Meh.

Now, don't get upset. I love Garth Ennis, I love most everything he's done recently, I love horror, I can appreciate gore, I like post apocalyptic settings, etc. I typically enjoy things like this, especially when you factor in Ennis' shock horror and twisted humor.

However, meh.

That's pretty much how I felt about this book. I've been reading this series from the beginning (and I'll probably continue reading it until the end, just because), but I couldn't bring myself to care about any of this. I know that people died, I know that some horrific things happened and there were definitely some gory, shocking moments in this book. However...I just can't bring myself to care.

I was discussing this was my girlfriend earlier, and I came to the conclusion that it's because the characters haven't been explored. She compared this to The Walking Dead, which is fair, I suppose, but the difference between Crossed and The Walking Dead is that things matter in The Walking Dead. Kirkman just doesn't kill people to kill people, and all of the gore is supplemented by character development. Whenever someone dies in The Walking Dead, it's not shocking that they died, or even how they died -- it's shocking because Kirkman has the ability to make you care about a character so much...and then take it all away.

I get none of that from this book. When the first character died, I had no idea who it was or why I should care. There's just nothing there that makes me believe that these characters are people I should love or hate, or that their decisions are those that actual people would choose, or that these are even people at all. As I said before, in The Walking Dead there's a point of making you care, and then taking it all away. In Crossed, it's all about taking it away, with nothing beforehand.

I will say that I think the art in this book is absolutely fantastic, and no matter where the story goes, I'll probably continue reading this book for the art alone. Ironically, I find the art to be better in the scenes where there's not as much action or blood and gore, but rather in the scenes where the group is discussing a plan over a burning fire, or walking through the woods. The art is definitely top notch.