james_desantis's profile picture

james_desantis 's review for:

Shanghai Red by Christopher Sebela
3.0

Real interesting idea but not the best executed.

So Red here was taken by force and sold to pirates. When the two years is up the pirates offer their slaves freedom, but Red has other ideas. She kills everyone on that ship who held her captive and then heads back to where she came from to seek revenge on those who had wronged her. So basically a big revenge tale but with a nice twist on it all.

Good: Enjoyed the art design for the most part. Gritty and dark, yet had a old western style feel to it. Red's story, despite being basic, was still understandable and you wanted her to do what she needed to do. To get revenge. To feel whole again. I felt her desire which made me want to keep reading.

Bad: I didn't really like any of the side cast. I also think it's way to dialogue heavy, or monologue heavy, throughout. Sometimes pages filled with 9 or 10 bubbles/boxes. I also didn't think the ending was great.

I liked it. It's a interesting idea, and looks like based on a true story, and the art is unique, but the other pieces of the puzzle didn't come together. A stronger cast and less talking/needless wording would have helped it. A 3 out of 5.