My thanks to Europe Comics for a digital copy via NetGalley of ‘The Mask of a Thousand Tears: Volume 1. Death Walks with Me’ with script by David Chauvel and art by Roberto Ali. It was translated from the French by Matt Madden and published in April 2020. This is the first of a two volume tale. My apologies for the late feedback.

Following a battle in a mythical Asian land, Masamura, a peasant soldier with a mysterious past encounters Sadakyo, a young woman who has come to find the body of her dead fiancé.

Sadakyo is determined to obtain the legendary Mask of a Thousand Tears, a golden mask which will allow her to travel to the underworld and bring her fiancé back to the land of the living. It is said to be located at Takedo Castle. Masamura is determined to accompany her on this dangerous quest, no matter the cost.

I found this an engaging graphic novel. It took me a few pages to get into the story though as soon as the almost otherworldly figure of Sadakyo appeared among the dead and dying on the battlefield, I was hooked.

Roberto Ali’s artwork was stunning moving from full-on fighting scenes to quiet moments between
Sadakyo and Masamura as they travel towards Takedo Castle. In the scenes featuring closeups of characters I felt that the facial expressions were very revealing of the emotions that they were feeling.

Roberto Ali utilised a muted colour palette that created a sense of the somber nature of the quest as well as cropped panels layered on top of one another that allowed plenty of space for dialogue and storytelling.

This felt like a mature graphic novel with no cartoonish violence or characters in the script or artwork.

After such a strong opening I am interested in seeing how the story concludes and so will read Volume 2: The Price of Suffering in the near future.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

This graphic novel was hard for me to follow but the art work is absolutely stunning. There was some pacing issues as well. I didn't end up finding this very interesting.

This is a stunning graphic novel, but unfortunately, the story is rather hard to follow. It might be me, I don't read many graphic novels. Maybe that's why the characters feel flat, it was rather difficult to connect with them. The art style is great, though, but only if you can stomach the sight of (drawn) blood

This started on a high for me but I felt there were a lot of pacing issues. The premise is strong, the determined widow who will do anything to bring back her lover from the dead but it just stalled and at times the characters felt more like caricatures. The mythology of the mask isn't really explored but if that is picked up on more in the second part then I feel like the story would pick up too. On a more positive note the artwork is incredible especially the action scenes that are drawn and inked so well.

I loved the art but the story was really hard to follow. It starts off with this completely unrelated group after a battle before settling into a smaller story about a woman recovering her fiance's body and setting out on a quest to revive him with a macguffin. The woman was completely useless, continuously saved by the man who helped her carry her fiance's body home. It's not a story I found interesting enough to continue.

This is a beautifully illustrated and ultra-violent samurai story that is worth seeking out. Doing action scenes in comics is not easy. Drawing violent fights without tripping over into grotesque nastiness is even more difficult. Roberto Ali does a superb job bringing the world of feudal Japan to life, and the colours by Walter are simply gorgeous. The action is rendered skillfully. The imagery in this really is reminiscent of scenes from Yojimbo or Ran. Chauvel script tells the story of Masamura a samurai employed by Sadakyo to bring the body of her fiancé back to their home village. The Mask of a Thousand Tears is a legendary object that has the power to bring the dead back to life, and Sadakyo seeks it. The comic leaves it unclear as to whether or not the mask actually exists and even if it does exist if it has the life returning properties ascribed to it. This gives a sense of futility about the quest. All this blood and violence may serve no purpose. Masamura starts off as a likeable goofball in the vein of Chris Pratt. Sadakyo obsessive love for her deceased fiancee comes off as unhinged. That for me is one of the flaws in the book. The dialogue is well done, and this is a very pretty book to look at. Still, I didn’t understand why Masamura was initially so besotted Sadakyo. To me, she seemed unhinged. That said Masamura motivations to continue the quest change throughout the tale so this wasn’t too much of a distraction. However, that small gripe aside this is an enjoyable read that mixes tension and action. Very much looking forward to part 2

The Mask of a Thousand Tears tells the story of young woman named Sadakyo whose fiancee has just died in battle. She meets and befriends a man named Masamuro to help her bring her fiancee's body back home. She plans to obtain an artifact called the Mask of a Thousand Tears to bring her fallen beloved back to land of the living. While the backstory of the mask is intriguing, the story itself is not. The graphics and illustrations are beautiful and engaging. Just when the novel begins to be slightly interesting, it leads to .... to be continued. I hope the second part takes off better than this first part. I'm not sure I would recommend this book, the story moves too slowly in some places and weirdly fast in other spots.

I enjoyed this graphic novel, the characters were great and I loved the art style for it. I hope the author is able to continue as this was a good first issue.

