“This is the world. It is not the one we wanted, but it is the one we deserved.”

nd with these words the audience is introduced to the world of Image Comics EAST OF WEST. Co-created by writer Jonathan Hickman (AVENGERS, FANTASTIC FOUR) and artist Nick Dragotta (FF, FANTASTIC FOUR), EAST OF WEST is one of the most Aoriginal and engrossing books to hit shelves in recent years. The story takes place in a futuristic version of the United States where, at the time of the Civil War, a great event fractured the country into seven nations. From the remnants of the Union in the east to Mao’s exiled Chinese nation on the west coast, an uneasy peace has been hanging in the balance for decades. Amidst this high tech wasteland, three of the four horsemen of the apocalypse have been reborn and are now working secretly with representatives from each of the nations to fulfill their destiny and bring about the end times. But it is the fourth horseman, Death, that has abandoned his brethren. He stalks the land, looking much like a clad-in-all-white Clint Eastwood, riding a cybernetic steed and wielding his six shooters with an accuracy reserved only for the king of the reapers. And it is squarely on his shoulders that the future of humanity rests. In this world almost completely devoid of hope, Death has found a reason to live, a reason to stray from his destiny, fight back against his apocalyptic accomplices, and ultimately walk humanity back from the brink. EAST OF WEST is most easily (lazily?) called a Sci-Fi/Western. But that is wholly inadequate. Try to imagine the Man With No Name from Sergio Leone’s classic films as he rides across the plains of Arrakis, in a world populated by cities where Deckard and his fellow Blade Runners would be hard at work—and that barely covers the basics. Ancient mythologies fuse with technological monstrosities as individuals and nations fight for their desired futures. And at its core, a story of a man trying to protect the ones he loves. Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta shared their thoughts with us about what goes into creating the many moving parts that stop just long enough to bring the world of EAST OF WEST together.