What do you think?
Rate this book
Ravine
Ravine Volume 1
In a fantastic world far from our own, an ancient magic spell almost split the world in two and left an endless ravine in the north.
One man, Nebezial Asheri, driven by the deaths of his wife and daughters, will attempt to reclaim that magic and bring his loved ones back to life.
The forces of an entire city, Paladia, will rise to oppose him, but his greatest foes will be a ragtag band of an outcast wizard, a dragonrider, and their allies.
One man, Nebezial Asheri, driven by the deaths of his wife and daughters, will attempt to reclaim that magic and bring his loved ones back to life.
The forces of an entire city, Paladia, will rise to oppose him, but his greatest foes will be a ragtag band of an outcast wizard, a dragonrider, and their allies.
152 pages, Paperback
First published February 26, 2013
13 people are currently reading
586 people want to read
About the author
Stjepan Šejić
345 books1,529 followersStjepan Šejić is a Croatian comic book writer and artist, known for his work on the series Witchblade, Aphrodite IX, Sunstone, and The Darkness among others.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews
May 6, 2018
Presenting ravine: A High Fantasy epic that wins art-style of the year award.
When an epic high fantasy comic starts with a glorious battle speech for increasing troop morale, you know you're in for a treat. There are so many political and family mysteries in Ravine. It makes my heart happy.
"it was a tragedy. Warriors of Aphelion...We stand here, far from home, facing an enemy none of us ever wanted to fight. A man who was once our kind leads our kingsmen and bled with us on Ravenona. They stand against us now, loyal to their king, even in his hour of madness. It's a hard choice for all. No one loved our king as princess calisto and I did.
This comic feels like one of my Dungeons and Dragons sessions coming to life. And trust me, this is as good as throwing a 20.
The story: a quick overview
Let me just give you the quick info dump. A spell splits the world into two parts, resulting in a ravine. There's an evil guy named Nebexial Asheri, a classic trope of the "man who lost his family and seeks vengeance." There are people who oppose Asheri - they're a pretty colourful troop of characters. But one thing everyone forgets to mention is how awesome these dragons are:
And this cocky but loveable dragon-slayer who speaks to his shadow:
Characters and quirks
"Yesterday my court fool told me that were it not for bad news, I'd have no news at all. Sadly true.."
I really enjoyed the characters although I struggled to keep up with names. This comic definitely deserves a re-read to grasp the rapid fire pace and info-dump world building. But I absolutely love Lynn, the main character.
Some people get a calling for a specific weapon that can change the tide of war. This is a fantastic concept and the comic goes into a lot of detail about this lore-heavy concept. Lynn gets chosen and she's pretty damn hesitant.
I love the banter between characters and I'm excited to read more of the dialogue between them. It's realistic and fun.
The artstyle
I'm curious as to how the artist developed such a gorgeously hyper-realistic style. The artist poured painstaking detail into armour and character designs. The artist really breathed a life into this comic that makes it a cut above the rest.
Some gems of a quote
"People are more than eager to put their faith in some god, rather than trusting in themselves, Durdan."
"Sever the hand that holds the sword and the kingdom will turn to you."
"Some are born to lead. They're ambitious and hungry for power. I am not one of those people. I am, like youm a soldier. But I pay attention to games of power."
Problems
The only difficulty my nit-picking skills found was that the comic is so fast paced it barely gives you time to get to know characters. If this were a slow burner, I would have given it five stars.
I was given this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Edit: Spelling
When an epic high fantasy comic starts with a glorious battle speech for increasing troop morale, you know you're in for a treat. There are so many political and family mysteries in Ravine. It makes my heart happy.
"it was a tragedy. Warriors of Aphelion...We stand here, far from home, facing an enemy none of us ever wanted to fight. A man who was once our kind leads our kingsmen and bled with us on Ravenona. They stand against us now, loyal to their king, even in his hour of madness. It's a hard choice for all. No one loved our king as princess calisto and I did.
This comic feels like one of my Dungeons and Dragons sessions coming to life. And trust me, this is as good as throwing a 20.
The story: a quick overview
Let me just give you the quick info dump. A spell splits the world into two parts, resulting in a ravine. There's an evil guy named Nebexial Asheri, a classic trope of the "man who lost his family and seeks vengeance." There are people who oppose Asheri - they're a pretty colourful troop of characters. But one thing everyone forgets to mention is how awesome these dragons are:
And this cocky but loveable dragon-slayer who speaks to his shadow:
Characters and quirks
"Yesterday my court fool told me that were it not for bad news, I'd have no news at all. Sadly true.."
I really enjoyed the characters although I struggled to keep up with names. This comic definitely deserves a re-read to grasp the rapid fire pace and info-dump world building. But I absolutely love Lynn, the main character.
Some people get a calling for a specific weapon that can change the tide of war. This is a fantastic concept and the comic goes into a lot of detail about this lore-heavy concept. Lynn gets chosen and she's pretty damn hesitant.
I love the banter between characters and I'm excited to read more of the dialogue between them. It's realistic and fun.
The artstyle
I'm curious as to how the artist developed such a gorgeously hyper-realistic style. The artist poured painstaking detail into armour and character designs. The artist really breathed a life into this comic that makes it a cut above the rest.
Some gems of a quote
"People are more than eager to put their faith in some god, rather than trusting in themselves, Durdan."
"Sever the hand that holds the sword and the kingdom will turn to you."
"Some are born to lead. They're ambitious and hungry for power. I am not one of those people. I am, like youm a soldier. But I pay attention to games of power."
Problems
The only difficulty my nit-picking skills found was that the comic is so fast paced it barely gives you time to get to know characters. If this were a slow burner, I would have given it five stars.
I was given this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Edit: Spelling
December 22, 2020
Dragonriders, occult menaces, shady political intrigue. The fragile Alliance is falling apart at the seams, and from eldritch abominations to mysterious cults, intriguing villains move around the chessboard, waiting to strike.
Having gone in with low expectations, Ravine was pretty outstanding. I'm not normally a comic guy, but this thing might inspire me to check out some more.
While closely following recipes of basic fantasy, the art style and the aesthetic worldbuilding serve to elevate something that would have been average as a novel, to a fantastic graphic novel.
Having gone in with low expectations, Ravine was pretty outstanding. I'm not normally a comic guy, but this thing might inspire me to check out some more.
While closely following recipes of basic fantasy, the art style and the aesthetic worldbuilding serve to elevate something that would have been average as a novel, to a fantastic graphic novel.
July 2, 2015
Kao prvo: Jadranka, HVALAAAAAAAAA za ovu fenomenalnu grafičku novelu!!!
Sačekao sam da pročitam i drugi deo da vidim da li će da mi splasnu entuzijazam i oduševljenje, ali sam još više euforičan... :D
Dakle, ne bih ništa dodavao niti išta oduzimao - Ravine je fenomenalan!
Ono što me je odmah kupilo je savršena grafika. Svaka slika je pravo malo remek delo i bukvalno sam sa uživanjem trošio minute razgledajući crteže koji su apsolutno majstorski urađeni!
Sama priča u početku deluje malo konfuzno, ali se do kraja prvog dela naziru neke ideje i čitaocu bude krivo kada dođe do poslednje stranice same novele, međutim na kraju se nalaze bonusi u vidu kratkog rečnika, likova i kratke priče koja osvetljava prošlost.
Da sumiram:
*** (tri zvezdice) za grafiku
* (četvrta zvezdica) za ideju i kreativnost u samoj priči
* (peta zvezdica) za zmajeve i predobru Lynn <3
Sačekao sam da pročitam i drugi deo da vidim da li će da mi splasnu entuzijazam i oduševljenje, ali sam još više euforičan... :D
Dakle, ne bih ništa dodavao niti išta oduzimao - Ravine je fenomenalan!