Not a great book at all, but certainly one able to throw a huge curveball. Just when you think this is a boring, unconvincing look at Samurai warfare, all this Shogun versus that Shogun and so on, a beautiful dame turns up on the battlefield to reclaim her dead fiance. Cue an adventure for her, and the chap she first promised herself to in thanks for help with the corpse, as she goes on a quest for… well, that would be telling. There were certainly flashes of interest in this – namely her proposal, and certainly darker clouds sucking much of the fun away – namely, her reneging on her promise. Plus a lot of ugly people. Plus a lot of times it seemed you'd missed a page, as we jumped from one scene and one level of relationship to another. I can see people awaiting the second half of this story, but it's not out in French yet at time of writing, let alone English, and they don't include me.

This is a Graphic novel that ends in a cliffhanger to finish in part #2. Mask of a thousand tears has a good storyline and artwork. There is some graphic violence and blood.
I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review from netgalley

The art, the story, the character were all so fabulous! i loved the dialogue and the burst of colour! The story follows a woman who wants to bring her fiancé back from the dead. I loved the plot and the beginning really drew me in!

I recommend it to any graphic novel fans looking for something different.

After a horrible battle, a woman teams up with a soldier to get the Mask of a Thousand Tears in order to bring her fiance back to the land of the living.

The detail in the art is beautiful. Because of the way the words were colored it was difficult to read the digital copy. The letters were in brown shades. I am hoping that the larger format will make the story more clear.

Creative Team:
Story: David Chauvel
Art: Roberto Ali
Colors: Walter
Published by Europe Comics

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

~

The Mask of A Thousand Tears (Death Walks With Me, Vol. 1) by David Chauvel, Roberto Ali (Illustrator)
★★★★★
74 Pages



The Mask of A Thousand Tears is a stunning piece of artwork, and an intriguing web of secrets explored through a single storyline that brings Sadayoka and Masamura together. Forming a reluctant companionship, they travel to the Mask of A Thousand Tears, to bring back Sadayoka's fiance – recently killed in battle – back from the dead.

As an overall plot, I really enjoyed it. I thought the concept of the Mask of A Thousand Tears was intriguing and clever, and very Feudal Japan. I'm not sure if it's based on a real legend or not, but it was so expertly crafted it felt like it could be. I definitely got a very 47 Ronin vibe from the first 10% of the story, and loved how that wove into this dramatic entrance for Sadayoka.

Unfortunately, that was about the only time I liked Sadayoka. As a main protagonist – one of two, really – I didn't connect with her, at all. I found her selfish, foolish, naive and careless. She was so stuck in her ways – beyond stubborn – that she was putting herself and others in danger, all because she couldn't bear to accept that her fiance had died. She knew the story about the Mask of A Thousand Tears, and the pain and destruction it caused, but was still determined to go ahead and take the risk. Potentially putting others, and herself, in serious harm.

For me, the shining light of the book was Masamura. I loved him! He was intriguing, captivating, and mysterious. He had a backstory that was powerful, mysterious, and led to him being a man of many faces. He was engaging and his only bad point was that he'd fallen head over heels for Sadayoka. Although, I do have hope in the fact he told her he wasn't doing any of this for her. That makes me wonder who he is doing it for, and if, perhaps, he's just using Sadayoka to get himself closer to the Mask of A Thousand Tears to use for himself.

In the end, I enjoyed the story so much that I forgave the disappointment of a typical pathetic, lonely, incapable woman, as part of the historical accuracy of the story. In Feudal Japan, nothing much would have been expected of Sadayoka, so while she showed initial spunk and ferocity, that faded in the wake of the reality that she's a woman in a time when she wasn't allowed to be anything but a daughter, sister, wife, mother.

Masamura stole the show, and I sincerely hope he gets a bigger part in Volume 2. I want to learn more about his past, about what his motivation for this strange journey is, and if my suspicions were right.

This beautifully illustrated and intriguing story takes the reader to a mythical Asian land and the aftermath of a battle. A young peasant called Masamura is scavenging amongst some dead soldiers, trying to find anything useful. He meets Sadakyo, a young woman, who has come to find the body of her dead fiance. When she finds the body Masamura agrees to help her take her dead fiance home for burial.

Sadakyo declares that she will seek for the Mask of a Thousand Tears, a magical mask which has the power to bring her fiance back to life, but in order to get this mask she will need to travel to Takedo Castle. Having nothing better to do with his time Masamura decides to accompany her and so the quest begins. This story has the makings of a sweeping tale of adventure and battles, mystery and discovery.

There is more to Masamura than meets the eye and we see this as he battles on behalf of Sadakyo to keep her safe and to gain entry into the mysterious castle. This is volume one of a two-part story and this volume introduces us to the characters and the quest. It is beautifully illustrated and has a way of pulling the reader into a world where life for peasants is so cheap and yet despite their hopelessness they have a deep strength and courage.

