The tale of an old man and a sword begins. I think this is gonna be good.
Creative Staff:
Writer: Donny Cates
Art: Geoff Shaw
Colors: Jason Wordie
Letterer: John J. Hill
What They Say:
Emmet Quinlan, an old widower rattled by dementia, isn’t just a problem for his children- his violent outbursts are more than the local cops can handle. When a tornado levels his home- as well as the surrounding West Texas town- a restored Quinlan rises from the wreckage. The enchanted sword at the eye of the storm gives him more than a sound mind and body, however. He’s now the only man who can face the otherworldly creatures the sword has drawn to the Lone Star State…
Content: (warning: content section may contain spoilers)
The book starts with a quote from Cormac McCarthy, and we open on some shots of a town in West Texas, where we’re introduced to Roy, Janey, and their daughter Deena. Roy has made his way here because the police had to bring him back to his house. The sheriff tells Roy that his father, Emmett, was found out by the highway, and that maybe it’s time for Roy to consider putting Emmett in a nursing home or somewhere else he can be looked after. Roy is very hesitant about the idea, but the sheriff seems to insist, saying Emmett broke a deputy’s jaw and that he and two other men had to restrain him to get him back home. The lawman feels for Roy, because his own father died of Alzheimers (which means Emmett may have it too). Emmett has been standing by the stairs the whole time, and in his dementia, he fails to recognize either roy, his family, or the sheriff, and curses them out, thinking them to be intruders.
Roy’s wife Janey can’t take staying with Emmet anymore and leaves with Deena after Roy decides to stay with his father. Soon after Jeney and Deena depart, the storm the narrator at he beginning had talked about finally appears, a green hued tornado. It heads for the town and wrecks the place, including Emmett’s house. Deena and Janey make it back to the old man’s house thinking they’ve lost both Roy and his father, but Roy is miraculously alive. Deena heads straight for her father, but a demon that came in with it heads for her. The demon doesn’t make it too far, and for a reason the narrator makes clear- Emmet Quinlan is still kicking, and he’s got a 12-foot sword with him. Emmett kills the demon and here, we learn that the sword has alleviated his dementia and Alzheimer’s. As the scene backs away from Emmett and his family in the ruins of the house, we are given a glimpse of a figure who appears to be dressed like a Roman Centurion. The narrator tells us this figure is a god, and that he wants the sword.
In Summary:
This was an interesting start to this story. Having the main character be one with Alzheimer’s and Dementia isn’t something you frequently see, so I give the story props for doing it and doing it well. It’s obvious that Emmett means a lot to Roy, but the loss of Elisabeth (Emmett’s wife) has taken away Emmett’s only way to calm down, and the family has had nothing but fights and trouble since. The tornado was built up in what I think was just the right way, where the narrator hinted at it, but it didn’t really register much until it happened. That otherworldly twister serves as our plot device, since it’s what restores Emmett and gets the whole plot started. The art is done well, being colorful, but also being given a kind of edge. The writing is direct and the story moves at a standard pace, not confusing the reader. This issue more or less gives us a view at the characters we’ll be joining on this journey, and showing us what’s to come. The god shown at the end isn’t named, but I think it’s sufficient to say he’s going to be a major player coming up. It’s a story that I feel explained just enough and left enough mysteries that a reader will probably want to come back to find out more. It is a slow start and there’s a lot more exposition than some people may find enjoyable, but I think this is a story that warrants it. I’d say this should be given a real chance. The Image team may be on to something with this, and I wouldn’t recommend missing it!
Grade: A-
Released By: Image Comics
Release Date: January 11th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99