I was really excited to finally read this graphic novel, but sadly it did not meet my expectations. Very good idea for a story. A school for assassins seems like a story that promises to be captivating, however the rest of the book just did not reach the same level as the concept.
For starters, while the acid trip scenes are visually exciting, they don't do much to extend the plot. The majority of the fight scenes are a little dull and drawn out. Such scenes just did not grab my attention enough to keep me engaged. The whole last part of the volume paints Marcus as a weak, boring character who the reader wouldn't want to follow.
Secondly, the female characters were awful. As stated by many other reviews, Maria and Saya don't really do a whole lot. They fill the role of romantic/sexual interest and then stop being useful. I would have liked to see them have more of a role in the first volume, especially Saya because there seems to be a lot going on with her. They fit the normal role of sex objects in comics and don't do much as human beings.
Also, the whole bestiality does seem like a cop out to make Marcus' old roommate immediately identifiable as the bad guy whose mentally unstable. Rather than take the time to really develop the character, it seems like he was just thrown together into a stereotypical villain.
I most likely will not be continuing the series, because it just did not pull me in enough to make me want to know what happens next.
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