Cover Image: The Man From Maybe

The Man From Maybe

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Member Reviews

⭐️⭐️ It was OK, I can see why some loved it
I couldn't get it together with this one. I found the story hard to follow and disjointed. As soon as I would start to get into it a little and follow what was happening it would change gears. I did love the idea of a sci-fi alien post-apocalyptic western, I wish I just liked the story more. 

I liked the retro feel of the artwork and how colorful everything was however there were a few drawings that were rough and hard for me to decode.

Thank you to Oni Press, NetGalley, and author Jordan Thomas for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review. The Man From Maybe is out May 28, 2024.

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It's a weird western with incredible art! I'm a big Shaky Kane fan, so I'll read anything he illustrates. This title also has a story that lives up to his incredible illustrations. There are robot cowboys, evil scientists, dinosaurs, mutants, aliens, nukes, and all kinds of cool stuff. Pick it up if you like indie comics or weird westerns, you won't be disappointed.

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Could not get into this at all. I finished it, because I don't like to give up on a book. Story felt disjointed and confusing, and was not enjoyable to read. Wasn't a fan of the art style either.

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My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Oni Press for an advance copy of this science fiction, western, revenge tale graphic novel, set in dying Earth in a land that is slowly filling with hate.

The future looks kind of bleak. There is an election that might be our last free election, climate change is drowning us, or heating us up. And tech bros have given us AI which might wipe us all out as a failed experiment. Maybe the future will be filled with sand, and criminal gangs. A trillionaire with a fetish for nuclear weapons. A dinosaur astronaut. And a man with a real horse, that is radiation proof. The Man from Maybe is a dystopian sci-fi western story, by writer Jordan Thomas and artist Shaky Kane filled gunfights, nuclear memorabilia, a child looking to avenge or revenge which ever comes first, and a man with no-name, maybe.

The story begins with a crashed space ship and a group of astronauts arriving at the scene to see what happened. These astronauts are a lot more than they seem, and so is the purple ooze they find on the floor of the spaceship. We than join our heroes rescuing a marshall from an outlaw gang, saving him a fate worse than death, though the marshall does not appreciate this. Returning the outlaws for a bounty gets our heroes another job. Escorting a group of wagons through the wasteland. Which does not go well. Watching this all happen is a tech bro with a love for nuclear weapons, or souvenirs. Seeing the crashed space ship he wants full salvage rights for everything on board. However he is too late, as bounty hunters have seized a prize, a pretty big hate machine. And a confrontation between heroes, villains, and a B-29 Superfortress called the Enola Gay might decide the fate of what is left of the world.

A mix of Twilight Zone, Paladin or Wanted: Dead or Alive, Mad Max, and a bit of corporate scheming from Wall Street. With a lot of ultra-violence, and humor. The story is different, with a lot of humor, and a bit of satire. The characters are interesting, and well developed, including the astronauts who really steal the show. The art is really quite good, a nice mix of pop art with a lot of very good backgrounds and great details. The hero's mask, his horse, and the details on the ship are really quite good. My only real problem was that the ending seemed a little rushed. However it does set up for further adventures, and I am looking forward to more.

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Wonderful and intriguing storytelling from Jordan Thomas. The visual style and coloring is eye-catching and the story is enjoyable — a prime example of breaking outside of the expected in comics.

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Post-apocalytic, cowboy sci-fi with a sprinkling of cosmic horror. What’s not to like?

A quite simplistic, raw art style makes me think of the early 2000AD titles which is a good thing! We follow a strange grouping of people as they all converge on the actual dark heart of cosmic evil.

There’s a bounty hunter who’s life gets more and more complicated after an initial easy bounty, there are plots of revenge, a power hungry Howard Hughes type figure, space faring dinosaurs, and so much more.

None of this got complicated with all the threads tying together, good action sequences, and a great cliff hanger.

Really enjoyed the pace of this and looking forward to the next installments.

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This gave me such Fallout: New Vegas vibes in the best of ways being a slightly satirical western sci-fi. The art style isn't my favorite but certain panels were done really well for the story and overall fit the tone. I also didn't entirely understand the story, but I don't think I was supposed to, I think it's supposed to give off the feel of finding a random issue of this story of an unnamed, mysterious, but super cool main guy in this post-apocalyptic world and just find it cool.

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An elegant pastiche of space western and Road Warrior tropes, with a smattering of 50s-60s BEM sci=fi. There's nothing new here, but there doesn't have to be; the characters distinguish themselves (though there may be one or two too many), and the action keeps coming. Shaky Kane's art walks the boundary between Kirbyesque and underground sensibilities, somehow emerging as a singularly unique and very clear voice. A win.

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A simple, yet unique art style that was very retro. I enjoyed the use of bright vibrant colours, but the drawings seemed a little wooden to me in some way, as though I was looking at still fragments of movement. It's odd because although comics do use drawings, I have never contemplated as still images before. I guess it is becuase I was individually looking at each frame instead of being pushed on to the next. It lacked momentum for me and my curiosity was not piqued. But the use of colours and very imaginative characters were nice to look at. I enjoyed the golden orange and red backgrounds, but the cliches were just too heavy here.

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"An Earth, sometime after the shit really hit the fan", with various dangerous customers in pursuit of something terrible that crashed down from the heavens into the parched landscape that remains. I feel like Shaky Kane's art is doing most of the heavy lifting when it comes to making this weird Western feel appropriately weird, and indeed Western, but equally, if Shaky Kane thought the script was a good enough basis for him to do his thing, then who am I to argue?

(Netgalley ARC)

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This one was not for me, it was too gritty and weird. I didn't super enjoy it, but I know that there are probably a lot of people who would, it's just not my thing it turns out. The art was well done.

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The Man From Maybe is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi western romp. The art is rough and fun, the story is the right kind of nonsensical, and it's a good way to pass an evening.

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A psychedelic space western. Cool rough and ready art, great palette of colors too. Story left me wanting some more, it was all a bit shallow and vague. Being the first completed storyline of the series, the conclusion was a little rushed and a bit too “story of the week” for me. I probably would not continue the series. The art is the hero in this one, there are no real new ideas or anything to sink my teeth into. I do not want my time back though. Thanks to Oni Press, Jordan Thomas, and Shaky Kane for the ARC.

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I liked the art, and it felt like there was always a lot happening at once. The story was interesting, but I always do like when the mood is "space western." There's a little revenge, a little found family, a lot of the things that make me want to follow the continuing adventures with these characters. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

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