Book of Death #1
PUBLISHER: Valiant Comics
STORY: Robert Venditti
ART: Robert Gill with Doug Braithwaite
Reviewer: Joe Walters
Summary: “A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once.” The Valiant heroes. X-O Manowar. Bloodshot. Ninjak. The Harbinger Renegades. Unity. This is how they lived. This is how they died.
Now we know. The Book of the Geomancer has recorded it all. But only a young girl – the last in a line of the enigmatic mystics who protect the Earth known as Geomancers – has seen this future come to pass, from the coming cataclysm to the dawn of the 41st century. Alone with her sworn protector, the Eternal Warrior – a soldier battle-forged across five thousand years of combat – the duo must defy their allies to stop the Dark Age that now threatens to eclipse our world.
Together, they are the number one target of every hero and villain on Earth. Either the Eternal Warrior hands her over…or they take him down. But can even he single-handedly protect one child when the entire Valiant Universe wages war against him?
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Review: Bare with me for this is the first time I've been asked to review a series. Before getting started I would recommend reading the titles Unity, Eternal Warrior, Armor Hunters, and The Valiant. Not completely necessary but these three titles definitely help set some back story for this crossover.
Key Characters:
Gilad Anni-Padda, The Eternal Warrior:
A master of ancient and Modern combat, protector of Geomancers for thousands of years. Member of Unity.
Tama, the Geomancer:
The latest in a long line of mystic who speak for the Earth and shepherd humanity to new heights, this eleven year old girl comes from the future (see the Valiant tpb) with the Book of the Geomancer.
Aric of Dacia, X-O Manowar:
Fifth century Visigoth warrior before he was abducted by aliens and stranded in modern time with a sentient suit of armor. Member of Unity.
Colin King, Ninjak:
Calculaing, mysterious, and wealthy, this British superspy often freelances for the highest bidder, but his personal code of ethics sometimes aligns with MI-6 and Unity.
Amanda Mckee, Livewire:
Once the pawn of a megalomaniacal billionaire (see Harbinger), Livewire now uses her technopathic ability to control any electronic device. Leader of Unity.
Neville Alcott, Gentlemen Spy:
MI-6 liasison for Unity, little is known about the man who pulls the strings of the most powerful team on Earth.
Col. Jamie Capshaw:
Commanding officer of G.A.T.E., the Global Agency for Threat Excision. She works with her British counterpart, MI-6's Neville Alcott, to address unfolding crises around the world.
Now before reading page one of the event here is what I already like, as opposed to a company like Marvel or DC running a major crossover that can be anywhere from 20-100 issues over the span of a year, The Book of Death is set for eight books total spanning four months which includes four main core issues and four one-shots. The release schedule is set for one main issue and one one-shot per month which is very helpful for a buyer with a budget. The four one-shots are not necessary reading material to get everything out of the main story, however, they do set a sense of history for other titles of the Valiant universe but there will be more on that later as I breakdown the individual stories. Another point I would like to make is that I have a little bit of a personal biased towards this series. The team Unity is highly involved in this event so I would really prefer to have it written by Matt Kindt, Unity's current writer. The story opens a month in advance to the main plot in Concord, North Carolina. A young woman searches her home for her son to make sure he is ready for church calling out the name David as she notices the back door is partially open.
PUBLISHER: Valiant Comics
STORY: Robert Venditti
ART: Robert Gill with Doug Braithwaite
Reviewer: Joe Walters
Summary: “A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once.” The Valiant heroes. X-O Manowar. Bloodshot. Ninjak. The Harbinger Renegades. Unity. This is how they lived. This is how they died.
Now we know. The Book of the Geomancer has recorded it all. But only a young girl – the last in a line of the enigmatic mystics who protect the Earth known as Geomancers – has seen this future come to pass, from the coming cataclysm to the dawn of the 41st century. Alone with her sworn protector, the Eternal Warrior – a soldier battle-forged across five thousand years of combat – the duo must defy their allies to stop the Dark Age that now threatens to eclipse our world.
Together, they are the number one target of every hero and villain on Earth. Either the Eternal Warrior hands her over…or they take him down. But can even he single-handedly protect one child when the entire Valiant Universe wages war against him?
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Review: Bare with me for this is the first time I've been asked to review a series. Before getting started I would recommend reading the titles Unity, Eternal Warrior, Armor Hunters, and The Valiant. Not completely necessary but these three titles definitely help set some back story for this crossover.
Key Characters:
Gilad Anni-Padda, The Eternal Warrior:
A master of ancient and Modern combat, protector of Geomancers for thousands of years. Member of Unity.
Tama, the Geomancer:
The latest in a long line of mystic who speak for the Earth and shepherd humanity to new heights, this eleven year old girl comes from the future (see the Valiant tpb) with the Book of the Geomancer.
Aric of Dacia, X-O Manowar:
Fifth century Visigoth warrior before he was abducted by aliens and stranded in modern time with a sentient suit of armor. Member of Unity.
Colin King, Ninjak:
Calculaing, mysterious, and wealthy, this British superspy often freelances for the highest bidder, but his personal code of ethics sometimes aligns with MI-6 and Unity.
Amanda Mckee, Livewire:
Once the pawn of a megalomaniacal billionaire (see Harbinger), Livewire now uses her technopathic ability to control any electronic device. Leader of Unity.
Neville Alcott, Gentlemen Spy:
MI-6 liasison for Unity, little is known about the man who pulls the strings of the most powerful team on Earth.
Col. Jamie Capshaw:
Commanding officer of G.A.T.E., the Global Agency for Threat Excision. She works with her British counterpart, MI-6's Neville Alcott, to address unfolding crises around the world.
