El Cazador

I have to agree with the previous reviewer, greenhornetNY: Dixon's writing is wonderfully gritty and somber, and Steve Epting's artwork is nothing short of stunning. The first two pages are a spread (often referred to--redundantly--as a two-page spread), looking "up" from an angle, as a broken ship comes sinking down in front of you. The layout, detail, and color by Frank D'Amata & Jason Keith are breathtaking. The work reminds me of a cross between the great detail of Hal Foster's Prince Valiant, and the fluid movement of Burne Hogarth's Tarzan. I am only three quaters through, and am heartbroken to hear from greenhornetNY that the story is not complete due to the comic company folding... I would absolutely give it five stars as well, but i guess I can't if it is not finished.

An excellent book in both writing and art. It may look like a comic book but this is a pirate novel in graphic form. This is one of Chuck Dixon's best story ideas tragically cut short by the demise of CrossGen comics. It stands on it's own apart from the rest of CrossGen's "Sigil-verse", and feels like it's part of Earth's history. The art is incredible, better than Steve Epting's superhero work, and really conveys the pirate era in all it's glory. The reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is the fact that the novel is incomplete. The story of the pirate ship "El Cazador" is left unfinished, but more tragically the many intresting people and storylines Dixon introduced will never be fully realized.