Ono što me je odmah kupilo je savršena grafika. Svaka slika je pravo malo remek delo i bukvalno sam sa uživanjem trošio minute razgledajući crteže koji su apsolutno majstorski urađeni!
Sama priča u početku deluje malo konfuzno, ali se do kraja prvog dela naziru neke ideje i čitaocu bude krivo kada dođe do poslednje stranice same novele, međutim na kraju se nalaze bonusi u vidu kratkog rečnika, likova i kratke priče koja osvetljava prošlost.
Da sumiram:
*** (tri zvezdice) za grafiku
* (četvrta zvezdica) za ideju i kreativnost u samoj priči
* (peta zvezdica) za zmajeve i predobru Lynn <3
March 3, 2013
There are a dozen misconstrued 'facts' about Fantasy literature. You will see comments of repetition levied against practically every fantasy novel ever written after Lord of the Rings with no such comparisons made by the reviewers involving their own favored genres, (Horror? Romance?) but the truth of the fact is that most of us reading these novels have gone in for an epic tale about good waring with evil in a world that is not your own. Ravine delivers on this promise.
Less is misconstrued about graphic novels and comic books. We are talking about a medium that caters primarily to a male audience and as such the female sex is often misrepresented and hyper sexualized at worst, misunderstood and clumsily implemented. (This is NOT always the truth, just often enough to indicate that there IS a problem) I am pleased to say that Ravine instead takes a fresh, if not completely original, take on the fantasy genre, while spitting in the face of many comic book conventions.
We aren't in your classic orcs and goblins territory here. Ravine is a fully realized world from the mind of the artist Stephen Sejac. You can whine that the people are 'basically' elves, which they are not, or that the landscapes and cities look to much like places in Middle Earth, which they might, but one cannot ignore the depth of what is being presented here.
The book runs one hundred and sixty-ish pages with the final thirty being comprised entirely of index material, the first few pages of which are standard glossary and character profiles (complete with pictures beside their names for easy reference) but the deeper into the index you go the more you begin to understand just how much thought has been put into the world of Ravine. There is a sort of 'world origin' short story. There are listings of ancient wanderers. (fantasy type superheroes who are in possession of weapons granted to them by a god) a look into the different species that populate the world and some of the cities as well. We are being promised indexing in each volume and that you won't necessarily be seeing the same things in any of them. The point I'm trying to make is that the index is amazing. You get stories and reference both, and a few of them intersect both giving the impression of Tolkien quality depth but also of connection which, in my opinion, is integral to an enjoyable fantasy experience. Roleplay junkies get your pencils out.
I don't want to spoil the plot. Suffice it to say that at least as far as vol 1 goes you have your standard introductory story here. There are introductions to the main players, politics, religious frictions, a sweeping prologue that sets the stage for whats to come. It's a volume that has to do the obligatory job of setting the stage for the remainder of the series and I don't knock points off of a good read for setting up the stage. Every novel ever written has to do this, epic sagas tend to require a deeper investment. I will say that I suggest you read the index first, as it will help you to more organically understand everything that's going on. There were a few pieces that left me confused on my first read, but after reading the index my second read through left me with no questions as to what was being presented.
I'd like to take a step back now and also give my personal thumbs up as a woman. Yes the characters are all suffering 'chronic beauty' syndrome. There aren't any less than flawless characters in the narrative but if that is a complaint of yours I suggest you take a meandering look in Twilight's direction and ask yourself if us girls like to write much about less than 'sparkly' men. You don't? Than let me continue. Ravine is a completely gender neutral world. There is some hinting in the index that this wasn't always the case but as far as the narrative is concerned, men are on equal ground with women. Turn the corner in Ravine and your just as likely to see a woman in (Practical!) armor as you are a man. Even the 'War vet amputee' character typically reserved for men, is a woman's role in Ravine. Arianna seems to have a prosthetic leg she lost presumably in some war. Nowhere in the book is there a vibe of contempt from Ravine's male populace that a woman is anything less than they are, and nowhere is there a vibe from women that men are subordination to them. Ravine is complete gender equality, without any pretexts or declarations of how they are 'over sexism' because this is a world where the controversy simply does not exist and requires zero extrapolation. The same can even be said for most of the various races found in Ravine. It would be a misstep though, in my opinion, for a fantasy universe filled with so many extremes in variations of race (there are lizard races and bird races for instance) not to have something to say about racism, but know there are characters both black and white and skin color seems to mater as much to the people of Ravine as a person's gender. WIN!
THAT is what being 'over sexism' or 'over racism' really is. When the subject does not even require discussion. Sure I'm discussing it here in my review, but the graphic novel never once bats an eyelash at this, and that alone puts it above ninety percent of the competition. So when you review this, and bring in whatever preconceptions you have about comic books and sci-fi/fantasy just keep that in mind.
So there it is. Ravine may have a stumble or two in the middle that I am simply incapable of noting. It has a fairly predictable opening arc vibe, but in my opinion the world of Ravine is rich and original enough (yes even though there are Dragons *gasp*) to make up for that, the artist himself has even said vol 1 is the worst installment of the series for this exact reason. Ravine is a fantasy graphic novel with a history as deep as middle earth and a promising story. If your a fan of either fantasy or comic books I recommend you BUY this book!
Less is misconstrued about graphic novels and comic books. We are talking about a medium that caters primarily to a male audience and as such the female sex is often misrepresented and hyper sexualized at worst, misunderstood and clumsily implemented. (This is NOT always the truth, just often enough to indicate that there IS a problem) I am pleased to say that Ravine instead takes a fresh, if not completely original, take on the fantasy genre, while spitting in the face of many comic book conventions.
We aren't in your classic orcs and goblins territory here. Ravine is a fully realized world from the mind of the artist Stephen Sejac. You can whine that the people are 'basically' elves, which they are not, or that the landscapes and cities look to much like places in Middle Earth, which they might, but one cannot ignore the depth of what is being presented here.
The book runs one hundred and sixty-ish pages with the final thirty being comprised entirely of index material, the first few pages of which are standard glossary and character profiles (complete with pictures beside their names for easy reference) but the deeper into the index you go the more you begin to understand just how much thought has been put into the world of Ravine. There is a sort of 'world origin' short story. There are listings of ancient wanderers. (fantasy type superheroes who are in possession of weapons granted to them by a god) a look into the different species that populate the world and some of the cities as well. We are being promised indexing in each volume and that you won't necessarily be seeing the same things in any of them. The point I'm trying to make is that the index is amazing. You get stories and reference both, and a few of them intersect both giving the impression of Tolkien quality depth but also of connection which, in my opinion, is integral to an enjoyable fantasy experience. Roleplay junkies get your pencils out.
I don't want to spoil the plot. Suffice it to say that at least as far as vol 1 goes you have your standard introductory story here. There are introductions to the main players, politics, religious frictions, a sweeping prologue that sets the stage for whats to come. It's a volume that has to do the obligatory job of setting the stage for the remainder of the series and I don't knock points off of a good read for setting up the stage. Every novel ever written has to do this, epic sagas tend to require a deeper investment. I will say that I suggest you read the index first, as it will help you to more organically understand everything that's going on. There were a few pieces that left me confused on my first read, but after reading the index my second read through left me with no questions as to what was being presented.
I'd like to take a step back now and also give my personal thumbs up as a woman. Yes the characters are all suffering 'chronic beauty' syndrome. There aren't any less than flawless characters in the narrative but if that is a complaint of yours I suggest you take a meandering look in Twilight's direction and ask yourself if us girls like to write much about less than 'sparkly' men. You don't? Than let me continue. Ravine is a completely gender neutral world. There is some hinting in the index that this wasn't always the case but as far as the narrative is concerned, men are on equal ground with women. Turn the corner in Ravine and your just as likely to see a woman in (Practical!) armor as you are a man. Even the 'War vet amputee' character typically reserved for men, is a woman's role in Ravine. Arianna seems to have a prosthetic leg she lost presumably in some war. Nowhere in the book is there a vibe of contempt from Ravine's male populace that a woman is anything less than they are, and nowhere is there a vibe from women that men are subordination to them. Ravine is complete gender equality, without any pretexts or declarations of how they are 'over sexism' because this is a world where the controversy simply does not exist and requires zero extrapolation. The same can even be said for most of the various races found in Ravine. It would be a misstep though, in my opinion, for a fantasy universe filled with so many extremes in variations of race (there are lizard races and bird races for instance) not to have something to say about racism, but know there are characters both black and white and skin color seems to mater as much to the people of Ravine as a person's gender. WIN!
