History ComicBook / EastOfWest

* TheKingdom: The series gives us The Kingdom of New Orleans.

* ActionGirl: Crow, Xiaolin, and possibly the new President of the Union.

* BarBrawl: The series begins with one when a bar full of union troops take offense at Crow and Wolf's presence. Crow and Wolf destroy them while Death talks to the bartender.

* BullyingADragon: When [[spoiler: Conquest, Death, and Famine chase after Death's son Babylon. Conquest is the first to find the boy and in a display of overconfidence makes the mistake of insulting Babylon, even though he is well aware that Babylon is the Beast of the Apocalypse. Suffice it to say it doesn't end well for them.]]

* TheChessmaster: Each leader of the Chosen, to varying degrees. Of particular note is Chamberlain, who has [[spoiler: orchestrated the assassination of his own president (to take the job himself), put out a hit on Xiaolin (unsuccessful, but Chamberlain tied up every loose end), and started a riot that led to the death of Ezra and the near-death of the other Chosen).]]

* ImprobableAimingSkills: The Ranger can snipe his target from about couple of mountain ranges away. He still needs his sniper rifle for that. Death on the other hand can shoot through same distance with his revolver without scope, with even better accuracy.

** And in his previous lives, War himself was once this trope. That is until he was reincarnated in the body of a "dirty little boy".

* PetTheDog: When The Horsemen of the Apocalypse finish slaughtering an entire village full of pilgrims Conquest decides to spare the lone surviving infant. He even adopts the child and raises him as his own.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: The Ranger after the death of his family, although he notably tries to get lawful justice first. And to an even greater extent, Death. Who has made it his goal to kill everyone who was involved im taking his wife and son from him.

* XMeetsY: ''Series/GameOfThrones'' meets ''Franchise/TheDarkTower''. With a dash of ''Borderlands'' thrown in.

** [[spoiler: War convince his brothers to try to defy the Message by killing Babel, who is supposed to become the Beast of the Apocalypse and their leader. This ends up fulfilling the Message to the letter, as Babel escapes them and his father (who was coming to release him) at the same time and is therefore able to start setting his own destiny in motion.]]

* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Chamberlain is silky smooth and gives off a veneer of pleasantry to everyone. However, when the chips are down, it is clear that his only loyalty in the world is not to the Chosen or even his [[spoiler: former]] president: Chamberlain's loyalties lie with Chamberlain.

** Ditto President Burkhart of Confederacy. Knowing nothing about the Chosen and the Horsemen, he immediatly sides against the war with the other states that are immune to their influence, even rebuking Chamberlain (who is trying to make him think otherwise) in the process. [[spoiler: Chamberlain kills him two pages later.]]

-->--''Death''

'''''East of West''''' is Creator/JonathanHickman's and Nick Dragotta's sprawling AlternateHistory WeirdWest, sci-fi, fantasy epic published by Creator/ImageComics. In the midst of the American Civil War that has dragged on for more than twenty years, a Southern soldier, a Native American chieftain, and an exiled politician from China record three separate parts of the Message, a prophecy foretelling the upcoming End Times. The War is then ended by a massive meteor strike in the desert, the site at which an armistice is signed.

Now, in the far future, the United States is anything but united. It is divided into the constantly warring Union, the Confederacy, the Kingdom (formerly New Orleans), the People's Republic of America (formerly California), the Texas Republic, and the Endless Nation. The apocalypse approaches quickly as leading members of each nation have secretly forming a cabal of the Chosen, [[ApocalypseCult a group who works to bring about the end times]]. Meanwhile the Four Horsemen walk the earth and gather power. But one single man stands in the way of the Chosen, one who should be at their helm: the horseman Death. Betrayed by his brethren, Death is on a quest for vengeance. Something of value has been stolen from him and nothing will stand in his way to get it back.

''East of West'' is Creator/JonathanHickman's and Nick Dragotta's sprawling alternate-history, WeirdWest, sci-fi, fantasy epic published by Creator/ImageComics. In the midst of the American Civil War that has dragged on for more than 20 years, a Southern soldier, a Native American chieftain, and an exiled politician from China record 3 separate parts of the Message, a prophecy foretelling the upcoming End Times. The War is then promptly ended by a massive meteor strike in the desert, the site at which an armistice is signed.

