[.uk] Crossing Midnight Vol. 1: Cut Here (ISBN 1401213413)

great!:
Interesting plot, great art, cool Japanese setting with underlying horror / mystery themes. Worth checking out!

Good start, hope it continues:
Crossing Midnight: Cut Here is the first volume of what will hopefully be a decent-length series by Mike Carey. Though better known for his work on Hellblazer and Lucifer, Mike Carey is an excellent writer who all-to-seldom works with characters and universes of his own creation. In Crossing Midnight, we get introduced to a family in modern Japan and the mythical realms that lay beside it. As is often the case in stories of this type, our view of the story is through a handful of characters who figure out what is going on as we do. Thus, we are peripherally introduced to three beings (kami) who are not gods and not demons, but something else. They are, in some way, creatures that control animistic forces of specific types - blades and needles (at least, thus far). Now, that sounds interesting enough in of itself, but there are a few warnings. First of all, this is a work of horror. Bad things happen to good people, and that's just how things are. In many ways, this is a common feature of Mike Carey's work. However, as this is a graphic novel, these events are also rendered... graphically. If blood and violence disturb you, you should give this one a pass. (Personally, my trigger point is unnecessary blood and violence. Since it's necessary to the plot, I was able to tolerate it.) Enough hints are dropped that we know that there is a significant back story, both among the kami and the two youngsters around whom the story shall weave. There is sufficient material that this story could take years to tell, and since I buy these as collections, a bit longer to read. I look forward to reading the occasional volume as the years go by.

One of the Best Vertigo Titles in Years:
"Crossing Midnight" is touted as a "fairy tale for horror fans," and it thoroughly fulfills this promise. Fans of other Vertigo series, such as "Y" and "Fables," will enjoy this book, as will fans of Japanese horror films. The art, by "Fables" artist Jim Fern, is gorgeous, especially when things get a little violent (people and animals are cut up, so this isn't for young children). I was a little skeptical of Englishman Mike Carey tackling modern Japanese culture and traditional Japanese folklore, but Carey has a suprisingly adept handle on Asian culture that really shines here.

A flawed introduction to a great series:
Don't be fooled by the title of this review, Crossing Midnight is one of my favorite series, and this first volume is great in its own right. It has a hump to straddle in the first 3 issues, where I found it hard to remain interested in the somewhat slow and comparatively uninteresting introduction. After that, though, it really picks up and drops the reader into a fascinating world of demons and spirits and plays its cards perfectly. By the end of the first volume, you should be drooling for the second.