Not for the faint of heart. In fact, I challenge anyone to read this book and still say that comics are inherently lazy reading. You really have to pay attention to follow this narrative. Lots of time jumps and a mysterious circumstance. And its surprisingly introspective and philosophical. You've got a fight for survival pairing with contemplation of what it means to be alive, to be human, all with complex visuals.

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a review.

I always like to mix up my reading topics by throwing in a graphic novel here and there and I was curious to read this. Unfortunately, the story wasn't that interesting and the artwork was just ok for me. It wasn't terrible but it's not something I'd recommend.

When I saw this was from the same creators as [book:Joyride|30251383] and [book:Gotham City Garage|37489647], I grew excited. Unfortunately, this wasn't as fun as either of those. This is the story of a woman from Earth who has somehow would up on an alien planet. She's skipping through time, influencing an alien race there while experiencing random fragments of her time on Earth. The flashbacks are so disjointed that they don't amount to a whole lot. Nothing is ever explained. The lettering was a dark color on a dark color, straining my eyes to read the vast amounts of exposition. The art is good and well fitted for alien landscapes. Reading this though just left me confused most of the time though.

I feel like this book is one that might benefit from a reread. It takes some time for the story to really unfold, and after seeing how more of the story elements play out near the end of the book I think the beginning might make more sense.

The main thing to know here is that Shannon Kind, known as The Shan throughout this book, winds up in a strange world where she acts as a sort of god. There are jumps through time that disorient Shannon and the reader, but allow us to watch the evolution of the beings known as Zoja. There is a bit of violence, which builds as we learn more about Shannon's background. I like how the last couple chapters incorporate more of her life before she encounters the Zoja.

I mostly enjoyed the art. There are images with awkward postures, which threw me off at times. The book can also be confusing because of the way it jumps around in time. I think this mimics some of the confusion that Shannon is feeling and doesn't know how to express. It is worth checking out for some interesting ideas and artwork.

Like a lot of other readers, I requested this title because of the authors - Lanzing & Kelly also created "Joyrice" which is probably one of my favourite comic books to date. But authors' names are where the similarities between the two end. It's not necessarily a bad thing, of course. It's just that it was different, a lot different from what I was lowkey expecting and on top of that - just plain weird.
I love the concept for this story - weaving together a mother's grief after her son died & her taking care of this alien world. "Taking care" isn't exactly the right expression but at the same time, the story is so weird, I don't think there are any "right" words to describe it. Still, the concept is great & unusual enough to keep reader's attention until the very end.
But I was hoping for something different and I guess it's that expectations that made me enjoy Zojaqan a little less than I could have. It's a solid title, sure, but I think you need to be in a specific mood to truly appreciate it.

A wonderful adventure story that shows a person grappling with both humanity and being a god. Stunning art and locales.

'Zojaqan: The Complete Series' by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly with art by Nathan C. Gooden and Vittorio Astone was a title that I liked more at a visceral level than I did on the surface, but I did like it.

Shannon Kind wakes up in a weird, beautiful world and has to fight for her life. Along the way, and as much time passes, she forms the world to her liking. Tribes of beings rise up and build statues to her. There is more to Shannon's story though. She is also a grieving mother, and her story on Earth keeps winding up on thisnew planet she finds herself on. Can she deal with the grief and not mess up her new home?

The story has weird narrative that works but doesn't. The story doesn't really feel all that complete. There are odd flashbacks that feel out of order.

And yet, I liked this interesting, gutsy story with an interesting hero at it's heart. I also liked the art, which feels like a perfect fit for this odd, emotional ride.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Vault Comics, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Ahhhh yet another graphic novel that has completely let me down. How is it that the blurbs for graphic novels sound so interesting, and their illustrations are brilliant, but the story just isn't there? This is the second graphic novel in a row that has disappointed me so much, but oh well...

