Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5973
EAN num: 9781931484152
ISBN number: 1931484155
Label: Cross Generation Comics
Manufacturer: Cross Generation Comics
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 192
Printing Date: June 05, 2002
Publishing house: Cross Generation Comics
Sale Popularity Level: 491070
Studio: Cross Generation Comics
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Product Description:
Hundreds of years ago, the Five Lands joined together to end the tyranny of Mordath. Now a mysterious force has brought him back from the dead, this time with magic powers. With a troll army at his back, Mordath soon puts the Five Lands under his heel. He is the unchallenged master of the world. Only one woman has eluded his iron grip. And with that one woman rests the sole hope of ending Mordath’s reign of terror. Sojourn is the story of Arwyn, a woman whose quest for vengeance began in the fires that engulfed her city. Arwyn’s one aim is to slay Mordath, but to do that she must very first find the weapon that can kill a man who is already dead. One of CrossGen’s most popular titles, SOJOURN takes a fresh approach to classic fantasy themes using some of the best artwork in comics today.
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Rated by buyers -
Blood and Rain
Blood for the Masses
Originally published in SavageNight E-zine.
Sojourn: From The Ashes
Written by
Ron Marz
Art by
Greg Land, Drew Geraci, and Caesar Rodriguez
Reviewed by
B.L.Morgan
4 Stars
If you like Sword And Sorcery, mean ugly bad guys and gorgeous female heroines then you'll like Sojourn.
Sojourn begins with a prequel that details the conquest of the Five Lands in a world called Quin by an army of Trolls lead by a power hungry warlord named Mordath. He is defeated by a supernatural being named Ayden who closely resembles Odin from Norse Mythology. Ayden turns down the kingship over the lands he liberated and goes away to be by himself. He's grown weary of the conflicts of man. Before he leaves he breaks a magical arrow into five pieces and throws each one to a separate place in The Five Lands.
The five pieces must be gathered together to call Ayden back if The Five Lands are under a dire threat to their survival.
Fast forward three hundred years:
Mordath, a dried out corpse, is brought back from the dead by some robed wizards with a mysterious purpose. His body can no longer partake of the pleasures of the flesh so he now exists only to conquer and dominate the world of Quin.
Now enters the main heroes:
Arwyn, the archer woman whose family was murdered by Mordath's forces as he conquered her village has vowed revenge. Gareth, a wanderer who accompanies her on her quest and a mysterious blue wise woman. The quest is to gather the five pieces of Ayden's arrow to call him back to destroy Mordath.
The story is complicated enough to keep you wondering what will be coming next. The artwork is fantastic. The scenery is cool looking. The bad guys are ugly and menacing. The battle scenes are bloody and graphic. The females in this book, well if there aren't any women in the world who look like these then God should be ashamed of himself for not making at least a few of them. These are some good looking girls.
I highly recommend Sojourn: From The Ashes. The only reason I did not give it the highest rating of a 5 is that the story is not complete. Maybe that's not a bad thing because I'll be looking for the subsequent one in the series. And I will be looking forward to checking out more of the babes in these graphic novels.
Rated by buyers 
-
I decided to check this series out after seeing an ad in a book club magazine. While I agree the artwork was for the most part well done I did have a few problems especially when I got to books 2 & 3.
~The epic items to recall an ancient hero as the background I think is fairly well written along with the mysterious sorceress as both a goad and irritation. However the subplots tend to distract from this without really adding anything but page count. Also rather annoying is that instead of following clues or ancient stories the main characters continue to practically stumble onto the missing pieces.
~Yes, the supermodel fantasy heroine gets old. Overlook that she is/was an archer, scout, and a swordswoman yet has extremely slender, shapely arms. And of course there aren't much any ordinary looking women elsewhere. Is this set on a California beach?
~I thought the initial storyline with the trolls was good, and a nice break from the typical Middle Earth/Shannara models. Then in the later books the writers can't seem to decide how to continue them. Horses don't seem to mind being ridden by them for some reason. Oddly, trolls also find females of other species attractive and seem to be able to have relations with them.
~A dragon. Sadly, pretty rare to have fantasy without them. And of course both female, shapechanging, and guarding the one item that can harm her.
~The 'angel' people. We see them in book 1 and then later in a culture lifted almost straight from Egypt but to be honest while nice to look at angels are about as much fluff as dragons.
If you want to just lay back and read a fantasy novel in TPB format it isn't all that bad. If you're looking for more than window dressing though you might want to pass on these.
Rated by buyers -
I don't mean to sound picky (I seem to be one of few reviewers that didn't love this graphic novel), but after reading "Ruse" I found "Sojourn" to be rather disappointing. But before I get into the critical side of things, let's start with the plot.
Four of the provinces known collectivly as "The Five Lands" were once ruled by the evil warlord Mordath and his army of orc-lookalike trolls. He was working on taking over the fifth and final land before a rebellion leader with a magic bow by the name of Ayden destroyed him. Now a devotee has resurrected the evil Mordath, who now has control over ALL the Five Lands. Enter Arwyn(Hmm...This name sounds familiar), a female archer who's more than just a little...well endowed(more about this later). She's recently lost her husband, daughter and village to Mordath and vows to kill him. After being captured by the man she set out to kill, she attempts escape with a fellow inmate, Gareth. After a strange rescue she discovers that she is destined to go on a quest that may save the Five Lands from its current state.
So, I promised you critical bits and I'm not one to leave such promises unfulfilled. Here goes:
In the artwork department: It seems that penciller Greg Land, who's responsible, for the most part, for the look of the characters, believes it's more important to make Arwyn(and most of his other female characters for that matter) into a medieval supermodel, instead of creating a stronger-looking female character. I understand that the whole "tortured beauty" thing is cool, but do her clothes really need to look that tight? Also, Land seems to have a problem sticking with one time period. All the main characters look like something out of Middle Earth, but there are parts where the dwellings, as well as the people, look victorian, or even modern. There are a few problems with consistency in the characters' looks, too, but these are really only minor problems that pop up once or twice.
As for story: Ron Marz's narratives, as well as his dialogue, are for the most part very witty and fun to read. However, his plots seem to be a little too thin on occasion, and the reader sometimes gets the idea that he wants to skip the explanations and get straight to the action so that Land gets to draw gory battle scenes(oh! I almost forgot to mention; there's quite a bit of blood and gore in this, but kudos to both Marz and Land for it not being overdone. It's just the right amount).
In conclusion: I'll probably continue to read "Sojourn", because for all its flaws, it's a pretty engaging, not to mention quick, read. But this graphic novel is not without its problems, problems that could be easily fixed with a little more character development and less excuses to show a small bit of skin.
Rated by buyers -
A strong story, excellent characterizations and drop-dead beautiful art are highlights for this strong graphic novel, very first in a series. Although the story seems familiar, Marz's offbeat touches give it new life while artist Greg Land makes a name for himself as someone to follow whatever story he decides to draw. Good novel for female teens or anybody who loves a good story.
Rated by buyers 
-
First and foremost, the artwork of this book is fantastic -- some of the best I've ever seen in a comic book! This is true of nearly all the CrossGen Entertainment series. You might be tempted to thnk this series in "Xena" meets "Lord of the Rings," and while it has some of those elements, it is so much more. The storytelling is top notch and doesn't let up. A great addition to any fantasy collection.
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