East of West #1 (Image)

writer: Jonathan Hickman
artist: Nick Dragotta

East of West is a new title, and by itself probably has no real name recognition, but its creators are much more notable.  First is writer Jonathan Hickman, who made his name working at Image on such titles as The Nightly News (an issue or two of which I read at the time) and Pax Romana, but whose work with Marvel in recent years (notably Fantastic Four and its Hickman spin-off FF) has elevated his awareness among comic book fans in general.  Hopefully East of West will help do the same for artist Nick Dragotta.

Apparently he's done quite a bit of work for Marvel, but the only one I'm personally familiar with is Vengeance, a mini-series he did a couple of years ago.  It was sensational, in large part thanks to Dragotta.  Fans didn't really take notice, however.  Thankfully Hickman has noticed him.  Chances are that simply in association, especially in a project like Hickman's homecoming (in addition to The Manhattan Projects), Dragotta's star is bound to rise a little.

Here's another association I'm going to make, this time to American Vampire, the Scott Snyder/Rafael Albuquerque Vertigo series.  In the early issues, Stephen King contributed a serialized story that to my mind is similar to East of West.  The King element was always my favorite element of American Vampire, so from me this is a huge compliment.

Hickman is famously high concept as a writer.  I'm a Grant Morrison guy myself, so I've always been curious about Hickman.  The two really aren't that much more similar besides the penchant for big ideas.  Hickman's big idea in East of West is what if Native Americans had emerged as a significant power during the Civil War.  Needless to say, the landscape changes drastically.  Central to this new landscape is the Second Book of Revelation and a waking vision (think Black Elk Speaks) that become known as The Message.

I also happen to be obsessed with an Oni series called Wasteland.  I've written about it here many times.  East of West might be said to be Wasteland from the other side, where the big mystery is explored from the other side.  We know what we're supposed to be following in this instance, rather than experiencing it the same way as the characters.

If I can make one last allusion, I'll also reference Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples' Saga, also published by Image.  In this context, East of West is like tracking our main characters outside of isolation.

The more I talk and think about it, the more I like East of West, actually.  I came to it because of Dragotta, much as the same reason I still think positively of American Vampire for Albuquerque.  I don't often talk about comics from the perspective of an appreciation for the art, although of course that's half the battle, so it feels nice to acknowledge that for a change.

This one's worth a look.