A grieving mother wakes in a brutal but fantastic landscape, where the currents of time pull her into the future, lurching forward days, years, and millennia. Her name is Shannon Kind, and her life in our world has vanished without warning. Perhaps she can find peace in her new home. Perhaps she can shape Zojaqan into a better world. But first, she must survive.

I have no idea what happened during this graphic novel. As soon as I finished it, I had to sit back for about 10 minutes and really think about what had happened and try t =o make sense of it. The central plot is about our main protagonist, Shannon who has just lost her son. Somehow (which is never explained) she is thrown into a different universe, where she meets people called Zojas. She helps the Zojas defend themselves, and after her helping them, the Zojas see Shannon as a God. Shannon sort of takes on the responsibility of a God and teaches them how to hunt and defend themselves against predators. She teaches them how to be kind to each other and rely on each other to survive. But then, she's suddenly pulled forward in time to where she sees that everything has gone a bit wrong. The Zojas are killing in her name.

And that's it. That's the story. That's pretty much all that happens. There's no real storyline, but there is definite underlying preaching involved with this graphic novel.

As for the artwork, I actually really liked it, and that's the whole reason for the one star. However, sometimes the lettering was sometimes really hard to read. At times, there would be this kind of old English font in yellow that was on a red background, and I was squinting so hard to read it.

I just can't help but think that there should have been... more...? The title states that this was the complete series, which I'm guessing means that it's the complete storyline and that there isn't going to be any more issues or anything like that. Which also means that there isn't going to be any development on the world or the characters.

I can't help but wonder what the point of this graphic novel is... What story is it trying to tell?

This graphic novel just wasn't for me...

Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Zojaqan is a one of a kind story, and one that isn’t easily forgotten. If you’re looking for a complete story that isn’t like anything else out there…well you may want to consider giving this one a try.
Shannon Kind doesn’t strike you as an extraordinary character at first, and by that I mean she doesn’t appear superhuman or powered or anything like that. No, she’s simply put, a human. She’s a grieving mother who’s desperately searching for an answer to what happened. She’s looking for solace, for resolution, and for so much more.
Her search takes a different turn than one would expect, however, and that’s what makes this story so unique. A lot of what happens here can be considered metaphorical…but it can also be enjoyed as it is, without being heavily analyzed. Regardless of how you choose to interpret it, the emotional pain of the characters will roll off the page and make you really feel for what is happening.
Zojaqan, as I stated above, is completely different. However, that also means it takes a little bit more effort to get into it. I’d say it wasn’t until the tenth or fifteenth page that I felt like I was really following the story they were trying to tell me.
In a way I actually wish that this graphic novel had been longer. I truly do feel that the intent would have read better had it been spread out a bit more. As it is, things felt a bit rushed here and there. Now, I have to admit that it’s quite possible that this was intentionally done. Shannon, while having all the time in the world, was constantly jumping around, always rushing in to deal with this or that…so it’s possible that we were meant to feel that way as well. If that’s the case, then it was actually brilliantly done, if perhaps a little too subtle.
Zojaqan is not the story to read if you’re looking for facts and answers. This is more about; well it’s about the journey for answers, more than the answers themselves. Or at least that’s how I chose to see things. If others interpreted different, I would love to hear it. Sometimes that’s what truly makes something like this shine – the ability for everyone to see it differently, and the conversations it’ll ignite.

Overall I cannot say I liked it - and what follows is quite a personal opinion here so feel free to skip reading.

I am of the "would like to be preached without being preached to variety" and the overtures and themes used throughout this piece were rather thinly veiled. I can appreciate the scope, the idea behind the allegory and some of the art really was quite "epic". But yeah - could not feel it. And most of the time I do read to feel.

Am quite sure there are many out there who would find it more appealing than I did.

Kudos to the creators for the vision and putting it out there though. Would probably have not read to the end if I didn't read their introduction first.

Source: Netgalley eArc
First finished: 5sept2018

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this graphic novel for review.