THAT is what being 'over sexism' or 'over racism' really is. When the subject does not even require discussion. Sure I'm discussing it here in my review, but the graphic novel never once bats an eyelash at this, and that alone puts it above ninety percent of the competition. So when you review this, and bring in whatever preconceptions you have about comic books and sci-fi/fantasy just keep that in mind.
So there it is. Ravine may have a stumble or two in the middle that I am simply incapable of noting. It has a fairly predictable opening arc vibe, but in my opinion the world of Ravine is rich and original enough (yes even though there are Dragons *gasp*) to make up for that, the artist himself has even said vol 1 is the worst installment of the series for this exact reason. Ravine is a fantasy graphic novel with a history as deep as middle earth and a promising story. If your a fan of either fantasy or comic books I recommend you BUY this book!
June 17, 2016
Reads kind of like the instruction manual to a Final Fantasy. Eh. I've played almost all of them. I'll probably read the next one through sheer force of habit.
August 14, 2018
* * *
3 / 5
To read this review with pictures, read it on my blog: https://atlasrisingbooks.wordpress.co...
The synopsis of Ravine, a high fantasy comic, sounded exactly like the kind of book that I would read. So I decided to give it a shot. Like most lengthy high fantasy novels, Ravine was hard to get into - with a massive cast, many different invented lands and cultures, it was seriously confusing - but it steadily drew me in.
The art: The style of Ravine wasn't exactly my type of art - the colours were too bold and the lines too dark for my tastes, but it was definitely good in it's own way. The pages are like an explosion of colour in your eyes. Best of all, the style was consistent throughout the story. I did find some of the text hard to read.
The story: In one word: confusing. In another: epic. We have dragons, we have magic, we have warring kingdoms, badass women and badass men. And so many characters it was enough to make my head spin just trying to keep track of them all on top of all the little references to religion, magic systems, politics and Chosen Ones.
If you are willing to put the work into getting to grips with the world and story of Ravine, I'm sure you will be well rewarded. Personally, I put Volume One down at the end and felt a pang of satisfaction that I had read it all with no desire to pick up the next one.
My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of Ravine.
Read this review and more on my blog: https://atlasrisingbooks.wordpress.co...
3 / 5
To read this review with pictures, read it on my blog: https://atlasrisingbooks.wordpress.co...
The synopsis of Ravine, a high fantasy comic, sounded exactly like the kind of book that I would read. So I decided to give it a shot. Like most lengthy high fantasy novels, Ravine was hard to get into - with a massive cast, many different invented lands and cultures, it was seriously confusing - but it steadily drew me in.
The art: The style of Ravine wasn't exactly my type of art - the colours were too bold and the lines too dark for my tastes, but it was definitely good in it's own way. The pages are like an explosion of colour in your eyes. Best of all, the style was consistent throughout the story. I did find some of the text hard to read.
The story: In one word: confusing. In another: epic. We have dragons, we have magic, we have warring kingdoms, badass women and badass men. And so many characters it was enough to make my head spin just trying to keep track of them all on top of all the little references to religion, magic systems, politics and Chosen Ones.
If you are willing to put the work into getting to grips with the world and story of Ravine, I'm sure you will be well rewarded. Personally, I put Volume One down at the end and felt a pang of satisfaction that I had read it all with no desire to pick up the next one.
My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of Ravine.
Read this review and more on my blog: https://atlasrisingbooks.wordpress.co...
May 13, 2018
I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Artwork - fantastic, as expected.
Story, not so much. Hard to follow, and the font used in the history sections was really hard to read.
Artwork - fantastic, as expected.
Story, not so much. Hard to follow, and the font used in the history sections was really hard to read.
January 4, 2017
Reading graphic novels might actually take me out of my reading slump of a grand total of 10 days. Note: And now I've caught a cold, well that's just great >.>
May include spoilers! Read at your own risk!
I am a person that has been actively following the creator of the characters, Nebezial on Deviantart, through my twin sister's account on that site and I have to say I've always liked his art style. It's so unique and the colours used are... well, yes, he's a proffessional digital artist. This translates superbely in the graphic novel Ravine.
Before I start discussing why, I'd like to talk about two things that piss me off to no end:
- most artists on Deviantart have the potential to give an actual story to their artwork, but instead just make a quick background and release a few artbooks, like pretty pictures can beat an interesting story at least that's what one of the more famous artists in the site have said *coughorpheleencough*.
- some of the more successful artists that have Patreon accounts and are sponsored by means of donations from other people USUALLY turn to NSFW artwork and softcore porn instead of investing in something that would actually make them contribute to the literary scene, because there's no way in hell anyone would not remember sakimichan's 800th nude pic of a popular character of an anime, TV series, movie or whatever, amaright? My sister is firmly convinced that people like Ravine author Stjephan Sejic or Calciphona author Shilin (her Deviantart username) are worth investing money in. I mean the work put into making these volumes is abysmal and so my sister decided to get the existing volumes of Ravine, Calchiphona and other Deviantart artists' comic creations.
But I am the one left reading and reviewing it, so thanks Madda for lending me the copies, I love you! I'll give them back, I promise!
When it comes to Ravine, truth is I knew almost nothing about it, I wasn't following art updates for it on Deviantart and so I went in mostly blind. Which might create some confusion. At least with the pacing and the ammount of info you get at an alarmingly fast rate.
If you are not paying close attention to the transitions, you may actually end up confusing yourself more, because this story has a tendency to switch perspectives... a lot (which is expected given that the creators are trying to flesh out a world as diverse as Westeros or Middle Earth). These characters know a lot of things that the reader has to somehow accept and I bet the creators hoped that the reader remembers all these concepts before the end of the book where a whole lot of the mysterious unknown concepts are mostly explained, by means of an explanatory sort of history lesson.
From personal experiance it's not really possible because think about it, you have all these concepts that are used and almost never explained and by the end you're left wondering: "Did they even mention such a thing? I can't remember." That's one of the reasons I'll actually be rating this graphic novel lower than I intended.
The setting is distinctive and also, the world building, even if it is unclear for a good chunk of the time, is really well done. I enjoyed the idea of different species of humanoids and not just one, in this world and I rather enjoyed reading about them, at the end of the volume :)
Now the plot is... uhh... not fantastic, at least as far as fantasy works go. We've seen court politics and Chosen One tropes done to death, however what I think makes the entire thing work is the way it is executed. And by that I don't necessarily mean the art style itself, but also the way the story, however filled with concepts that seem foreign, flows. It is tightly constructed, if haphazardly at first glance and it delivers a really nice story to look at... well admitedly you can be grossed out by a few of the gory scenes tho.
We have a few separate plot threads interweaved and while it is welcomed to shift perspectives and see what happens outside of the main character's POV, it sometimes feels like too much is happening.
So, we have the subplot with Stein, the one with Lynn the one with the Melchizar fellow or whatever his name is, the plot with the new wyvern threat and the forging of an alliance of interests that can be used to the advantage of another set of antagonists led by Nebezial himself. (Wait didn't he die in the prologue? Or was that just Azriel? Did he overload?) Oh and Nebezial's quest to kill the corrupted living God of the Mountain, which has the most unique shape I've seen in recent years.