Now, in the far future, the United States is anything but united: divided into the constantly-warring Union, the Confederacy, the Kingdom (formerly New Orleans), the People's Republic of America (formerly California), The Texas Republic, and the Endless Nation. The apocalypse is coming quickly, with leading members of each nation secretly forming a cabal of "The Chosen": [[ApocalypseCult a group who works to bring about the end-times]]. Meanwhile the Four Horsemen walk the earth, gathering power. But one single man stands in the way of the Chosen, one who should be at their helm: the horseman Death. Betrayed by his brethren, Death is on a quest for vengeance. Something of value has been stolen from him and nothing will stand in his way to get it back.

Believe it or not, the above is a much simplified summary which is mainly laid out in the first issue. Hickman's dark, esoteric world only becomes stranger and more interesting as the huge cast of characters interact and struggle for power. But perhaps what makes ''East of West'' most memorable is the beautiful and unusual art by Nick Dragotta. With slick action, creative character designs, and a style that is wholly unique, the comic is a sight to behold. After its premier ''East of West'' has garnered much praise and positive comparisons to Hickman's other Image work ''ComicBook/TheManhattanProjects''.

* AlternateHistory: The series history diverges from ours around the time of the American Civil War. In this universe, the War dragged on for more than 20 years. Here, the War is ended not through a victory, but by a massive meteor strike in the desert. It is here at the site where the meteor stiked that an armistice is signed. And thus the Seven Nations of America where born.
* AndIMustScream: The fate of [[spoiler: the oracle]]. Eyes ripped out and trapped underground forever unable to die.

* ManInWhite: Death himself. His color scheme is meant to indicate a change in character and his near death experience.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: While the Horsemen are clearly supernatural beings with supernatural powers, they seems to exert their will mainly through intimidation and violence, sometimes dealt with weapons and tools that may not be magical after all.

** [[spoiler: War convince his brothers to try to defy the Message by killing Babel, who is supposed to become the Beast of the Apocalypse and their leader. This ends up fulfilling the Message to the letter, as Babel escapes them and his father (who was coming to release him) at the same time and is therefore able to set his own destiny is motion.]]

* BeastOfTheApocalypse: In this story it's [[spoiler: Death's son]]. [[TheEndOrIsIt Or is it]]?

* PublicExecution: The fate of the Republic of Texas' leaders following their defeat and subsequent colonization at the hands of the Endless Nation. Had it not been for the Rangers intervention then this too would have been the fate of Bel Solomon.
* PuppetKing: President Antonia Levay. Her presidential position was given to her by the Horsemen of the Apocalypse after she swore her loyalty to them, and now uses her new found power to serve their every will. What's more is that the leaders of the other nations are well aware of this fact.

* WeirdWest: One of the comics main draws is it's fusion if western tropes combined with science fiction and fantasy elements. Complete with cowboy versions of The Horsemen of the Apocalypse, talking eyeballs, and massive living lakes. Weird west indeed.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: The sole reason Bel Solomon joined The Chosen wasn't because he believed in their prophecy. But because he believed that it would be the best way to protect his countrymen from the other nations.
--> '''Bel Solomon''': I joined the Chosen because I figured selling my soul was worth protecting my nation... ''saving them'' from the ambitious and power mad.
* WhipSword: In a flashback, Conquest can be seen using one of these as his WeaponOfChoice. Interestingly enough he has not been seen using one since.
* WorldOfBadass: As mentioned earlier in the badass entry above just about every established character is some sort of Badass. Whether they be a skilled gunmen, a powerful witch, a brave leader or a master manipulater. Every character has some sort of defining trait that makes them a force to be reckoned with.

* YourHeadASplode: In retribution for her betrayal. [[spoiler:Xiaolin crushes her sisters head with her mechanical arms.]]

