Valiant #1
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The good
Great recap establishing stature of the Immortal Enemy. Introduction to new Geomancer. Wonderful artwork
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The bad
Doesn't have a defining event that stands above everything else since it's more of a slow build up
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The ugly
- Total score
Valiant #1 is a new mini-series written by Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt about an ancient threat returning in order to kill the new Geomancer and plunge the Earth into a period of darkness. This ancient threat has appeared 3 times since Gilad, the Eternal Warrior, was tasked with protecting the Geomancers, and Gilad has failed all 3 times. The first time was almost 10,000 years ago with Gilad armed with nothing but a club thinking he would be more than enough to defeat his enemy. But that Geomancer met a quick end with Gilad suffering a scar on his face serving as a reminder of his failure. The second time he was better equipped and not alone but this ancient evil in a new, changing form made light work of the army and killed the Geomancer while adding a second scar to Gilad’s face. The third and last time this occurred, the Geomancer was only a child who Gilad promised to keep safe. But when Gilad brought him to the safehouse, the boy’s father and his men were already dead with the ancient evil waiting inside for them. And once again Gilad would taste defeat with another bitter scar added to his collection of wounds and hurt over the millennia. And each time the Earth fell into darkness whether it was plague, wholesale destruction or famine, and Gilad lived through it all. Now there’s a new Geomancer and they can sense the Immortal Enemy returning. However, there are more heroes and superpowered teams today than at any other team when Gilad faced this enemy. But even with their combined might will it be enough to protect the Geomancer and prevent the Earth from plunging into darkness again?
As I mentioned in my preview, I was somewhat skeptical of a new major event so soon after Armor Hunters and how after seeing more about the premise I became intrigued. And considering Gilad was mostly in the background during that event, it would feel different having him playing the major role here. And the start of this issue was excellent in giving a quick recap of the Immortal Enemy and Gilad’s previous defeats. Even though this enemy wasn’t shown decimating armies it was still pretty clear that everything that was attempted didn’t work. So I was impressed with the Immortal Enemy in the sense that the physical form shown was a manifestation of the worst terror at that time, and the true depths of its power were unknown. There would be an introduction to the new Geomancer and her incredulity about being one would be a way to ease the reader into understanding the role of the Geomancer and why the Immortal Enemy would always target them. I would enjoy her character during this introduction leading to her understanding of the Earth, as well as her actions since the context of this event was being established. Ironically, the present Gilad would have less to do this issue than Bloodshot or others but it’s safe to assume it’s all connected so that’s not a real problem. And that’s because this issue focused mainly on the recap and build up to the Immortal Enemy’s return so it was successful in making me feel that this threat was on such a scale that it would warrant Gilad being afraid and needing massive help from others. And I really enjoyed the artwork by Paolo Rivera as it captured the different time periods wonderfully, and the very last page was just outstanding. I’m looking forward to seeing more explosive action at some point and backstory regarding the nature of the Immortal Enemy because that would take this event to another level.
SUMMARY
Valiant #1 is a solid start to the blockbuster event but is more of a steady build up to the greatest threat in Earth’s history as opposed to an explosive issue. I enjoyed the recap of Gilad’s previous encounters with the Immortal Enemy because they established the latter’s stature. And the introduction to the latest Geomancer was handled very well. Nothing was revealed about the nature of the Immortal Enemy but I assume that will become clearer when the depths of its power are explored in modern times. I was skeptical of another major event so soon but I’m on board now and can’t wait for the next episode.
Release Date: 12/10/14
Writer: Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt
Artist: Paolo Rivera
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