Of all these, I believe the most relatable plot line however is Lynn's because we actually see what she goes through and how she becomes a wanderer - it was situationally hilarious btw :P.
There are a fair few characters in this story, however, my belief is that only two of them can be considered main characters, even if the perspectives change from one plotline to another quite frequently.
Stein is one of the two MCs we follow and he is also one of the two wanderers, shapers of fate so to say, that are present in this world. However, unline most other wanderers that came before him, he just wants to get filthy rich and then lay low somewhere. In a way he reminds me of Locke from Scott Lynch's Lies of Locke Lamora, in that he is only interested in what benefits himself and doesn't think of his goal, that of having a say in major events to come. He is a compelling character in this regard. His dynamic with the guiding spirit bound to his weapon, Azriel, is a nice bickering one, they bounce off one another quite interestingly and it makes for some really hillarious dialogue.
Lynn is the other wanderer and she becomes one after she tries for a few... I'm guessing tens of minutes to get a really coveted sword off the top of a tree filled with weapons, the Faetree, and instead leans on the spear next to it and topels over. Hilarious, yes, until you realise that had not the spirir bound to the weapon awaken and gave her the ability to save herself, she would have gone splat at the roots of the tree. And speaking of that, I didn't really understand why the Faetree disappeared after Lynn finished her Sealing? Umm are there going to be no more wanderers? Probably not. I'm getting ahead of myself.
Lynn is one of the more fleshed out characters of the story and while not as compelling as Stein, at least we know what she wants what's her fears and how she interacts with other people. In this regard I believe she is more fleshed out, that is not to say that I like her as a characxter :/ I rather don't. But oh well maybe she'll warm up to me as I read further.
Now the other characters we know just a few things about them, Valerius has a thing for Arianna ;;) if you know what I mean. Nebezial is fraking insane. I mean, this guy wants to bring back his dead wife and daughter - the other he accidentally killed - by what? By gaining access to the power an Eani can give him? Oh and marrying her, that kind of defeats the purpose you were going for it, bud.
I think that's all I can say about the characters up until this point, I know next to nothing about them :( Which is a shame, I'd like to know more about the antagonistic church organization and that God in the Mountain. What is that thing btw?
On the technical side of thing, the art used in this comic book is GORGEOUS!. I don't use that word often, but I feel like this graphic novel series deserves it. Have you seen how it looks?
Now this is just a page. The whole graphic novel is filled with amazing arwork and if you want to see other works by the illustrator, I suggest go here >> Nebezial<<< . I've always loved his art style and it is really lovely to watch a story unfold in such a beautiful way. It's certainly the most artistic looking comic I've everread, I can tell you that.
Let's Rate This - 8.3 / 10
Setting and Atmosphere - 8
Plot - 7
Main Characters - 8
Secondary Characters - 8
Antagonists - 9
Writing - 8
Artwork - 10
Enjoyability - 9
I can't wait to get to the next volume... oh, no, wait I guess I can, because I'm sleepy and I am not feeling very well due to this damn cold. I'll be back with a review on Ravine Volume two, in a few hours or tommorow maybe.
My other reviews :D
May include spoilers! Read at your own risk!
I am a person that has been actively following the creator of the characters, Nebezial on Deviantart, through my twin sister's account on that site and I have to say I've always liked his art style. It's so unique and the colours used are... well, yes, he's a proffessional digital artist. This translates superbely in the graphic novel Ravine.
Before I start discussing why, I'd like to talk about two things that piss me off to no end:
- most artists on Deviantart have the potential to give an actual story to their artwork, but instead just make a quick background and release a few artbooks, like pretty pictures can beat an interesting story at least that's what one of the more famous artists in the site have said *coughorpheleencough*.
- some of the more successful artists that have Patreon accounts and are sponsored by means of donations from other people USUALLY turn to NSFW artwork and softcore porn instead of investing in something that would actually make them contribute to the literary scene, because there's no way in hell anyone would not remember sakimichan's 800th nude pic of a popular character of an anime, TV series, movie or whatever, amaright? My sister is firmly convinced that people like Ravine author Stjephan Sejic or Calciphona author Shilin (her Deviantart username) are worth investing money in. I mean the work put into making these volumes is abysmal and so my sister decided to get the existing volumes of Ravine, Calchiphona and other Deviantart artists' comic creations.
But I am the one left reading and reviewing it, so thanks Madda for lending me the copies, I love you! I'll give them back, I promise!
When it comes to Ravine, truth is I knew almost nothing about it, I wasn't following art updates for it on Deviantart and so I went in mostly blind. Which might create some confusion. At least with the pacing and the ammount of info you get at an alarmingly fast rate.
If you are not paying close attention to the transitions, you may actually end up confusing yourself more, because this story has a tendency to switch perspectives... a lot (which is expected given that the creators are trying to flesh out a world as diverse as Westeros or Middle Earth). These characters know a lot of things that the reader has to somehow accept and I bet the creators hoped that the reader remembers all these concepts before the end of the book where a whole lot of the mysterious unknown concepts are mostly explained, by means of an explanatory sort of history lesson.
From personal experiance it's not really possible because think about it, you have all these concepts that are used and almost never explained and by the end you're left wondering: "Did they even mention such a thing? I can't remember." That's one of the reasons I'll actually be rating this graphic novel lower than I intended.
The setting is distinctive and also, the world building, even if it is unclear for a good chunk of the time, is really well done. I enjoyed the idea of different species of humanoids and not just one, in this world and I rather enjoyed reading about them, at the end of the volume :)
Now the plot is... uhh... not fantastic, at least as far as fantasy works go. We've seen court politics and Chosen One tropes done to death, however what I think makes the entire thing work is the way it is executed. And by that I don't necessarily mean the art style itself, but also the way the story, however filled with concepts that seem foreign, flows. It is tightly constructed, if haphazardly at first glance and it delivers a really nice story to look at... well admitedly you can be grossed out by a few of the gory scenes tho.
We have a few separate plot threads interweaved and while it is welcomed to shift perspectives and see what happens outside of the main character's POV, it sometimes feels like too much is happening.
So, we have the subplot with Stein, the one with Lynn the one with the Melchizar fellow or whatever his name is, the plot with the new wyvern threat and the forging of an alliance of interests that can be used to the advantage of another set of antagonists led by Nebezial himself. (Wait didn't he die in the prologue? Or was that just Azriel? Did he overload?) Oh and Nebezial's quest to kill the corrupted living God of the Mountain, which has the most unique shape I've seen in recent years.
Of all these, I believe the most relatable plot line however is Lynn's because we actually see what she goes through and how she becomes a wanderer - it was situationally hilarious btw :P.
There are a fair few characters in this story, however, my belief is that only two of them can be considered main characters, even if the perspectives change from one plotline to another quite frequently.
Stein is one of the two MCs we follow and he is also one of the two wanderers, shapers of fate so to say, that are present in this world. However, unline most other wanderers that came before him, he just wants to get filthy rich and then lay low somewhere. In a way he reminds me of Locke from Scott Lynch's Lies of Locke Lamora, in that he is only interested in what benefits himself and doesn't think of his goal, that of having a say in major events to come. He is a compelling character in this regard. His dynamic with the guiding spirit bound to his weapon, Azriel, is a nice bickering one, they bounce off one another quite interestingly and it makes for some really hillarious dialogue.
Lynn is the other wanderer and she becomes one after she tries for a few... I'm guessing tens of minutes to get a really coveted sword off the top of a tree filled with weapons, the Faetree, and instead leans on the spear next to it and topels over. Hilarious, yes, until you realise that had not the spirir bound to the weapon awaken and gave her the ability to save herself, she would have gone splat at the roots of the tree. And speaking of that, I didn't really understand why the Faetree disappeared after Lynn finished her Sealing? Umm are there going to be no more wanderers? Probably not. I'm getting ahead of myself.
