J. R. Hall

I received this book through early release from the author JR Hall.

~Summary~
This book follows Bantar, a teenage boy living in the prehistoric times. He is on a journey that is serving as his coming of age ceremony. While on his journey he encounters two sub-terranian humanoids who essentially kidnap him as bounty for their leader. While this is going on his father and mother begin to get worried that their teenage son has not returned. His father sets out to look for him, encountering dangerous marauders along the way. His father also has a magic rock that can show how close he is to Bantar and that his wife can speak through to guide him. At the end of this issue we are left hanging as Bantar is led away by the two creatures and his father has yet to pinpoint his location.

~Review~
I did not enjoy reading this book. It is obvious that the author really wants to intertwine us in the story of Bantar, but there are too many plot lines running at once that are not explained enough to make sense. New scenes and groups of characters pop in and out without warning or meaning, which undermines the story of Bantar himself. A cohesive and easy to follow plot has not been established in this story.
The other concerning element of this book is the drawing style. I understand where the author was trying to go with the he-man illustration style, but the proportions of the characters in this book are hard look at. They have extended torsos, out of place muscles, and odd faces. I would suggest working on natural human positioning and proportions before continuing with this series. With the nature of the book as it is right now, I have no desire to re-read this issue or read any upcoming issues.… (meer)

I received this eBook as an Early Release from the author

8/10 passion from the author
5/10 illustrations - these aren't the best illustrations of a graphic novel but also not the worst
1/10 narration/story line.

--------------------------SUMMARY-------------------------

Bantar: The Savage Stone Age Survivor, is set as expected in the Stone Age. It starts by showing a clan of Stone Age peoples hunting & cooking the prey caught in the hunt which draws in a sabre tooth tiger. Aliens now appear in the storyline, and these aliens are mindless and follow the instructions of a larger/higher power which is then introduced. The larger/higher power instructs the alien creature things to bring him a boy. Enter - Bantar the main character who is finally introduced on page 7 of 26, where he is completely a right of passage to adulthood, hunting & starting fires on his own.

We now leave Bantar again and focus on the creatures who have reached the surface and exited the underground through some cracks in the rock. Meanwhile, Nora (his mother?) who seems to be all-seeing and has a magic rock senses that Bantar is in danger and discusses this with Bulkan (his father?).

Back with Bantar briefly, he is then threatened by a random man who steals his food and insists that Bantar go with him, Bantar refuses, they fight, Bantar kills random man. Begins to make his way back to his land

Nora & Bulkan: Nora persuades Bulkan to go to find Bantar using the magic stone, Bulkan crosses into rival clan territory and ends up fighting & killing two rival men.

Alien Creature things: Eat bugs, and communicate with larger/higher power dude who tells them to kidnap Bantar. Bantar is meanwhile being carried away by a Pterosarus who he gets to let him go by kicking it, falls into the nest of babies and jumps off cliff. Lands in water, knocks himself unconscious, rescued by the creature dudes and then kidnapped.

We then flip back to Bulkan who is telepathically communicating with Nora and still using the magic stone to find Bantar, meanwhile the creatures are taking Bantar into the underground caverns they came out of at the start. Bulkan follows the magic stone to the lake where Bantar was taken by the creatures, and comes face to face with a 'colossal figure'

----------------------END SUMMARY----------------

I didn't enjoy this graphic novel at all, there are too many different ideas running through it, Bantars journey, Bulkans journey, underground creatures, world destruction, larger/higher power, magic tracking stones, telepathy and kidnap. In my opinion there's two different graphic novel ideas here that have been amalgamated into one and not well.

The language used is obscure as well, in some places it reads like a thesaurus was used for every word and then in other sentences has missed words out. I found myself having to re-read parts of it to make sure I had understood the sentence properly.

I was really hopeful about this graphic novel based on the summary that was provided and the book has been a let down. I think the author needs to take this back to the drawing board and focus on intertwining the multiple themes running through this book better, bulk out the story line and also build a good cliffhanger. It's hard to care about the fact banter has been taken and bulkan is facing the figure when the story has only been 25 pages long and there is no emotional attachment or suspense built up.

So yeah, I understand the passion of the subject completely but more work is needed on the graphic novel… (meer)

I won a PDF copy of this book from the author through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

A stone age boy named Bantar is on his coming-of-age quest when he is targeted for capture by some subterranean beings for some reason or another. Alerted by a magic rock, his father sets off to help him. Some running around and tussling with a pterosaur ends with a lukewarm cliffhanger, as this is the first of a three-book series telling Bantar's origin.

The creator seems to be pouring his heart into it, but the art is amateurish and the writing equally so, its stilted purple prose in need of some proofreading. It sort of put me in mind of Tommy Wiseau writing a revival of Turok, Son of Stone or maybe Korak, Son of Tarzan.

I have no interest in reading more of this series.… (meer)