Unlocking the past can help only so much in the present.
Creative Staff:
Story: Fred Van Lente
Art: Maurizio Rosenzweig
What They Say:
The Maker must be unlocked . . . In order for Jericho Way to call upon the memories and abilities of his past lives, one of his fellow Resurrectionists must kill him. Kinda. Almost. As long as he doesn’t permanently die in the process. Once he’s near-death experienced, he can use the knowledge he’s gathered over millennia of lifetimes. But with that knowledge comes grave danger—the Sojourn Corporation is now hot on his heels!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Though convoluted, the first two installments of the Resurrectionists proved to be a lot of fun overall. It is one of those books that you have to read a couple of times in order to really get it. But once you do and start putting it together, it definitely draws you in more. And there’s something to be said for a book that makes you want to read it again once you finish it rather than just moving it to the completed pile and being done with it. For me, the main draw is still the storyline from the past with Tao, which gets less attention overall this time, but things are starting to shake up a bit more in the present time frame as well, which is definitely helpful overall.
THe first half of this book isn’t exactly convoluted, but it plays out in a way that’s rather chaotic and you have to really make sure you understand what’s going on, which may not be easy on a monthly installment basis. With Jericho having been put into a position of being unlocked, he’s now gone through it in a really rough way – which he was told would happen as it’s a different kind of hell. But watching him as he experiences parts of his past lives and what they represent is really well done, especially as it plays into the present with him using it to survive the attack by the Soujoun folks who are all over him. Of course, they’re all pretty much your stand rank and file types so they’re not exactly going to do a lot of damage. But the whole point of all of this was to get Jerich unlocked and that’s been achieved. As much as I like the Tao storyline set in Egypt, I really want to know more about his female gunslinger persona.
Jericho’s view of some of the world is new skewed in some fun ways, such as when he gets to see quinn eventually as she did wait for him for their “date”. When he sees her as someone else from the past, it reveals a different kind of way that he’s going to process living. It likely only works on select people for obvious reasons, but it’s still intriguing to see slices of who people once were. While a lot of their time when they get back to his place is all about cleaning him up after what happened, and it’s not sexual, there is a great kind of sexual tension between them that comes through the artwork. But Quinn is also facing a lot of struggles herself, which keeps it from going too far. Quinn’s obviously got potential and we’re seeing what it can be, leaving us wanting a heck of a lot more.
The book also gives us some time in the present with Mac, which adds to what may be going on, but it also gives us a good bit more time in the past as Tao and the others finally escape from their doom of being trapped thanks to what Tao knows of the way these things are put together – and how you have to allow air in for those working on the tombs. There’s some really neat stuff with how this group operated, and then split apart for their own adventures, but also the way the future connects to the past with what Memi does in trying to get Tao to realize it so they can meet some three thousand years later. This aspect of it is really intriguing and it sets where things can go in a really neat way going forward, not that Quinn herself isn’t tangled up in her own interesting piece of the past and the present as well. It’s going to get difficult to keep track of all of this eventually, but I’m hopeful.
In Summary:
Resurrectionists has another solid installment here as it expands things, teases more of its potential with what it can do and begins to nudge things forward in both the past and present with all of it. I’m definitely intrigued by a book like this with what it offers and the mix of writing and artwork is definitely making this a fun and compelling book. But it’s also a book you damn well have to work at because of the past and present and all the lives in between that will be cropping up from time to time as well. The twisted nature of things with how it can have an ebb and flow to it with personalities, genders and relationships definitely makes for something to really work with and manipulate. Lots of good stuff and definitely worth reading the three installments so far together as well after each new installment.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: January 14th, 2015
MSRP: $3.50