Lynn is one of the more fleshed out characters of the story and while not as compelling as Stein, at least we know what she wants what's her fears and how she interacts with other people. In this regard I believe she is more fleshed out, that is not to say that I like her as a characxter :/ I rather don't. But oh well maybe she'll warm up to me as I read further.
Now the other characters we know just a few things about them, Valerius has a thing for Arianna ;;) if you know what I mean. Nebezial is fraking insane. I mean, this guy wants to bring back his dead wife and daughter - the other he accidentally killed - by what? By gaining access to the power an Eani can give him? Oh and marrying her, that kind of defeats the purpose you were going for it, bud.
I think that's all I can say about the characters up until this point, I know next to nothing about them :( Which is a shame, I'd like to know more about the antagonistic church organization and that God in the Mountain. What is that thing btw?
On the technical side of thing, the art used in this comic book is GORGEOUS!. I don't use that word often, but I feel like this graphic novel series deserves it. Have you seen how it looks?
Now this is just a page. The whole graphic novel is filled with amazing arwork and if you want to see other works by the illustrator, I suggest go here >> Nebezial<<< . I've always loved his art style and it is really lovely to watch a story unfold in such a beautiful way. It's certainly the most artistic looking comic I've everread, I can tell you that.
Let's Rate This - 8.3 / 10
Setting and Atmosphere - 8
Plot - 7
Main Characters - 8
Secondary Characters - 8
Antagonists - 9
Writing - 8
Artwork - 10
Enjoyability - 9
I can't wait to get to the next volume... oh, no, wait I guess I can, because I'm sleepy and I am not feeling very well due to this damn cold. I'll be back with a review on Ravine Volume two, in a few hours or tommorow maybe.
My other reviews :D
June 22, 2018
Epic fantasy is what Ravine, Volume 1 is. This is magic and warring kingdoms and a Dark Lord of Evil. This is spurned love, broken hearts and hearts destined for immortality and unending love. This volume builds the story between the countries of Ravine and the rise of the evil in the lands. What you have here is the start of an amazing tale with vibrant and interesting characters. The art in this book is absolutely breathtaking! I have the second volume on hand and will start this as soon as i can. Sejic's art and Marz' storytelling combine here again in another wonderful collaboration. This is just a damn fine read and if you enjoy fantasy and especially Dragons, then you cannot miss this one. The Dragon art here is as if the Dragons are real, or as close as a mythical, spell wielding creature of fiction can be. I simply can't say enough about this book, but there it is. This builds a longer and deeper story and yet it rivets you to the spot, wanting more. The appendix in the back, explaining the races, the Dragons and lands is very helpful. There is also a cast of characters that is very helpful, as there are many of them.
Danny
Danny
February 13, 2013
If you’ve ever read my blog, you’ll know I’m not a big fan of bashing books. I respect the work that goes into crafting stories and illustrating images. Also, if it’s something that I’m absolutely not going to get any pleasure out of reading, then it’s not worth my time to read and review. However, on the rare occasion I do get through a book that I truly dislike, I try to be as constructive in my criticism as possible.
“In a fantastic world far from our own, an ancient magic spell almost split the world in two and left an endless ravine in the north.
One man, Nebezial Asheri, driven by the deaths of his wife and daughters, will attempt to reclaim that magic and bring his loved ones back to life.
The forces of an entire city, Paladia, will rise to oppose him, but his greatest foes will be a ragtag band of an outcast wizard, a dragonrider, and their allies.”
Ravine is one of those stories that possess a great premise that gets you excited to read it! I mean common, magic, monsters and dragons all in the same graphic novel?! So what if the storytelling is not revolutionary, that’ll be good light fun, right? WRONG.
The illustrations are hard to explain. I went from impressed to agitated, over and over again. The characters often look out of place amidst the background. Imagine the movie 300, only instead of Girard Butler and ripped Spartans, I have blurry oil painted people in front of the green screen. The scenes where people donned armor or the focus was on the geography of the world where pretty well done, my main issue was with the illustrations depicting people, especially their faces.
The characters all seemed like the typical fantasy clichés with new wrapping paper. For instance, the main protagonist, Stein, is depicted to be a lovable rogue. He does all of the the typical fantasy hero things, wielding magic, making sarcastic comments, all while exuberating confidence. It’s clear they wanted to make him a likable character. However, his hollow development makes that very difficult. You open the present and find out you’ve been re-gifted.
For a volume that’s only 150 pages with very little written dialogue, it took an awfully long time to get the story moving. It also took an awful long time to force my way through reading, but that’s a horse of a different color. If you’re looking for a good fantasy graphic novel to invest in, I’d suggest you keep looking. This one left me very unimpressed.
This book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks,
Roger Bellini
“In a fantastic world far from our own, an ancient magic spell almost split the world in two and left an endless ravine in the north.
One man, Nebezial Asheri, driven by the deaths of his wife and daughters, will attempt to reclaim that magic and bring his loved ones back to life.
The forces of an entire city, Paladia, will rise to oppose him, but his greatest foes will be a ragtag band of an outcast wizard, a dragonrider, and their allies.”
Ravine is one of those stories that possess a great premise that gets you excited to read it! I mean common, magic, monsters and dragons all in the same graphic novel?! So what if the storytelling is not revolutionary, that’ll be good light fun, right? WRONG.
The illustrations are hard to explain. I went from impressed to agitated, over and over again. The characters often look out of place amidst the background. Imagine the movie 300, only instead of Girard Butler and ripped Spartans, I have blurry oil painted people in front of the green screen. The scenes where people donned armor or the focus was on the geography of the world where pretty well done, my main issue was with the illustrations depicting people, especially their faces.
The characters all seemed like the typical fantasy clichés with new wrapping paper. For instance, the main protagonist, Stein, is depicted to be a lovable rogue. He does all of the the typical fantasy hero things, wielding magic, making sarcastic comments, all while exuberating confidence. It’s clear they wanted to make him a likable character. However, his hollow development makes that very difficult. You open the present and find out you’ve been re-gifted.
For a volume that’s only 150 pages with very little written dialogue, it took an awfully long time to get the story moving. It also took an awful long time to force my way through reading, but that’s a horse of a different color. If you’re looking for a good fantasy graphic novel to invest in, I’d suggest you keep looking. This one left me very unimpressed.
This book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks,
Roger Bellini
May 9, 2013
The Saga Unfolds would be an appropriate title for this book. I’m truly impressed with what Ron Marz & Stjepan Sejic have created here: an epic adventure full of interesting characters in a fantasy world with an incredibly elaborate history. The only drawback of Ravine is that there are so many pawns on the board that this first volume requires the reader’s utmost concentration and even then you can use a rereading. (not that this would be considered a punishment, far from it) Yet I didn’t feel it became too much for me. On the contrary: I want more! Sometimes it reminds me somewhat of ‘Game Of Thrones’, especially when there’s talk about a "game of power" or "the cold is coming" but don’t think this is a total rip-off. It’s completely different in content and (like’ Game Of Thrones’) the story stays away from the beaten paths of fantasy clichés.
The artwork of Stjepan Sejic is photo-realistic eye candy. Sometimes it really feels like watching a movie with lifelike characters.
This book is not a collection of single issues but a first installment containing 125 pages, pages you’ll want to devoure in a single reading. In the back, the comic is complemented by appendices: glossary, cast of characters, a tale, etc. ...
This summer, the second volume should arrive on the shelves of your comic book store.
Strongly reccomended !!!!!!!!!!! (but no easy reading)
The artwork of Stjepan Sejic is photo-realistic eye candy. Sometimes it really feels like watching a movie with lifelike characters.
This book is not a collection of single issues but a first installment containing 125 pages, pages you’ll want to devoure in a single reading. In the back, the comic is complemented by appendices: glossary, cast of characters, a tale, etc. ...
This summer, the second volume should arrive on the shelves of your comic book store.
