(I received a free copy of this book, through NetGalley, in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I thought the concept of this comic was a really intriguing one. I liked seeing the conflict in the relationship between Kenton and his father, though I would have liked to see more of Kenton’s relationship with his siblings and also with various other members of his people. It was quite hard to care about what happened to them, as it was hard to differentiate between the different characters.
There was a bit of confusion when the Duchess and her entourage had appeared, as the Duchess in particular seemed to be wearing clothes that had a more Earth-feel to them.
I did find the ability of the Sand Masters to be really interesting to see, even though I would have liked to see a bit more of their background. For instance, were the Sand Masters only men? I couldn’t tell if there were any women in the ranks.
Although I was a bit disorientated with the other random plot that cropped up, it didn’t take long to realise how the characters involved related to the others in the main storyline. And I liked meeting Ais, as she seemed to come across as quite a strong person.
It was interesting to see something of the politics in the city and how the other leaders viewed the Sand Masters. While I did think there was a bit too much exposition, especially at the beginning, it was good to see Kenton having to argue for the survival of his people. However, apart from one other survivor, who was suspected of being a traitor, there were very few members of the Sand Masters I was able to get to know. And although there were hints of those with less power being looked down upon, that didn’t really crop up very much.
The artwork was really good and I liked the visual representation of the abilities. I was a bit confused by the history of the tensions between the two different peoples and I would have liked to see a bit of history: shown, instead of just talked about.
Even though there were some problems and I didn’t quite feel this comic lived up to my expectations, it was easy to read and I did enjoy learning about the world and the characters. I felt this was more of an introduction to the world and that there was a lot still to be explored.
In the future, if given the opportunity, I would probably read further issues of this series.
Ink of Blood 