Zojaqan tells a unique story. Shannon Kind finds herself in a mysterious landscape where she must survive among prey and predator. As the ages pass, and the landscape around her changes, she remains the only constant. Because of this, the Zoja worship her strength and treat her word as Law and in return she protects them. But in time, they succumb to their own weaknesses as all intelligent life does, and Shannon must find a way to undo the damage she may have inadvertently done.

This fantastical layering hides beneath it a story of grief; Shannon Kind, a working, single mother loses her only son and Zojaqan is possibly her subconscious helping her cope with this incredible change in her life. Through her actions in this foreign landscape, Shannon is able to slay her demons and come to terms with the loss that has taken over her life.

I quite admire the idea behind this story and the artwork is amazing. I loved how the artist was able to use different colors to convey the mood and setting accordingly (dark & vibrant for Zojaqan vs muted blues for Reality). The plot was a little fast-driven for me but I liked the intimate themes touched upon by the authors.

Rating: 2.75/5

It’s taken me a while to come back to review this title. It’s almost indescribable, but it is haunting, beautiful, and so full of layers that it is almost impossible to put out of your head.
Grief, rage, time, the best of intentions gone wrong, the strength of women, the power of change...... it’s all in there.
And it’s heart wrenching, and brilliant.

I requested this one because Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly are the authors of one of my favourite comics, Joyride, so I thought that I'd give Zojaqan a go. This sounds kind of like I'm setting up to say I was disappointed; I'm not. I did like this comic. But it was incredibly strange, ultimately. It's about a mother grieving the death of her son, who ends up in a weird fantasy world and first starts a destructive and vengeful society, then later a cult. And then ends up killing everyone. As you do. Like I said before, it's probably one of the strangest comics I've read, but the writing was good and I liked the art well enough (even though I miss Marcus To).

Having as protagonist a mother suffering for the death of her son, we have this fantastic trip through the siquis? in a grieving process that tries to survive, explain, undo or amend? what happen in her life. Meanwhile we see a landscape in another dimension or place with strange creatures that evolve in a civilization influenced by her teachings seen through jumps in time.

A bit similar like What Dreams May Come , just as weird and strange, though it is more in a more pulp-fiction violent way, and it is up to the reader what the writer was talking about. And ok we agree that we influenced the world in many ways.

The art reminds me of some comics of the 70s, I like it, but I have the same complaints of others about the dark font over dark - really difficult to read.

image

Shannon esta sufriendo por la muerte de su hijo, y de un sueño cae dentro de un mundo totalmente extraña, pasando por una especie de era primitiva con unos seres larvarios y avanza por diferentes epocas sufriendo saltos en el tiempo. Esta es una fantasia violenta y mientras Shannon muestra a sus protegidos (los Zoja) sus enseñanzas, se convierte en Shan, diosa protectora y vengativa, terrible cuando todas sus dichos se convierten en ley y legado.

Esto que es fantasia en modo pulp tambien parece ser un paso por la siquis de la protagonista como parece implicar el final.

Not my cuppa.

Art - 3.5*
Plot - 2*

A really interesting read, let down a little in the execution, but still worth reading for the bravery. A common-or-garden woman falls asleep, or dies, or SOMETHING, and arrives in a strange fantasy world where giant beasties could kill her, and she only has small beasties to eat. But time doesn't exactly work routinely here, for when she pops up into awareness next the small beasties have evolved, and further on they're even further down their path. In this violent world, she decides to give them her precepts of peace, justice and love – but can these simple minds live by them, in the ways she would want, when to them she only comes along on rare occasions?

You could see this in a science fiction format as the story of 2001, but from the point of view of the monolith. Getting vicious? Here's it/her to look on. Getting above ourselves by going into space? Here again. (I know the theories of 2001 do vary between the monolith being cause and just observer, but you get my drift.) It's just a pity then that this book is scrappy. Little things niggle, especially in reviewing it on a laptop, for so many pages are double spreads, and so much text is an awkward font. We're not always cognisant of the timeline, especially when flashbacks to a tragedy in her life come into play.