Strongly reccomended !!!!!!!!!!! (but no easy reading)
March 24, 2013
While I love Sejic's art, and some pieces here are quite awesome, I can't bring myself to give it more than 2 stars. I wanted to but honestly, I was bored to tears by it.
Some artists can write and draw and excel at both (see, oh, Adam Warren who is, I think even a greater writer than an artist. Some fail miserably. And, alas, this is the case.
His Sunstone webcomic was recommended to me by a friend, and I totally enjoyed it, character development, events and all. But this... oh this is terrible.
While the world build is grandiose and complex, it's all that it is. World build. There is hardly any story to be found, and I found myself reading skipping bits because of the exposition dumps. I felt no connection with either main characters, and I started to fear they might turn out to be mary-sues, no matter how funny and sympathetic they might be.
Hell, I wound up being more interested by the opening story that details two minor characters (and the villain, true, but still) than the main one...
This is people trying to write a la Tolkien -- little story, lots of world build.
And in this case, it didn't work for me at all.
Some artists can write and draw and excel at both (see, oh, Adam Warren who is, I think even a greater writer than an artist. Some fail miserably. And, alas, this is the case.
His Sunstone webcomic was recommended to me by a friend, and I totally enjoyed it, character development, events and all. But this... oh this is terrible.
While the world build is grandiose and complex, it's all that it is. World build. There is hardly any story to be found, and I found myself reading skipping bits because of the exposition dumps. I felt no connection with either main characters, and I started to fear they might turn out to be mary-sues, no matter how funny and sympathetic they might be.
Hell, I wound up being more interested by the opening story that details two minor characters (and the villain, true, but still) than the main one...
This is people trying to write a la Tolkien -- little story, lots of world build.
And in this case, it didn't work for me at all.
July 14, 2019
Ravine is an epic fantasy story, genre-wise. I have discovered I am not an epic fantasy fan. I don't know which kind of fantasy J.R.R. Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, and the classic myths are classed as, but I love them. This not so much.
I get lost (and very bored) when I'm dropped into another time and place with myriad human and humanoid species and magic and flying creatures and kingdoms and betrayal and backstabbing and dealing with a hero refusing the call to adventure and new languages and cities and faces and side stories and incidentals and whole new mythologies.
Ravine has too much happening right from the outset. It's overwhelming, and isn't easy to read when you're trying to remember who everyone is, where in the multiple kingdoms they are, and pretty much learn a horde of new terminology. Tolkien did it well. George did it well. The classics did it well.
Really successful fantasy stories tend to start somewhere the reader is familiar with and slowly approach the threshold into a new world. A fantasy story doesn't have to start in our world but starting slowly gives us a chance to join the new world. The reader shouldn't have to check the appendix every few minutes - the story should offer important info, the appendix should offer extra info.
Ravine is epic. It sets the bar very high. Evident throughout are the thought, care, and love that have been crafted into the world and characters. I seriously highly recommend Ravine for anyone who is into epic fantasy, but if you're not, Ravine probably isn't the best place to start.
The first line in Ravine is:
The story doesn't introduce anyone and doesn't give the reader enough information to be invested in events. We need a protagonist to carry us through and to know the motivations inspiring the events. That is where Ravine falls flat.
The redeeming factor for Ravine is the art. Holy hand-grenades, Batman. The art! *shakes you violently and yells in your face* Ravine is worth checking out for the incredible art alone. Each and every panel could be a stand-alone picture. I was absolutely floored at just how great the art is. Stjepan Šejić is responsible for the amazing Death Vigil, Vol. 1 which you should definitely check out if you haven't already. It's completely different to Ravine but oh so amazing.
My rating: 4 old alliances out of 5 - because the art is just that good.
I get lost (and very bored) when I'm dropped into another time and place with myriad human and humanoid species and magic and flying creatures and kingdoms and betrayal and backstabbing and dealing with a hero refusing the call to adventure and new languages and cities and faces and side stories and incidentals and whole new mythologies.
Ravine has too much happening right from the outset. It's overwhelming, and isn't easy to read when you're trying to remember who everyone is, where in the multiple kingdoms they are, and pretty much learn a horde of new terminology. Tolkien did it well. George did it well. The classics did it well.
Really successful fantasy stories tend to start somewhere the reader is familiar with and slowly approach the threshold into a new world. A fantasy story doesn't have to start in our world but starting slowly gives us a chance to join the new world. The reader shouldn't have to check the appendix every few minutes - the story should offer important info, the appendix should offer extra info.
Ravine is epic. It sets the bar very high. Evident throughout are the thought, care, and love that have been crafted into the world and characters. I seriously highly recommend Ravine for anyone who is into epic fantasy, but if you're not, Ravine probably isn't the best place to start.
The first line in Ravine is:
Warriors of Aphelion we stand far from home, facing an enemy none of us ever wanted to fight. A man who was once our king leads our kinsmen, who fought and bled with us on Ravenona.That's a lot of information. We're thrown into the midst of a battle for something *shrugs*. Someone is angry about a king, whom I don't (yet?) care about because I know nothing of him. What or where is Aphelion? *Checks map inside cover for mention of Ravenona ... Attempt to locate Ravenona failed* A planet? A mountain? A kingdom? Maybe it's not important. Are Ravenona and Aphelion things I need to remember for later? And on it goes.
The story doesn't introduce anyone and doesn't give the reader enough information to be invested in events. We need a protagonist to carry us through and to know the motivations inspiring the events. That is where Ravine falls flat.
The redeeming factor for Ravine is the art. Holy hand-grenades, Batman. The art! *shakes you violently and yells in your face* Ravine is worth checking out for the incredible art alone. Each and every panel could be a stand-alone picture. I was absolutely floored at just how great the art is. Stjepan Šejić is responsible for the amazing Death Vigil, Vol. 1 which you should definitely check out if you haven't already. It's completely different to Ravine but oh so amazing.
My rating: 4 old alliances out of 5 - because the art is just that good.
December 15, 2017
SO MUCH DRAGONS.
That is basically the most important part about this comic, but it also has cool female characters (tit-armor looked stupid though), a very unique art style and promising storyline and world.
The pace was off now and then - sometimes going far too fast for me to follow, and at other times dragging out a bit. I actually had a hard time understanding a lot of things about the world's history and magic system throughout the entirety of this story - I often felt like I had information thrown at me, especially since there was a lot of telling and not showing.
The creators almost seemed to have some issues with executing the awesome ideas they had in mind, but I absolutely think 'Ravine' has the potential for a great comic. It's already a solid read, and I mean, there was a shit-ton of dragons in here, so I'm definitely rooting for them.
Xoxo, super-cheap-for-dragons-girl
That is basically the most important part about this comic, but it also has cool female characters (tit-armor looked stupid though), a very unique art style and promising storyline and world.
The pace was off now and then - sometimes going far too fast for me to follow, and at other times dragging out a bit. I actually had a hard time understanding a lot of things about the world's history and magic system throughout the entirety of this story - I often felt like I had information thrown at me, especially since there was a lot of telling and not showing.
The creators almost seemed to have some issues with executing the awesome ideas they had in mind, but I absolutely think 'Ravine' has the potential for a great comic. It's already a solid read, and I mean, there was a shit-ton of dragons in here, so I'm definitely rooting for them.
Xoxo, super-cheap-for-dragons-girl
June 23, 2021
Mostly incomprehensible story with no characters I actually cared about, but I'm here for the dragon art and pleasing armour textures.
October 24, 2015
I have had this book to read for quite awhile. I was drawn to the beautiful illustration throughout. It ended up being a very good read. The illustration is amazing and beautiful. The story is a complex epic fantasy and is fairly easy to follow (although a ton of characters are introduced).
This book is the introduction to a complex new fantasy world in which the evil Nebezial tries to reclaim the magic of the land people for his own. A group of ragged and unlikely heroes are introduced in this volume and I assume they will band against him as the story progresses.