Now, in the far future, the United States is anything but united: divided into the constantly-warring Union, the Confederacy, the Kingdom (formerly New Orleans), the Peoples Republic of America (formerly California), The Texas Republic, and the Endless Nation. The apocalypse is coming quickly, with leading members of each nation secretly forming a cabal of "The Chosen": [[ApocalypseCult a group who works to bring about the end-times]]. Meanwhile the Four Horsemen walk the earth, gathering power. But one single man stands in the way of the the chosen, one who should be at their helm: the horseman Death. Betrayed by his brethren, Death is on a quest for vengeance. Something of value has been stolen from him and nothing will stand in his way to get it back.

Believe it or not, the above is a much simplified summary which is mainly laid out in the first issue. Hickman's dark, esoteric world only becomes stranger and more interesting as the huge cast of characters interact and struggle for power. But perhaps what makes ''East of West'' most memorable is the beautiful and unusual art by Nick Dragotta. With slick action, creative character designs, and a style that is wholly unique, the comic is a sight to behold. After its premier ''East of West'' has garnered much praise and positive comparisons to Hickman's other Image work ''ComicBook/TheManhattanProjects''

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Antonia Levay's presidential term is ''not'' well approved of by the nations citizens. To the point that protest and riots have become a daily occurrence.
* ActionGirl: Crow, Xiaolin, and possibly the new president of the Union.
* AffablyEvil: Chamberlain may be a two-timing, lecherous, silver tongued devil. But he is also well spoken, well educated, and always shows some southern hospitality to whoever his guest may be. He even offers Death a drink when he shows up to murder him.

* AlternateHistory: The series history diverges from ours around the time of the American Civil War. In this universe the War dragged on for more than 20 years. Here the War is ended not through a victory but by a massive meteor strike in the desert. It is here at the site where the meteor stiked that an armistice is signed. And thus the Seven Nations of America where born.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: In the world of East of West, eyes extracted by the orbit not only are not destroyed, but continue to function, and [[spoiler: they can even be grafted into someone else's body in a matter of a second, although is possible that, while The Hunter is clearly using some kind of contraption to allow one his eyes to work this way (but it's still not explained how the eye can "live" out of it), the Oracle can snatch an eye from Death and claim it as her own as they are both not quite, or no longer, human]].
** [[spoiler: Later, we learn that the Hunter's removable eye originally belonged to the Oracle, and, apart from being able to survive outside of her body, her eyes even got a personality of some sort and are able to talk. This still does not explain how the Oracle is able to rip an eye out of the Death (which is never mentioned being anything different from an ordinary one) and use it herself however. It's still possible that, since the Oracle was associated with the Knights before being betrayed by them, they somehow share the same biology, and origin]].
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Played with. On one hand you have John Freeman, Bel Solomon, and Xiaolin who are all in high positions of authority. With the latter two being heads of state and the former being a prince. All of whom possess incredible combat prowess and are among the series most lethal characters. On the other hand the leaders of the other nations rely more on their wits and manipulation of others as opposed to fighting ability.

* BadassBoast: The series hands these out like candy
--> '''Death''': If you find hell lonely... '''Wait!''' Company is ''comin' soon!''

--> '''Chamberlain''': Boy I have known ''War'' all my life. ''Conquest'' I am a conquistador. ''Famine?'' Well... lean times are for the peasants aren't they? And do I look like a man whose wants have long surpassed his needs? All I fear... is one thing. And it's the same thing you do. ''Death.''

* BigDamnHeroes: Following [[spoiler:The Endless Nations victory and subsequent conquest of The Republic of Texas. They decide to solidify their victory by [[PublicExecution hanging the leaders of The Republic.]] But just as they are going to hang Governor Bel Solomon. The Ranger [[ShootTheRope shoots the rope]] just as Solomon was about to take a long drop on the rope. Meanwhile his mechanical dog creates a distraction. Allowing Solomon and The Ranger to escape amidst the chaos.]]
* BloodBath: In vol 4 when The Horsemen of the Apocalypse come across a river filled with the blood of fallen soldiers. They decide to bathe in the river of blood. And describe the taste of it as the sweetest thing in the world.
* BodyHorror: [[spoiler: Ezra]] is shot while holding a creature from the void. It merges with his arm to become a tumorous-looking, tentacled (and toothed) growth. By the third volume the beast is the size of an elephant and [[spoiler: Ezra]] is attached to its chest by his arm.

