Reviews»Comic Books»Imperium #1
IMPERIUM_001_COVER-A
Kareem Ali 4.5

Imperium #1

 

  • The good

    Using psiot to create a living vision for those who joined the cause. Better anti-psiot tech made battle more entertaining. Vision of utopia

  • The bad

    World still hasn't deployed one of superteams yet. Harada in world news?

  • The ugly

    • Imperium #1 is a new series written by Joshua Dysart and published by Valiant comics about Toyo Harada as he seeks to establish his utopia state in defiance of the world. It opens up 112 years in the future with Mr. Darpan reflecting on his years of service and how he once fought alongside Harada to establish the current utopia. He’s taking a trip to Hong Kong island, and he feels it’s going to be his last trip since he’s advanced in age at this point. He could be teleported to his destination but he prefers to take the rail so he can get a complete view of the utopia he helped build. And the trip is worth it since he even runs into former students, and is able to help ease the end of life suffering for another citizen once he reaches his destination. The way society is set up is every person is given the choice to become a psiot since incredible advancements have been made, and those who do choose to become psiots enter a lifetime of service to the rest of humanity in order to use their abilities solely for good. But there is no war, no famine or poverty, and no one is treated unfairly. But is this all just a dream and propaganda from Harada to convince other psiots to fight for his cause or is this utopia inevitable?

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    If I was to just say that I was looking forward to this issue it would be an understatement considering how excellent the Harbinger: Omegas series was. Toyo Harada was an entertaining protagonist with his megalomania being the only thing that exceeded his immense abilities. Yet he wasn’t just about power but establishing his vision and influencing others to participate in it. So the start of this issue with him using psiot powers to give all the psiots on the current mission a taste of this utopia he claimed they were fighting for was exactly what one would expect from him at this point. It raises the question, if that is indeed the type of utopia he truly wants to establish then is he in the right? Or is the devil in the details such as genetic experimentation will be forced on people whether they want it or not? Everything isn’t so black and white, and considering the rallying cries or ideals espoused to convince those entering into battle that their fight is just, this is basically what Harada was doing. So the question remains, is Toyo Harada really trying to establish a utopia as an alternative to the oppressive regimes out there or are his motives still more sinister?

    But this issue wouldn’t just be cerebral as there would be plenty of action after the psiots landed in northern Syria. Unlike Harbinger: Omegas, the battle would be more difficult as anti-psiot tech would be used by the opposing forces on a larger scale. This would make the battle more intense and not just a blood bath for the psiots. It raises the stakes in which the world responds but also adds another wrinkle based on how these events transpired. So this series is just getting started but things are already heated. And I can’t wait to see the next move.

     

    SUMMARY

     

    Imperium #1 is a great start to the series and captures everything about Toyo Harada’s megalomaniac nature to create an interesting situation for the psiots following him and the world opposing him. The opening sequence apparently showing Harada’s vision of his utopia was a great touch in showing the influence of his vision while segwaying into the current battle. And as a result all their actions, especially his, will be viewed in light of that. I don’t know why the world is only using small groups to oppose Harada instead of one of the many superteams but I only expect things to be more intense going forward.

     

     

    Release Date: 2/4/15

    Writer: Joshua Dysart

    Artist: Doug Braithwaite

  • Rating ( 9.2 )
  • Total score 9.2

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