The illustration of this graphic novel is phenomenal. It is absolutely stunning, full color, and beautiful. Seriously I could just stare at these pictures for hours.
This is just the introduction to the story. We get some backstory on Nebezial and why he is so power hungry. Then we are introduced to a series of characters, all who have a lot of depth and issues of their own. You can tell the story is being set up for these characters to come together eventually (although they don’t quite get there in this volume).
The most amazing part of this graphic novel is the amazing appendix (which is ~30 pages). The appendix immerses the reader completely in this world. This includes an index, some origin stories, and other stories that fill out this world and make it completely realized.
My only complaints are that there are a ton of characters introduced and some of them we only see briefly. This is definitely an epic fantasy trait, but it means that the story evolves slowly and you don’t get a lot of page space with the individual characters.
Overall this is an excellent start to this graphic novel epic fantasy story. The illustration is true artwork and absolutely stunning. The characters are all well done and have a lot of depth to them. The world building is very well done and really immerses the reader in this new world. I would recommend to those who love graphic novels and epic fantasy. I am eager to read the next volume in this series.
This book is the introduction to a complex new fantasy world in which the evil Nebezial tries to reclaim the magic of the land people for his own. A group of ragged and unlikely heroes are introduced in this volume and I assume they will band against him as the story progresses.
The illustration of this graphic novel is phenomenal. It is absolutely stunning, full color, and beautiful. Seriously I could just stare at these pictures for hours.
This is just the introduction to the story. We get some backstory on Nebezial and why he is so power hungry. Then we are introduced to a series of characters, all who have a lot of depth and issues of their own. You can tell the story is being set up for these characters to come together eventually (although they don’t quite get there in this volume).
The most amazing part of this graphic novel is the amazing appendix (which is ~30 pages). The appendix immerses the reader completely in this world. This includes an index, some origin stories, and other stories that fill out this world and make it completely realized.
My only complaints are that there are a ton of characters introduced and some of them we only see briefly. This is definitely an epic fantasy trait, but it means that the story evolves slowly and you don’t get a lot of page space with the individual characters.
Overall this is an excellent start to this graphic novel epic fantasy story. The illustration is true artwork and absolutely stunning. The characters are all well done and have a lot of depth to them. The world building is very well done and really immerses the reader in this new world. I would recommend to those who love graphic novels and epic fantasy. I am eager to read the next volume in this series.
April 13, 2016
I have been an admirer of the fantastic artwork of Stjepan Sejic for years and could not wait to get my hands on “Ravine” after seeing preview pieces on his DeviantArt account. The book’s is named after the continent on which this epic fantasy story takes place in numerous kingdoms amongst several different cultures and religious beliefs that influence the world in which the main characters find themselves and by the end of the book the reader finds out those two characters are not well thought of.
Dragons, humans, and in-between half-blood species form the populace of the continent of Ravine separated into several kingdoms and tribes, however there are some individuals that are not bound by borders or laws—Wanderers. These individuals are the hands of Fate, bonded to their magical grimlas weapons and we follow two of them—Stein Phais and Lynn de Luctes. Stein begins “Ravine” as a notorious Wanderer while Lynn is a dragonrider-in-trainer and ends the book a newly bonded Wanderer. Between following these two individuals Sejic builds the world they inhabit especially the growing tension between the sectarian and religious powers in the continent’s grand Alliance, but Sejic also teases a look at the nefarious elements that are making those tensions worse because of their own plans. After around 140 pages of story, Sejic ends the book with almost 20 pages worth of worldbuilding material that further develops the background of the continent of Ravine and makes the reader interested in seeing what will happen in Volume 2.
Characters, story, and art all make “Ravine” a must read for any epic fantasy comic readers and those who just enjoy epic fantasy in any medium. Stjepan Sejic’s 11 year development of his world results in a magnificent first installment.
Dragons, humans, and in-between half-blood species form the populace of the continent of Ravine separated into several kingdoms and tribes, however there are some individuals that are not bound by borders or laws—Wanderers. These individuals are the hands of Fate, bonded to their magical grimlas weapons and we follow two of them—Stein Phais and Lynn de Luctes. Stein begins “Ravine” as a notorious Wanderer while Lynn is a dragonrider-in-trainer and ends the book a newly bonded Wanderer. Between following these two individuals Sejic builds the world they inhabit especially the growing tension between the sectarian and religious powers in the continent’s grand Alliance, but Sejic also teases a look at the nefarious elements that are making those tensions worse because of their own plans. After around 140 pages of story, Sejic ends the book with almost 20 pages worth of worldbuilding material that further develops the background of the continent of Ravine and makes the reader interested in seeing what will happen in Volume 2.
Characters, story, and art all make “Ravine” a must read for any epic fantasy comic readers and those who just enjoy epic fantasy in any medium. Stjepan Sejic’s 11 year development of his world results in a magnificent first installment.
March 14, 2013
Originally published at The BiblioSanctum:
The most striking element of this book at the start is, unsurprisingly, the art work. It seems almost a disservice to put words to Sejic's imagery as they eloquently tell the story all on their own, but of course, more detail is required than that. This is a creator-owned story about a fantasy world where the lands are divided by a great rift - a ravine - from which dragons and magic spewed forth long ago.
The story begins in epic proportions with a prologue about a battle between a corrupted king, and the general and daughter who now fight against him. Tragedy and darkness begets more tragedy and darkness in melodramatic proportion that felt a bit too over the top - but this was only the prologue and things settled into a more appropriate pace when the timeline switched to the present.
There are a lot of characters involved and a lot of lore and politics to follow, which can be daunting both to write and read. It's difficult to find the balance between telling too much and not showing enough, but as the story progressed, the pieces came together well enough for the situation to become clear and, more importantly, volume one ended with enough intrigue to make me want to read on. I particularly enjoyed the histories presented at the end of the book which helped fill in a few more details, while strengthening the lore.
The most striking element of this book at the start is, unsurprisingly, the art work. It seems almost a disservice to put words to Sejic's imagery as they eloquently tell the story all on their own, but of course, more detail is required than that. This is a creator-owned story about a fantasy world where the lands are divided by a great rift - a ravine - from which dragons and magic spewed forth long ago.
The story begins in epic proportions with a prologue about a battle between a corrupted king, and the general and daughter who now fight against him. Tragedy and darkness begets more tragedy and darkness in melodramatic proportion that felt a bit too over the top - but this was only the prologue and things settled into a more appropriate pace when the timeline switched to the present.
There are a lot of characters involved and a lot of lore and politics to follow, which can be daunting both to write and read. It's difficult to find the balance between telling too much and not showing enough, but as the story progressed, the pieces came together well enough for the situation to become clear and, more importantly, volume one ended with enough intrigue to make me want to read on. I particularly enjoyed the histories presented at the end of the book which helped fill in a few more details, while strengthening the lore.
March 1, 2019
Ravine probably isn't going to win any awards for stunning originality, being set in a classic Western fantasy world with lots of archetypal elements (warriors who ride dragons [which thankfully don't talk, sparing us inevitable cutesiness], magicians with a carefully defined set of rules governing their powers, the obligatory person whose powers completely break said rules, magic weapons being pulled out of things, lots of different humanoid races, the prologue set back when everyone's power levels were higher, warring kingdoms and intriguing nobles, etc.) and characters (the wisecracking roguish anti-hero, the rebellious princess [well, duchess], the sorcerous antagonist). However, unlike a squillion other fantasy works which trot out these common tropes without innovation or flair, to tedious effect, Ravine manages (in my opinion, at least) to put a fresh spin on them with likeable characters who don't just feel like a parade of stereotypes. The excellent artwork doesn't hurt either.
January 23, 2015
This was pretty good, though since it's setting up some pretty complex plots from multiple POVs was also somewhat confusing to start with. And of course just as I'm finally getting everything straight I hit the end. LOL Oh well...