* ChildrenAreCruel: Taken to a darker level then most other examples. As in this case the children are the literal reincarnations of ''The Horsemen of the Apocalypse''.

** To call the war between [[spoiler: The Endless Nation vs The Republic of Texas a curb stomp battle would be a gross understatement. Curb stomp ''slaughter'' would be a more accurate description.]]

* DividedStatesOfAmerica: One of the comics central plot points. As it presents an alternate history in which the Civil War led to the separation of the United States and the formation of the Seven Nations of America.
* {{Dominatrix}}: Doma Lux uses her status as such to [[{{squick}} insert some things into a politician's body]].

* EverythingIsBigInTexas: Played with. On one hand Bel Solomon is the largest of the Chosen. On the other hand The Ranger is much more sleek and lean.
* EyepatchOfPower: Literally, the tracker's eyepatch conceals a powerful talking eyeball (only a BigLippedAlligatorMoment at first).

** Issue 22 has [[spoiler: Lady Xiaolin]] entirely naked for the duration. She's very attractive, but the fact that she is fighting for her life and splattered in blood takes away any appeal.
* FlamingSword: War's WeaponOfChoice. Which can also be [[RetractableWeapon retracted]] allowing him to easily conceal it and carry it with him.

''East of West'' is Creator/JonathanHickman's and Nick Dragotta's sprawling alternate-history, WeirdWest, sci-fi, fantasy epic published by {{Image Comics}}. In the midst of the American Civil War that has dragged on for more than 20 years, a Southern soldier, a Native American chieftain, and an exiled politician from China record 3 separate parts of the Message, a prophecy foretelling the upcoming End Times. The War is then promptly ended by a massive meteor strike in the desert, the site at which an armistice is signed.

** [[spoiler: Later, we learn that the Hunter's removable eye originally belonged to the Oracle, and, apart from being able to survive outside of her body, her eyes even got a personality of some sort and are able to talk. This still does not explain how the Oracle is able to rip an eye out of the Death (which is never mentioned being anything different from an ordinary one) and use it herself however. It's still possible that, since the Oracle was associated with the Knights before being betrayed by them, they somehow share the same biology, or origin]].

** [[spoiler: Later, we learn that the Hunter's removable eye originally belonged to the Oracle, and, apart from being able to survive outside of her body, her eyes even got a personality of some sort and are able to talk. This still does not explain how the Oracle is able to rip an eye out of the Death (which is never mentioned being anything different from an ordinary one) and use it herself however. It's still possible that, since the Oracle was associated with the Knight before being betrayed by them, they somehow share the same biology, or origin]].

** [[spoiler: Later, we learn that the Hunter's removable eye originally belonged to the Oracle, and, apart from being able to survive outside of her body, her eyes even got a personality of some sort and are able to talk. This still does not explain how the Oracle is able to rip an eye out of the Death (which is supposed to be an ordinary eye) and use it herself however]].

--> [[spoiler: Later, we learn that the Hunter's removable eye originally belonged to the Oracle, and, apart from being able to survive outside of her body, her eyes even got a personality of some sort and are able to talk. This still does not explain how the Oracle is able to rip an eye out of the Death (which is supposed to be an ordinary eye) and use it herself however]].

* {{Badass}}: EVERYONE!

* Ranger: The Rangers from the Republic of Texas and each one fittingly badass. [[spoiler:Too bad they were all slaughtered save for one by the invading Endless Nation.]]

* KnightTemplar: Averted: in a moment of extreme [[GenreSavvy Genre Savviness]] by the Ranger who disbands the rangers so as not to get used to having so much power over people.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: In the world of East of West, eyes extracted by the orbit not only are not destroyed, but continue to function, and [[spoiler: they can even be grafted into someone else's body in a matter of a second, although is possible that, while The Hunter is clearly using some kind of contraption to allow one his eyes to work this way, the Oracle can snatch an eye from Death and claim it as her own as they are both not quite, or no longer, human]].