10 comics series to binge read while social distancing

8. East of West

“We would tell you to pray, but it wouldn’t do any good. You have earned what is coming to you.” If that sounds like the tagline of the new season of Westworld, well, you wouldn’t be that far off.

Set in the dystopian future of the United States, East of West is a sci-fi Western created by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta that follows Death – that’s right, the Horseman of the Apocalyps -, as he searches the Seven Kingdoms for his son who was stolen as a baby. As he continues though, the world continues to rage as the Kingdoms are at war and a cult called The Chosen are determined to bring about the apocalypse. Oh, there also needs to be mentioned that the other three Horsemen, War, Famine, and Conquest, have also been reborn.

If all that sounds insanely complicated, it’s because it is. There’s a lot to juggle in this series, which just ended with issue #45 in December, but it’s worth it to get invested. This is a phenomenal series that is a lot more philosophical than it first appears to be. It analyzes the trappings of religion, politics, love, duty, childhood, and survival beautifully and in a way that a sci-fi western really shouldn’t be able to. It’s a series that is completely worth investing your time into.