Now to see if I can find the next in the series.
Now to see if I can find the next in the series.
June 6, 2016
Wow... That reading experience can only be described as epic. It was like reading a 600 page fantasy book but in comic book form. I'm a big fan of Stjepan Šejić from his books Sunstone and Death Vigil and I will be looking forward to reading the next volume in this saga. Great DnD inspiration!
August 19, 2023
First impression was negative. The story seems cliched, and all the characters excessively 'beautiful'. I know that seems like a weak criticism, but I find hyper beautiful characters, with 'Vaseline' gloss on their lips, and perfect peachy gleam on their cheeks somehow alienating. Probably I'm just jaded, my good mind ruined by the polemic of leftist academic learning - the appeal of beauty is still there, but this seem like cheap advertising in some way - superficial - like there is nil depth to any of the beauty.
The story did develop a little depth and complexity, and had some redeming features - dragons, magic, cool armour. But I didn't really get the magic, the dragons were not explored (maybe in volume 2?), and all the female forms had a sexualised aspect, that as a cisgendered hetro male, I find exploitative (of male weakness).
I liked that everyone was kind and courteous to each other in a civil, polite way. I just found everything a little too 'perfect'. The imagery was charming, and as I said, beautiful, but the world seemed mired in and unbelievable 'cleanness'. Perhaps this was the talent of the artist Stjepan Sejic, representing a halcyon moment just before social and military upheaval.
Published in 2013 and written by Ron Mark, there was enough for me to finish vol.1, but not enough for me to seek out vol.2. It is a variation of a theme, that holds little interest for me any more.
The one feature I found intriguing was the presence and persistence of 'spirits' manifesting as the voices of possessed weapons. Maybe vol.2 will explore that dynamic a little more.
Even the 'baddies' are not clearly 'bad', or at least it is not clear why they are, and the 'heroes', though clearly intended as the protagonists, are foolish and painfully beautiful, and have reputations in the narrative world as posing some form of malicious threat. Clearly an expectation being set up to be flipped, but I doubt i'll ever find out exactly how.
Reading this was a cheap diversion, and not everything I read can have a deeper purpose, but I am more precious about the use of my time these days, and this feels like a waste - derivative and reconstructed, beautiful and ... having dragons, but ultimately not worth the candle.
The story did develop a little depth and complexity, and had some redeming features - dragons, magic, cool armour. But I didn't really get the magic, the dragons were not explored (maybe in volume 2?), and all the female forms had a sexualised aspect, that as a cisgendered hetro male, I find exploitative (of male weakness).
I liked that everyone was kind and courteous to each other in a civil, polite way. I just found everything a little too 'perfect'. The imagery was charming, and as I said, beautiful, but the world seemed mired in and unbelievable 'cleanness'. Perhaps this was the talent of the artist Stjepan Sejic, representing a halcyon moment just before social and military upheaval.
Published in 2013 and written by Ron Mark, there was enough for me to finish vol.1, but not enough for me to seek out vol.2. It is a variation of a theme, that holds little interest for me any more.
The one feature I found intriguing was the presence and persistence of 'spirits' manifesting as the voices of possessed weapons. Maybe vol.2 will explore that dynamic a little more.
Even the 'baddies' are not clearly 'bad', or at least it is not clear why they are, and the 'heroes', though clearly intended as the protagonists, are foolish and painfully beautiful, and have reputations in the narrative world as posing some form of malicious threat. Clearly an expectation being set up to be flipped, but I doubt i'll ever find out exactly how.
Reading this was a cheap diversion, and not everything I read can have a deeper purpose, but I am more precious about the use of my time these days, and this feels like a waste - derivative and reconstructed, beautiful and ... having dragons, but ultimately not worth the candle.
June 2, 2018
This looked so cool! I thought the cover was pretty badass.
But I didn’t like the story as much as I had hoped.
I feel like it’s hard to do world building in visual mediums. These are always the most confusing parts of movies and comics. They try to fit so much in and it’s either confusing or tedious. Especially getting into the history of the world…this seems all too common in fantasy movies - you get a history to set up the story, and the history doesn’t make a lot of sense; or at least its confusing. The art was decent - but it looked almost too real - almost rotoscoped - in places.
But overall, it was an interesting story - I think it helped that I listened to Basil Poledouris’s Conan the Barbarian score while I listened to it.
There are some texts in the end that give a bit of the history of the world, but they don’t seem to directly inform the story; maybe indirectly.
Not sure if I’ll continue the story - though I am kind of curious how it will transpire.
Thanks to NetGalley, Diamond Books, and Image Comics for a copy in return for an honest review.
But I didn’t like the story as much as I had hoped.
I feel like it’s hard to do world building in visual mediums. These are always the most confusing parts of movies and comics. They try to fit so much in and it’s either confusing or tedious. Especially getting into the history of the world…this seems all too common in fantasy movies - you get a history to set up the story, and the history doesn’t make a lot of sense; or at least its confusing. The art was decent - but it looked almost too real - almost rotoscoped - in places.
But overall, it was an interesting story - I think it helped that I listened to Basil Poledouris’s Conan the Barbarian score while I listened to it.
There are some texts in the end that give a bit of the history of the world, but they don’t seem to directly inform the story; maybe indirectly.
Not sure if I’ll continue the story - though I am kind of curious how it will transpire.
Thanks to NetGalley, Diamond Books, and Image Comics for a copy in return for an honest review.
December 13, 2019
The story is as complicated as you can expect from high fantasy, though it could have been made more accessible by not jumping around as it does, not dropping so many names and titles that are difficult to keep track of. I tried to enjoy it as is, without thinking too much about it or trying to follow all the details. And failed. The effort feels like a waste of time. Then there's the artwork. Simply amazing - expressive, detailed, sexy, you name it. It's the Seijic standard, so if you liked it before, you're going to like it now. Still, it's not enough to finish this volume, let alone read the second one.
December 14, 2020
💥 Can be downloaded for free here! 💥
Why did I wait so bloody shrimping long to read this one? Because I'm a complete, total, utter idiot, that's why.
Epic Fantasy that is slightly Epic + confusing confusion that is deliciously confusing + women kickingderrière ass + roguish rogues who are deliciously roguish + yay, dragons! + way too many a whole bunch of very cool characters + somewhat pissed off evil overlords and ladies + yay, tentacles! + sentient weapon-spirit thingies (I want one for Christmas) =
Oh, and by the way, the art is Slightly Very Scrumptious (SVS™), too:
See what I mean? YUM, I say. (Oh, and you can thank Goodreads for the ridiculously crappy image quality.)
👋 To be continued and stuff.
· Volume 2: 4 stars
Why did I wait so bloody shrimping long to read this one? Because I'm a complete, total, utter idiot, that's why.
Epic Fantasy that is slightly Epic + confusing confusion that is deliciously confusing + women kicking
Oh, and by the way, the art is Slightly Very Scrumptious (SVS™), too:
See what I mean? YUM, I say. (Oh, and you can thank Goodreads for the ridiculously crappy image quality.)
👋 To be continued and stuff.
· Volume 2: 4 stars
October 19, 2019
Oh man this is so beautiful! This story has a lot of players and can get rather confusing but it's pretty brilliant. This is a high fantasy with glorious dragons, women that kick ass, and a story full of intrigue!
February 15, 2020
Amazing art and Fantasy with great world building
This book is fantastic! The art stands above so many other graphic novels. Plus the world is very interesting! I strongly recommend it for fans of GoT and LotR!
This book is fantastic! The art stands above so many other graphic novels. Plus the world is very interesting! I strongly recommend it for fans of GoT and LotR!
July 12, 2017
I loved the art but plot was complexed.
August 25, 2017
Nice story and nice art. Wish to see in on the big screen. Would be awesome to watch.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews