A pivot point for this particular shared universe.
Creative Staff:
Story: Gail Simone
Art: Jose Luis, Jonas Trinidade
Colors: Michelle Madsen
Letterer: Saida Temofonte
What They Say:
DAY ONE: Lorena Payan was the first to realize a meteor was hurtling towards Earth two years ago. Now, she’s the first to realize the Earth is in danger once more from something equally cosmic but far more sinister. As dubbed by a mystery figure, the Obsidian Men begin appearing silently all over the globe, and our heroes Noble, Summit, and Accell join together to investigate.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
After watching the boom in the late 80s and early 90s of shared universes by new publishers, and the contraction, it’s been interesting to see the boom again this past decade. One that started up was through Lion Forge, but it wasn’t an area that I was involved in reading until now. With this new seven-part series written by Gail Simone and illustrated by Jose Luis, the publisher is looking to use this as a point to close out the first chapter that was for what was produced and launch forward into the next phase of what they’re doing with a diverse lineup of characters and talent. That’s always a great jumping on point and as much as I enjoy following Simone on Twitter and all that she does there, I also like getting the chance to read some of her actual books, something I don’t get to do often.
The task here is hard as we have to acknowledge what came before while setting up what’s to come next. Showing us what happened in brief with a near-extinction event almost happening two years ago that ended up creating enhanced humans is the launch point as the woman running Foresight, a massive corporation, has realized that another event is coming. She’s working with someone to get an idea of what kind of trauma it will cause for humanity to experience it again and that sets the stage well because it’s not often that this aspect is actually explored since it would be a radical moment for eight billion minds. It’s not given too much time here but having the psychologist she’s dealing with introduced to the Obsidian Man that they’ve found, a still as anything being in a hardshell that has been idle for some time. Just the thought of what kind of trauma a news broadcast about this would be like is enough to send the psychologist into a near breakdown herself.
At the same time, another one has shown up in Texas and we see a few other events unfolding as a trio of enhanced people are making their way there. Accell comes across a state trooper about to arrest one of the FBI’s most wanted along an empty desert highway. Noble is flying to Dallas with his girlfriend in his arms, talking about the life they’re getting ready for together. And with one more already there, the three end up discovering the same kind of Obsidian Man. But this one is ready for the whole reveal to come out, just as dozens more at least start appearing all over the world. Some unseen being is speaking through them and tells them that they’re all going to be wiped clean from the world in seven days. It’s creepy and eerie and the initial fight back against the Obsidian Men leads to one of the heroes being taken out, setting for a bloody hard fight ahead while knowing the trauma of it all is going to factor into it.
In Summary:
Playing a bit of catch-up in order to understand this particular universe, the opening installment lays things out pretty well in very small and basic form. Which is to its advantage since it’s more about looking forward than backward. Simone brings us through a lot of characters in quick, just like a good disaster movie, teasing us with what’s to come before going right into the first kill. It’s got a lot to convey but doesn’t belabor any of the points while at the time feeding what it needs to. Combine that with some solid artwork from Luis and the team and you get something that’s pretty accessible that will have you looking forward to what’s next but also potentially piqued about prior works worth checking out.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Lion Forge
Release Date: October 2nd, 2019
MSRP: $3.99
