It seems to be trying to be edgy and epic at the same time. Unfortunately, neither is achieved. The actual story is pretty thin. It isn’t helped by the confusing art. For example, one of the “heroes” (I use the word loosely) and the main bad guy are almost identical. It just doesn’t work, as a graphic novel, nor as a work of fiction in general. Mostly an unpleasant work.

One of Kindt’s greatest strengths as a storyteller is setting up the intricate clockwork of his settings and characters, and then setting them in motion. Everything that happens after that point feels almost inevitable, and watching the characters struggle against it is both exhilarating and heart-wrenching.

Grass Kings is the story of a utopia that has to ultimately fail, because that’s what utopias do. And Kindt and Jenkins are going to make us feel every ounce of loss.

Try it if you liked Essex County.

I don't know what to make of this. There's some interesting pieces to it, but I don't know that there's enough to get me to read the rest of the story. This feels like a book for guys who like "Shameless".

This is a story about ignorant, unlikable thugs who like to fight for no real reason other than they're bored. Thanks, I hate it. The art work isn't enjoyable to look at and they story isn't engaging.

I don't care about any of these people or even understand the basic crux of their conflict with each other. Like, why? Why the grass kingdom? Whatever, I'm over it.

Devo dire che questo primo volume mi ha stupito molto e non me lo aspettavo. È ben rappresentata la guerra che c'è tra le il Regno della Prateria (luogo di autoesiliati della società) e la città di Cargill.
Uno dei personaggi che più mi ha colpito e che forse è uno dei meglio caratterizzati è Robert, non svelo niente per evitare spoiler.
Un altra figura che mi ha colpito è stata Maria e spero che venga approfondita come personaggio, ha molte potenzialità.
Degli altri personaggi più o meno non sappiamo molto e spero che ci sia almeno un evoluzione dei personaggi nei prossimi volumi.
Il mistero e la storia di violenza che circonda la Prateria è molto intrigante, sono curiosa di leggere i prossimi volumi.

Good story, promising start. There's room to grow these characters and add more. The hardcover has nice heavy oversized paper, sewn into the spine, the pages open completely so that full bleed art can be seen with no gutter problems.

Grass Kings is a lushly drawn graphic novel that is a mix of crime/mystery/drama. In Grass Kings, Robert and his brothers rule the Grass Kingdom, a sovereign nation somewhere in modern-day rural America whose residents consider themselves independent from the government and outsiders (sound familiar?). Things get wild when Robert takes in Maria, a woman on the run, and a standoff develops between the Grass Kingdom and the neighboring town of Cargill, whose corrupt sheriff has been waiting for an excuse to organize a raid. The conflict between outlaw homesteaders and lawmen bent on vengeance has the form of a modern-day western, but Kindt lends a broader scope with flashbacks across the violent history of the area and the sense that, over the centuries, “this patch of earth has been earned.” Though the Grass Kingdom is a weedy trailer park community, Jenkins’s carefully observed,pastel-toned watercolor art imbues a sense of magic, as the inhabitants see it: a fantasy kingdom of woods and fields, sunset-drenched farmhouses, and eccentric makeshift homes such as a houseboat lodged in a tree. The first volume also sets up a mystery around a long-missing serial killer to carry the story into future installments. Grass Kings is emotional, intimate, violent, and one of the best graphic novels out there.

gorgeous art, interesting story

The story didn't really pick up for me. There were so many interrupting character arcs that they made each individual one hard to pick up.

I did like the art, and the composition was beautiful. Which may have also made my pacing a bit slower.