Now before reading page one of the event here is what I already like, as opposed to a company like Marvel or DC running a major crossover that can be anywhere from 20-100 issues over the span of a year, The Book of Death is set for eight books total spanning four months which includes four main core issues and four one-shots. The release schedule is set for one main issue and one one-shot per month which is very helpful for a buyer with a budget. The four one-shots are not necessary reading material to get everything out of the main story, however, they do set a sense of history for other titles of the Valiant universe but there will be more on that later as I breakdown the individual stories. Another point I would like to make is that I have a little bit of a personal biased towards this series. The team Unity is highly involved in this event so I would really prefer to have it written by Matt Kindt, Unity's current writer. The story opens a month in advance to the main plot in Concord, North Carolina. A young woman searches her home for her son to make sure he is ready for church calling out the name David as she notices the back door is partially open.
Being a typical mother she is concerned her son is getting his nice clothes dirty playing outside. As she walks out the back door to scold David you see the young boy covered in snakes and rats. Flash forward to present day. Gilad, the Eternal Warrior is on the run from MI-6 and G.A.T.E. He has taken Tama and the prophetic book of the Geomancer and fled across the country leaving nothing but death in their path. The combined forces of MI-6 and G.A.T.E pursue the duo believing Tama to be the cause of the murders as they all involve nature. Being a Geomancer it only makes sense I suppose that she would be their target. The two organizations track the travelers to a small cottage in the middle of a desert in south east Oregon. Because of his power and past experience with Gilad, Aric, the X-O Manowar is dispatched to try and talk Gilad into coming back to MI-6. Living for thousands of years, Gilad knows what human kind does with those that they are afraid of so he declines Aric's offer sending him away. To gather an Idea of what is going on, Gilad has Tama read from the book of the Geomancer and you start to get glimpses of a possible future for the Valiant universe.
After seeing most of Valiant's characters displayed in the prophecy that reads over the pages like a narration I was a bit confused as to how any of it could come true and the title Rai still exist. Thankfully, that question gets answered later in the Book of Death: The Fall of Ninjak one-shot. As the prophecy continues you find that the devastation in the book is said to have been caused by a future Geomancer which makes Gilad and Tama's current predicament really seem like it's going to go south. Moving forward, Aric has returned to The Love Boat, G.A.T.E.'S Mobile headquarters. The remaining members of Unity (Aric, Ninjak, and Livewire) are briefed, given a location, and sent after Tama this time to be taken by force. An unknown voice begins speaking and you see that the young boy David from the beginning is being held captive by some evil force along with the fact that somewhere there is another Geomancer other than Tama. Back in Oregon Tama is attacked by what appears to be 100's of ants and it begins to rain scorpions down on the house that her and Gilad are held up in.
After seeing most of Valiant's characters displayed in the prophecy that reads over the pages like a narration I was a bit confused as to how any of it could come true and the title Rai still exist. Thankfully, that question gets answered later in the Book of Death: The Fall of Ninjak one-shot. As the prophecy continues you find that the devastation in the book is said to have been caused by a future Geomancer which makes Gilad and Tama's current predicament really seem like it's going to go south. Moving forward, Aric has returned to The Love Boat, G.A.T.E.'S Mobile headquarters. The remaining members of Unity (Aric, Ninjak, and Livewire) are briefed, given a location, and sent after Tama this time to be taken by force. An unknown voice begins speaking and you see that the young boy David from the beginning is being held captive by some evil force along with the fact that somewhere there is another Geomancer other than Tama. Back in Oregon Tama is attacked by what appears to be 100's of ants and it begins to rain scorpions down on the house that her and Gilad are held up in.
As all of the poisonous insects make their way in stinging Gilad multiple times and crawling inside of him, Tama breaks down believing the two are certainly doomed. Gilad's knees buckle and the Eternal Warrior hits the ground just in time for the cavalry to show up to their aid, or are they really? Utilizing Gin-gr and Livewire's combined abilities, Unity is able to take out the insects and save the day. Livewire, always level headed tries to open a dialogue between Gilad and Unity, this breaks down quickly as Ninjak attacks Gilad without warning. Next issue: The Eternal Warrior vs. Unity. After reading the first book I now have two thoughts in mind. A. I really need to catch up on Unity and Eternal Warrior because I've trailed off and B. I am absolutely dumb founded as to who the villain of this story will be.
Honestly, on it's own this book so far is a good read, a vast knowledge of the Valiant universe is not needed to enjoy the book or understand what is going on. The small amount of detail given on the inside cover page is enough to get you filled in on what you are getting in to. Venditti has given us 32 pages of solid story backed up nicely by the art of Gill and Braithwaite. On a scale from 1-5, I give Book of Death #1 a solid 3.75 out of 5. It lost a little bit of points due to my a-formentioned personal bias and from the amount of other Valiant titles I've read some characters seem slightly off. Still a very enjoyable book and I for one cannot wait for the entire event to be out so I can sit down and read it all at once.
Honestly, on it's own this book so far is a good read, a vast knowledge of the Valiant universe is not needed to enjoy the book or understand what is going on. The small amount of detail given on the inside cover page is enough to get you filled in on what you are getting in to. Venditti has given us 32 pages of solid story backed up nicely by the art of Gill and Braithwaite. On a scale from 1-5, I give Book of Death #1 a solid 3.75 out of 5. It lost a little bit of points due to my a-formentioned personal bias and from the amount of other Valiant titles I've read some characters seem slightly off. Still a very enjoyable book and I for one cannot wait for the entire event to be out so I can sit down and read it all at once.