A Family that Slays Together
Creative Staff:
Story: Robert Venditti
Art: Raul Allen & Patricia Martín
What They Say:
For five millennia, the Eternal Warrior has shaped history at the end of his sword. He’s razed empires, toppled civilizations, and broken armies as an immortal soldier in service to the Earth.
But now, the Eternal Warrior has been torn from the world he once protected and finds himself stranded in a hostile alien landscape unlike any he’s ever faced. Separated from his earthly environs, can history’s deadliest soldier survive a realm far older, far deadlier, and far more ruinous than anything he’s ever encountered before? Beyond Earth lies eternity…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
This book sure has a ton of support from Valiant. This is a big event for the Eternal Warrior, as he has passed on to death where he meets his family. Unfortunately for me, there’s not much to talk about with this book. The Eternal Warrior ends up in death with his family in a happy little cottage in the woods. His wife Leena wonders where he has been and where he goes every night, which sets up the drama for most of the book. The Warrior has to try and keep his family happy while also fighting against the hordes of demons somewhere outside their door.
This is what I call a set-up issues. The book’s only purpose is to set up the world and the plot. There’s nothing wrong with these types of issues, but sometimes it can go wrong. Wrath of the Eternal Warrior is not the worst example of this type of issue, as it gives the reader snippets of what the world is like and the main character’s personal struggles. I will say this book doesn’t give you a good idea about where everything’s going. I’m not going to hold this against Wrath of the Eternal Warrior, but the book is just disappointing when it ends abruptly as the story starts to get going.
Wrath of the Eternal Warrior is sparse on meaty content for the reader, and new readers are only given a brief introduction to the character and his struggles. I’m not an expert on the Eternal Warrior story (most of my knowledge coming from Wikipedia), and this issue definitely doesn’t need to cater to new readers. However, the book spends time setting up the previous plot in Book of Death, so it might have been a good idea to give new readers a look into the Warrior’s story, or at least the basics. It would have filled out some of the parts in the book which lack a meaty hook. The character drama in this issue didn’t keep my attention for very long because you’re just thrust into the drama. We only ever get a brief and shallow look at the Warrior and his family. The writer could have made better use of the time to give the reader more of a look at the main character, rather than try to set up an emotional connection with the family that will probably fall flat.
The art is also too flat for my tastes. Allen and Martín do a good job in the underworld sections of the book, giving the demons some nice designs so that they stand out. I’m disappointed that there wasn’t an extra level of polish given to the details. The underworld sections looks good and are well defined, but it’s lacking something to make the art pop off the page. It really comes alive when the Warrior is describing the events his fight with Master Darque. The red and white colors contrast with the blacks, making some of the more grotesque images such as hanging bodies a very eerie feel. This is how you use a limited color palette to your advantage, with a personal favorite touch being the white blood splash on the black monstrous figures. I really appreciate creative uses of color.
That still doesn’t excuse the domestic scenes, where the characters are too jagged and ill defined. For some reason the dog in one scene looks more detailed than the humans. It also doesn’t help that the backgrounds are so bland. The artists only use two colors for backgrounds with no details put into this house. There was just very little effort put into these scenes, which unfortunately make up the bulk of the book.
At the end of it all, I was hoping for more. There are some nice little details set up here and there, but nothing to really sink my teeth into and make me excited for the next issue. That’s the issue’s biggest failing and why I’m only a little excited to see what comes next. I’ll say if you’re a long time fan of the Eternal Warrior, this will give you plenty to be excited for, but for casual fans it doesn’t provide enough to justify a read.
In Summary:
The Eternal Warrior begins his next journey trapped in the underworld with his family. He must fight against hordes demons and try to be a good father at home. The story doesn’t give you much in terms of plot, but the promise of more to come does keep your interest. Unfortunately, the art suffers in this book, with bland looking people and set pieces. The art truly shines when the Eternal Warrior is hacking his way through hordes of demons in a mess of blood and gore. Pick up if you’re an Eternal Warrior fan, otherwise give it a miss.
Grade: C
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Valiant Comics
Release Date: November 18th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