I enjoyed reading this because there are lots of questions and much mystery about the characters and the mask, and whether or not they will achieve their quest. If you like stories about ordinary people undertaking impossible quests then you will enjoy this.

Copy provided by Europe Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

to be honest. I did not have the time to read this title. I really wanted to but unfortunately life had other plans.
Im sorry I cannot leave a reply revoew for this book.

I was really looking forward to read this

The fact that this was getting poor reviews made me wary but it's really not bad. Yes, the female protagonist is completely useless and has a stupid outlook on love - she actually says "no one has ever loved like I have" which, COME ON... but the male protagonist is the most interesting character here, so I would keep reading just to see what else happens to him.

I loved the art in this book so much so when I wasn't scrambling to turn pages or wondering what will happen next, something in me was sad.

This is a story about Masamura, a soldier who has survived a war he didn't think he would and Sadakyo a woman who lost her fiancé to that same war after making him a vow to bring him home no matter what. Masamura and Sadakyo are thrust together on a quest to find the mask and bring fulfil her promise to her fiancé.

Things I liked:
-the art: very well done
-the teasing hints as to certain characters' backstories
(what will it be: runaway royal or spurned royal, stay tuned to find out!)

Things I disliked:
-Sadakyo, you offered yourself in exchange for help to carry your dead fiancé's body back to the village... you offered yourself (as in your body) to a soldier?
-Masamura is too good to make good on the promise (and to be clear, I'm not saying he should have taken advantage of it but what are the odds that a soldier (who's just survived a war he thought he would die in) would not make good on such a promise made by an attractive woman? It's too convenient and there are too many hidden story elements (motivations being one of them)
-Sadakyo is... I don't know, her character arc seems to be built to compliment Masamura's and she's constantly thanking him for the littlest things. I mean, you can do these things too, just... try
*I'm not certain how much of it is a culture thing (because it's distinctly non-western) and how much isn't but something about it seems... strange (i.e. unlike much of the non-western comics I've read)
-length: I tend to prefer shorter graphic novels (especially when I'm reading them as issues) but I've read short issues before and loved them (Something is Killing the Children is a good example) but I think the problem with this ties in to point #3 in my dislikes, far too many hidden elements and not enough backstory:
*Sadakyo's relationship with her husband
*the mask (there was info on this but not enough)
*the war (I'm still not sure what was going on with that and why it doesn't have a little more bearing on the story)
*Masamura's motivations (a hidden backstory I can excuse but I care more about characters when I can understand why they're doing what they're doing)

All in all, good art but the story doesn't quite measure up in my opinion

*Review will be posted on June 5th*
Hello Fellow Readers,

I have been in a graphic novel mood because today I am bring you The Mask of a Thousand Tears. This story is about a traveler that meets a woman on the battle field. Her fiance is one of the casualties of a brutal war. She is determined to bring him back and together they travel to find the mask of a thousand tears.


This was an interesting read, a bit slow in the beginning but it eventually picks up. I really enjoyed Masamura's character, his chatty and thoughtful nature really intrigued me and the small snippets of his backstory that you get were addicting. I wish Chauvel would have gone into more detail but I have a feeling we will get the full story in the next book.


Sadakyo on the other hand made me so upset. I understand that she is grieving and her fiance was just killed in a brutal war but she came across as stupid, naive, and hysterical. There are moments where I thought I could finally like her but then she does something that would have me scoffing and shaking my head. I will say though that her determination to find the mask is admirable. Even so, she comes across as mentally unstable and I don't see her appeal. I think the next book may feature her more heavily and it's the only reason why I would he hesitant to pick it up when it comes out.


The artwork by Ali is amazing, I mean just look at this gorgeous cover and you can see why I love it. He really does give a dimension to the characters that would not have easily been translated with just words alone. I really need to look at his work more because I really like his art style.


Overall, this book was good.

It took me a few moments to get into this graphic novel, but personally I enjoyed it!
So it's about after a battle and Sadakyo's mourning her dead fiance and she asks Masamura (a soldier) to help her bring his body back to the villiage.
She forms a bond with Masamura, and talks about wanting to find this mask.
I'm really excited to find out what happens next.
As far as graphic novels go, this would be something I pick up from the library for kicks. I liked the art and the dialogue between Masamura and Sadakyo. It kind of reminded me if Gene from Samurai Champloo and the main character got together. So much is told in just the imagery, it's gorgeous. I can't wait to read the next book.

Loved this!

This felt like an ancient Japan story of a solider helping out a citizen and falling in love with her. The legend that this graphic novel is based on will help her save her finance but after meeting the solider will she still want to follow through? I love to watch movies about Samari and Asian themed movies in general and this just felt like a graphic novel version. I can't wait until the next volume comes out so I can find out what happens next!