But heck, this does do a lot more than the routine comic book, and for lots of fighting scenes FOR A REASON, and for a richly conveyed world, this is well worth consideration. Nor does the pattern of her finding the critters going astray, correcting them, but correcting them in vain, become wearisome. It's not perfect, but it's certainly powerful enough to stay in the mind some time.

An interesting, very biblical story. It was way too short though. It touched briefly on a lot of themes but didn't flesh any of them out. Also too much was left unexplained. How was she traveling back and forth, how much time passed in each world when she was out of them? A bit more world building is needed, but I would like to see this continue.

Out of all the graphic novels and comics I have read, Zojaqan was the most plot and detail driven story. The cover and the synopsis were what captured by attention and what made me decide to give the comic a try. At first, I thought it was interesting. As I made progress through the pages, there was one thought I couldn’t get rid of. It was more of a question of the form of “how?”

The main character, Shannon Kind, somehow vanishes from our world to this other world where time always randomly pushes her into the future. As I continued the story, I never got the bit of information of what happened and how she vanished. I can understand that vanishing into thin air can be explanation, but I think I just need more facts or something to have a better understanding.

As for the story, it felt like a creation story or something similar to like that. I rather liked the topic of the story and the progression, but the story itself was confusing to me. Although time kept skipping, the story did as well. I just couldn’t keep track of what was going on and things just did not make sense at all.

I can’t say much for the illustrations. They were good enough to look at, but I’m not sure if it was the best style for the comic as well. It definitely provided a good visual, but I am not sure how the story and the style went together. I am just assuming that this thought is probably just a personal opinion. At the end, I guess I just have to say that this was just did not work out for me.

Shannon Kind finds herself on an unusual alien planet amongst two species, one prey and the other predator, following the loss of her son. (Not entirely sure how recent the loss is and how long after it happens she appears on this planet though.) Shannon sets herself up as a protector to the prey species, eventually taking on the name Zoja, and takes them under her wings becoming a godlike figure to them. She happens to jump through time, sometimes a couple years, sometimes hundred or thousands. During these jumps she sees the Zoja evolve, largely under her words and how they get interpreted and distorted and end up the exact opposite of what she’d intended.
This was a fantastic story that looks at grief, loss and growth.
The art was beautiful, fantastical sometimes even. Not sure it’ll be everyone’s cup of tea but it’s a wonderful story.

I'm not entirely sure what I just read.
Shannon ends up on an alien planet (it's not a dream). We don't know how she ended up here or why she's there.
There are time jumps and flashbacks, which are quite confusing. I think the time jumps are a metaphor for how quickly a child grows up and the alien planet is a metaphor for how confusing parenthood is. And the end of the civilization is her grief. Maybe? I don't really know.
One of the fonts that was used was hard to read and started to hurt my eyes. It might be easier to read in paper format as opposed to on the computer.

Shannon is grieving the death of her son when she wakes to find herself in as a strange landscape full of monsters. She finds herself pulled forwards through time, anywhere from days to thousands of years in a moment. She watches the evolution of the creatures called Zoja from small lizard-like things to bipedal creatures with a language and culture and tries to guide them towards morality. In the process, she becomes their goddess and finds that in her absence they keep distorting her words and taking things in unexpected directions.

Initially, I found the story a little confusing, but it grew on me as it went on. It is light on for plot but rich with emotional depth. The art is interesting, and I especially liked the imaginatively designed creatures, some of which appeared truly alien.

Zojaqan was written by Jackson Lanzig (of Joyride and Hacktivist) and Collin Kelly (of Gotham City Garage) and drawn by Nathan Gooden (artist from The Gifted and Dixie Vixens). It is an unusual fantasy comic with a strong black heroine and an interesting way of looking at grief and loss.