrant more exploration and more stories. Given more books to develop, this could flesh up in something really interesting.
August 4, 2022
Lo único que me ha gustado es el arte.
September 28, 2020
Just really great and thoughtfully constructed world building. Treats the post climate apocalyptic world not as a nightmare but as just another era in human existence. Some great characters and the art is just perfect for this world. There’s some confusing action sequences but that’s my only issue. I just wish it was an ongoing!
October 31, 2020
I enjoyed this, though it has flaws. I'm not going to try too hard to describe the story; it's confusing, as I expect post-apocalyptic stories to be- after all, it's been centuries since whatever happened happened, I don't expect the current people to have a complete or accurate memory of events that took place so long ago, and this is taking place in the 33rd century. The world building is mostly built into the story, revealing little bits, but not giving too much away. There are notes included between panel pages and at the end, however, that give more information. At any rate, I enjoyed the relative mystery of the world, and being left to imagine what happened rather than being fed everything. At some point in the past, alien entities with cyborg-type bodies invaded Earth, we used cyborg soldiers to fight back, and we lost. The alien cyborg things stick around as overseers or something to that effect, and are worshiped by some tribes of humans, like the Hudsoni, as demons or Devas, while other humans, like the Yanqui, stick to a Christian-ish religion that waits for the return of Hesukristos. When a Yanqui girl finds one of Earth's cyborg soldiers and awakens it, shit goes down. The Yanqui believe the soldier to be the return of their God, the Hudsoni show up to kill him and shut that business down, and then road trip! The ending is satisfying, and I couldn't help but feel for the soldier, alone in a world he no longer knows.
I liked the art, it's rugged, a bit rough, like the world it's portraying. The battle scenes are action-filled and confusing, as I imagine battle would be. The landscapes, flora and fauna, and ruins are rendered beautifully. It can be difficult to distinguish the tribes from each other, and that makes sense to me. Overall, a good story, of a possible future, of a world that can never be restored to its former self, and must forge ahead as best it can. Were all my questions about this world answered? No. But that works here, and I'm cool with not knowing.
I liked the art, it's rugged, a bit rough, like the world it's portraying. The battle scenes are action-filled and confusing, as I imagine battle would be. The landscapes, flora and fauna, and ruins are rendered beautifully. It can be difficult to distinguish the tribes from each other, and that makes sense to me. Overall, a good story, of a possible future, of a world that can never be restored to its former self, and must forge ahead as best it can. Were all my questions about this world answered? No. But that works here, and I'm cool with not knowing.
January 14, 2022
Fans of Prophet, Vol. 1: Remission, looking for a story that's just as complex in its worle building, but a bit more grounded in its storytelling, may really enjy this. It's a dystopian future story that's really thin on story but thick with worldbuilding. The plot never threatens to go anywhere interesting but it's coherent and easy to follow.
The art seems flat to me. The perspectives don't always work. I'm not a fan of the way Trakhanov draws anatomy, nor when he chooses to just do vague outlines when the camera zooms out for a long distance shot (which he doesn't do very often). But I do love his close-ups, and the way he composes action scenes.
While not a book I was very excited about, I think fans of Roy's other work might find it alluring, and I enjoyed it more than Habitat. If you're jonesing for a post-Apocalyptic America book, and you've already read through East of West, Vol. 1: The Promise, Undiscovered Country #1, and Tank Girl, I would definitely give this book a flip-through and see if the art appeals to you.
The art seems flat to me. The perspectives don't always work. I'm not a fan of the way Trakhanov draws anatomy, nor when he chooses to just do vague outlines when the camera zooms out for a long distance shot (which he doesn't do very often). But I do love his close-ups, and the way he composes action scenes.
While not a book I was very excited about, I think fans of Roy's other work might find it alluring, and I enjoyed it more than Habitat. If you're jonesing for a post-Apocalyptic America book, and you've already read through East of West, Vol. 1: The Promise, Undiscovered Country #1, and Tank Girl, I would definitely give this book a flip-through and see if the art appeals to you.
March 17, 2024
First Knife is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi comic that blends elements from various fantasy and sci-fi works like George Miller's Mad Max film series and Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian. Simon Roy throws a lot at the reader in just five issues, much of it serving to flesh out the charred remains of America in this distant futuristic setting. But worldbuilding without any sense of direction for the story is just pure exposition, and this book has a lot of it. Perhaps more forgivable for an introductory issue, but by the final issue the story still feels prematurely derived. This comic is packed with stuff, but very little true substance as much of the stuff it has is derivative of common genre tropes. It's all very noisy, which is also echoed in Artyom Trakhanov's very busy looking artwork. The loose lines can be mesmerizing at times, but when coupled with the overly packed storytelling, the lack of clarity in the artwork only serves to further bog down the overall reading experience.
October 14, 2020
Yet another series with gonzo worlds. It amazes me how much of these series are pretty to look at and the ideas on how they form. We have a post-modern world where all races of humans have practically become one but people still find reasons to do bad things to one another. Slavery, zealotry, the works. Even after most cultures coalesce into something new and different.
Frankly it was a little hard to get on board with any of these characters especially the First Knife since his nation practices slavery. And the former slave priestess, right to be vengeful with her former captors but also very preachy. I don't know I've never been one for people so religiously motivated. Sure the actions were colorful but we never really got any reason to get on board with anything.
The world was the only thing I liked, especially the development out of a simple idea of alien takeover propaganda. Problem is, it doesn't really have any room to breathe in.
Frankly it was a little hard to get on board with any of these characters especially the First Knife since his nation practices slavery. And the former slave priestess, right to be vengeful with her former captors but also very preachy. I don't know I've never been one for people so religiously motivated. Sure the actions were colorful but we never really got any reason to get on board with anything.
The world was the only thing I liked, especially the development out of a simple idea of alien takeover propaganda. Problem is, it doesn't really have any room to breathe in.
March 14, 2020
This is a lovely and fast-paced comic about post-apocalyptic Chicago, where civilization has long dissapeared and human society has reorganized itself into a tribal structure. The worldbuilding is complex and thoughtful, and the illustrations are fresh and full of energy (both in line and color). A lovely bit of escapism!
June 19, 2020
Fantastic artwork from Artyom. I’ve first seen his work on 7 Deadly Sins and have been following him since. The story is a bit too complex-too much of delicate world building involved. For only 5 issues this much work put into fantasy world building seems excessive. Only 3 issues out yet. Hope they will continue past the 5th issue.
February 18, 2020
A+ world-building and artwork. The detail in the language, ethnic groups, geography is matched by the detail of Trakhanov's expressive artwork. Eagerly anticipating the next issue.
October 28, 2020
Read as single issues, needed a bit more exposition, but the art and world was fantastic.
January 13, 2021
Excellent worldbuilding, extraordinary art, and a story packed with pathos and adventure.
December 27, 2020
(Read as individual issues under the title PROTECTOR.)
June 12, 2021
Really great art, describes the biology of future species which I enjoyed. Plot was a little rushed and confusing
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews