White Sand Volume 1 Reactions

[skaa]

I nearly laughed out loud when I saw Khriss for the first time. Her tinted glasses coupled with the runway pose made that scene way too flamboyant to take seriously.

Khriss: "I should never have come to Dayside, Cynder. I'm not a leader of men. I'm a supermodel." *hairflip*

I like how they cut out the Khriss parts before she and Kenton met. It makes the Darksiders a little bit more mysterious to the reader. But like many others here, I was not at all a fan of the drawing style and the pacing. I almost wish they divided the novel into even more volumes instead of just three (say, eight, which is a significant number on Taldain) just so things would not have felt so rushed. For example, they could have ended Volume 1 at the advancement ceremonies scene right after Kenton is declared mastrell (Praxton getting shot would have been a great cliffhanger); that way, they could have spent more time showing the mechanics and beauty of sand mastery, as well as elaborating on how Kenton found each sphere in the Path (to showcase his problem-solving ability).

Also, it would have been cool if they started the graphic novel with a shot of Taldain from outer space, briefly showing the various astronomical anomalies involving the planet and its star system, instead of that lengthy preface they decided to place there that looked out of place in a graphic novel.

Oh well. I guess I'll just wait for Brandon to write the Darkside story one of these days.

Edited July 2, 2016 by skaa
Elaborated on what I think they should have done.

[Jess]

I see a lot of people here qualifying their opinions with "Graphic novels have never been my thing..." but I actually do read a lot of long-form comics (albeit of the indie and web variety, which are probably less constrained in some ways) and I still didn't think this was very well done.

[Windrunner]

14 minutes ago, Jess said:

I see a lot of people here qualifying their opinions with "Graphic novels have never been my thing..." but I actually do read a lot of long-form comics (albeit of the indie and web variety, which are probably less constrained in some ways) and I still didn't think this was very well done.

This was my fear. :/ I'm still waiting for my copy to show up, but graphic novels are definitely not my thing, and to hear that many people who are fans of it think its objectively poorly done is disappointing. I know that Brandon only has so much time in a day to write books, but I had hoped for more with White Sand. I'll reserve final judgement until I read it myself, but I've probably already poisoned my own opinion by reading these comments. xD

[Orlion Blight]

30 minutes ago, Windrunner said:

This was my fear. :/ I'm still waiting for my copy to show up, but graphic novels are definitely not my thing, and to hear that many people who are fans of it think its objectively poorly done is disappointing. I know that Brandon only has so much time in a day to write books, but I had hoped for more with White Sand. I'll reserve final judgement until I read it myself, but I've probably already poisoned my own opinion by reading these comments. xD

I don't quite get these critiques. It's a fairly solid graphic novel, at least on par with any non-Moon Knight marvel comic.

A lot of the art criticism (at least elsewhere) seems to be focused on the Kindle version, and at least I did not have a problem with distinguishing most characters.

It's not perfect (there is at least one potentially huge mistake) but I found out pretty satisfactory for Act 1.

[ParadoxicalZen]

I actually loved it more on my reread. I think it's great! 

I like the cliffhanger chapters, as it reminds me of the design of SA. As for bald mastrells, I think its primarily a rank thing as most of the on screen acolents have hair whilst all those above that don't. I didn't have trouble distinguishing people although there was a colouring issue in one panel where they got the colours two professor's suits the wrong way round (I love their banter).

[StormingTexan]

I haven't really read comics/graphic novels since I was a kid (I'm almost Brandon's age) so didn't know what to expect. I'm not going to say I hated it. It is nice to see something I've read come to life with pictures but I have a similar feeling when a movie adaptation is made of a book I liked. It's entertaining but not necessarily fulfilling. I will hold my full judgement until I've read all three but in a nut shell I felt that this graphic novel disproved the theory a picture is worth a thousand words. 

It felt EXTREMELY rushed. The other big thing was what someone else already brought up the fight scenes. Mistborn was the first Sanderson book I read and I was hooked largely by the way Brandon writes fight scenes. This was also pretty good in the prose version but to my surprise almost completely missing in this version. 

I was trying to imagine someone not already a huge Sanderson fan reading this and I'll be honest I can't see them continuing it. A large part of what I did like was purely from the fact I've read the prose version and could fill in the HUGE amount of gaps. 

Really hoping it all comes together in the end. 

 

 

[Radiant Returned]

Count me as another person who had never read a Graphic Novel/Comic Book before this one, and it's definitely not my thing. What made it even more frustrating is I can tell that if this was in a novel setting with Sanderson's full attention and editing process etc, it would be epic. The characters are cool, the world and magic is insanely unique and intriguing, but I couldn't get into it at all because of the odd pacing and style. I really wish he would write this as a novel and sell it like he has all his other projects, but guessing that that's never gonna happen now that they're becoming graphic novels.

I'll probably keep buying them because, heck, it's Sanderson, and I want all the Cosmere tidbits, but spending almost the same amount of money on this as I did on Words of Radiance when it came out is mind-blowingly frustrating. 

Edit: I have NOT read the prose version, maybe I would have enjoyed this more if I had. 

Edited July 4, 2016 by Radiant Returned

[Gremorys]

I am an avid comic reader, with nearly complete collections of multiple comics. That being said, White Sands was comparably a let down. SPOILERS:  

On 7/1/2016 at 9:04 PM, skaa said:

For example, they could have ended Volume 1 at the advancement ceremonies scene right after Kenton is declared mastrell (Praxton getting shot would have been a great cliffhanger); that way, they could have spent more time showing the mechanics and beauty of sand mastery, as well as elaborating on how Kenton found each sphere in the Path (to showcase his problem-solving ability).

Skaa has said it best. The biggest drawback for me was the pacing. Sanderson writes novels. (Yes he writes short stories as well, but White Sands is not one of them) These novels have large amounts of world building and take a couple hundred pages to keep the smooth transitions of characters and plot flowing in the cohesive and action-packed stories that Sanderson is amazing at. 

Unfortunately this graphic novel seemed jarring as it attempted to draw the world, showcase the action, keep the plot moving, and make us care about the characters. SPOILER: At one point Kenton is amazed at another characters use of a pistol. Yet the next page it's admitted that the Sand Masters lifelong enemies use something "Extremely similar". So why the shock and awe?

End of the day: My take is it would have been much better served as just a true novel or with more pages of graphics and dialogue to help it flow.

*Edit* Also as everyone else seems to have mentioned, the Sand Master clones... come on man, I bought the hardback and I still had to squint at um to see differences.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Gremorys

[BeskarKomrk]

I finished the graphic novel earlier today. I have a copy of the prose version but I haven't actually read it. I would consider myself a fairly avid reader of comic books and graphic novels. With all those caveats: I very much enjoyed the graphic novel. It's not the best graphic novel I've ever read, nor is it my favorite Sanderson work. However, I thought it was generally well done, with a few specific problems. A lot of this thread has been fairly negative on the book. There are definitely some problems, but I would hate to discourage anybody from reading it.

I felt like the pacing of the book was the biggest problem. It was generally very fast paced without any breaks, and it was difficult to tell how much time passed during the scene transitions. This isn't a problem that this graphic novel is alone in; even some graphic novels I enjoy very much have this problem. This ties in with another issue that someone pointed out. Despite this being a graphical medium, most of the pages are devoted largely to speech bubbles. I understand the desire to use as much of the original prose as possible in this sort of adaptation. That isn't a bad thing in and of itself. The problem is that almost every page is like that, which can impede the ability of the pictures to tell the story. I would love more panels of scenery or travel times or beats in conversation, but it's all very compressed down and there just doesn't feel like there's enough room for the story to breathe. I'm sure they need to compress a lot to fit the story into three graphic novel volumes. I was honestly pretty shocked when they announced there would only be three, rather than five (or eight as someone else suggested).

The art was decent if a little inconsistent. Some panels were very clear and visually impressive, while others were cluttered and unclear. There seem to be a lot of extra lines on the faces which, at least for me, distracted from the scenery without adding any emotion to faces in the process. The unconventional panel structure was also distracting at times, especially when there were arrows telling me which panel to read next. You should never need arrows to direct the eye in a comic. The structure of the page is part of the flow and pace of the story. It would be like reading a page in a prose novel and having an arrow tell you to skip down to the paragraph at the end of the page and come back.

I have a few other specific complaints, but overall I honestly really liked the story. The characters are strong, the magic is cool (though as of yet unexplained), the world is interesting. It's a little unfortunate, but I feel like the book is in a really awkward position. Fans of the Cosmere who aren't graphic novel readers will be disappointed by the inability to include the detail in the worldbuilding and magic systems that we expect from a Sanderson novel, while more experienced graphic novel readers who pick it up will likely consider it subpar graphic novel. Frankly, I think expecting to get either a novel's worth of information from this or a masterful graphic novel is foolish, let alone expecting to get both. It's an impossible task to balance the depth of worldbuilding in White Sand with the graphic novel form in the amount of space they allotted, just like it would be for any movie adaption of a Cosmere novel. There are legitimate criticisms one can make, and many of them have been made here already. I'd still say it's worth getting.

[Doc12]

On 6/29/2016 at 1:29 AM, WeiryWriter said:

Edit: Please keep discussion of the prose draft as minimal as possible.  See this thread for more spoiler-y reactions.

I just finished reading the first volume of the White Sand graphic novel and really enjoyed it.  I don't know if I'm the biggest fan of the art style they went with but it did start to grow on me.  As someone who has read the prose version it was really fun picking up on certain bits of foreshadowing.

My one real complaint was that it ended way too soon.

So what does everyone else think?

Hey I'm sorry, but that thread requires a password? How do I get in? I have read the prose version.

[Samaldin]

7 hours ago, Doctor12 said:

Hey I'm sorry, but that thread requires a password? How do I get in? I have read the prose version

Search for the quote to find the missing word in the prose version, that´s the password

[Doc12]

I'm sorry, what quote? Quote from where?

[Amaror]

1 minute ago, Doctor12 said:

I'm sorry, what quote? Quote from where?

Look at the forum description of the prose version:

Quote

For access, search the manuscript and fill in the following sentence from the book: "Replace the sunlight with _________, the sand with marble floors, and the robes with suits and dresses, and the two would be indistinguishable." (case sensitive)

Just search the beginning of the sentence with Ctrl + F in your version of the book and you should find the password without a problem.

Edited July 6, 2016 by Amaror

[DSC01]

19 hours ago, Gremorys said:

SPOILER: At one point Kenton is amazed at another characters use of a pistol. Yet the next page it's admitted that the Sand Masters lifelong enemies use something "Extremely similar". So why the shock and awe?

He's referring to the dart launchers as being similar devices. It isn't terribly clear from the way it's presented, but the array of tubes around the Kershtian fighters' forearms (which Ais also uses) are pre-loaded with darts and charged with pressurized air. So, yes, they are very similar to guns in some respects, but they don't have anything like the power of an actual gunpowder-based weapon. Therefore, it's a huge shock when he hears a massive roar and someone's head gets blown up, but after Kenton realizes what the principle of the weapon is he observes that it really is very similar to the air-powered weapons that he is familiar with.

[Wubdor]

I've read the prose version and finished the graphic novel version last night. White Sand prose is one of my favourite Sanderson stories. Let me just say it's a damnation shame they decided to publish this as a graphic novel instead of a real novel. It felt way too rushed, way too short, and way too lacking in detail. I found myself constantly wondering whether non-prose readers were going to fully understand certain situations, and I felt it was a shame they were going to miss out on the details that are given in the prose. I'm not a fan of graphic novels at all and this didn't change my mind. I thought it was a cool idea, it had potential, but I feel they missed the mark. I'll admit it was really cool to see the characters and places for real, and I got super excited I finally got to see a proper map of Taldain, though. And Khriss looked exactly as I pictured her.

Of course it's too early to judge the entire thing before the next volumes are out, but if the next ones are as disappointing as the first and they stick closely to the prose, I think I'll just keep reading that instead of the graphic novels whenever I want some White Sand.

Edited July 7, 2016 by Wubdor

[swablueme]

The colouring of the art and the art itself is worlds better than what I expected. I never read western comics because the lazy use of black flood fills, blocky figures, strange/over-referenced/traced/bad anatomy, excessive shading, gradient tool/soft brush abuse and stock photoshop effects like lightflares are overused and usually very offputting.

However, from the start White Sand is a rare and lovely exception. Not only does it have lovely art on the cover, the lovely art is actually maintained the whole way through, with nice shading tint choice in most panels (but the darker palettes do get funny palette choices) and the coloured linework and the execution of linework is a huge plus in my book. Poses are well executed and costuming is top notch (I love the way that the artist draws the clothing folds). Tasteful and restrained use of lighting effects. Scenery is also very detailed and aesthetic - detailed without being overwrought and overshadowing all the characters and effective without looking unnatural. 

Edited July 7, 2016 by swablueme

[Glamdring804]

From what I can tell, my impressions are pretty much the same as everyone else.

First off - Almighty above, Khriss's introduction page was awful. Like, makes me want to barf bad.

Second, Baon certainly is a rather blunt person, wouldn't you say?

I agree with regards to the pacing. Everything felt far too rushed. I was able to finish it in 45 minutes, in a single sitting. Most of the Cosmere takes me at least a week to work through. I've also read the manuscript, and while novel has some issues, I vastly prefer it over the graphic novel. Not sure what I think about Ais's gender change yet. I'll have to read the other two volumes before I can give a sound judgement.

Edited July 7, 2016 by Glamdring804

[NathanielHellman]

I loved the story, but I need more. The world needs to be fleshed out more and the characters need more room to breath. I like the story regardless, but I wish the story had been released all at once.

[Argent]

15 hours ago, Glamdring804 said:

Second, Baon certainly is a rather blunt person, wouldn't you say?

 

Cheeky.

[JoeCaster]

17 hours ago, Glamdring804 said:

Second, Baon certainly is a rather blunt person, wouldn't you say?

I am actually a bit confused about something and hoping someone here can clear the air.  I am somewhat new to the cosmere connections, but am aware Galladon, Baon and Demoux appear in Interlude 1 in WOK.  However, I was under the impression that Galladon aka Grump in WOK used wording to refer to others as "friend" or "Sule", and frequently followed up a statement with "Understand? aka "Kolo?"

 

So when we first met Baon in the WhiteSand graphic novel, he used these phrases similar to Grump did in that WoK Interlude chapter, so I thought he was Galladon at first until he was identified as Baon.

 

Could anyone clear this up for me?  Thoughts? Am I missing anything?

[Glamdring804]

1 hour ago, JoeCaster said:

I am actually a bit confused about something and hoping someone here can clear the air.  I am somewhat new to the cosmere connections, but am aware Galladon, Baon and Demoux appear in Interlude 1 in WOK.  However, I was under the impression that Galladon aka Grump in WOK used wording to refer to others as "friend" or "Sule", and frequently followed up a statement with "Understand? aka "Kolo?"

 

So when we first met Baon in the WhiteSand graphic novel, he used these phrases similar to Grump did in that WoK Interlude chapter, so I thought he was Galladon at first until he was identified as Baon.

 

Could anyone clear this up for me?  Thoughts? Am I missing anything?

I think Baon was just asking Kenton if he understood. I reread the first few pages with him, and it didn't sound like he was using the same wording as a Dula would.

On a related note, I am slightly disappointed with the colorist. The moon of Taldain is always visible on the center of the Dayside, but it is always exactly on the horizon. If you take a moment to think about this, it means that the moon is orbiting directly above the terminator of the planet (the twilight zone). This means it should always appear as a quarter moon, no matter where you are on the planet. I'm kind of sad they drew it as a full moon.

[Quiver]

23 hours ago, Glamdring804 said:

From what I can tell, my impressions are pretty much the same as everyone else.

First off - Almighty above, Khriss's introduction page was awful. Like, makes me want to barf bad.

Are you kidding? That part is fabulous. Seriously, I wasn't even kidding before. KhrysKhryss' arrogance and colour scheme makes me think of a certain Great and Powerful one...

But that page? Damnation. No way I'm going back now, Khryss is voiced by Tabitha St Germain, and I am very much on board with her as cosmere!Rarity.

[Doc12]

On 7/9/2016 at 5:21 AM, Quiver said:

Are you kidding? That part is fabulous. Seriously, I wasn't even kidding before. KhrysKhryss' arrogance and colour scheme makes me think of a certain Great and Powerful one...

But that page? Damnation. No way I'm going back now, Khryss is voiced by Tabitha St Germain, and I am very much on board with her as cosmere!Rarity.

Isn't she more cosmere!Twilight than Rarity? I think that's why people were annoyed. Khriss is a researcher, not a fashion model XD

[Alfa]

6 hours ago, Doctor12 said:

Isn't she more cosmere!Twilight than Rarity? I think that's why people were annoyed. Khriss is a researcher, not a fashion model XD

It's not the look of a model, it's the strange unappropriateness of the scene that makes me raise an eyebrow.

[Doc12]

12 minutes ago, Alfa said:

It's not the look of a model, it's the strange unappropriateness of the scene that makes me raise an eyebrow.

Inappropriate because? Because of the current situation? Because of what we know of her from other places? Because of her whole pose or something?

I feel the inappropriateness, sure. Just trying to pin down which one it is