Wrath of the Eternal Warrior #1
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The good
Great continuation from the Book of Death series and building up an intriguing and new storyline. Enjoyable character development.
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The bad
Demon horde seems like such a generic threat
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The ugly
- Total score
Wrath of the Eternal Warrior #1 is the start of a new ongoing series written by Robert Venditti chronicling the exploits of Gilad, the Eternal Warrior. It picks up with his fate immediately following the conclusion of the Book of Death event and has him facing a terrifying new threat. It opens up with him talking to Slather, a strange demon, explaining to Gilad that a horde of bloodthirsty demons is after him because he has the oldest blood of all. Gilad strikes Slather with his axe out of frustration but apparently the two have known each other for a long time. Undaunted by the horde in front of him Gilad lunges into battle before the issue jumps back to him waking up in his bed at home. He was having a nightmare so he’s relieved to wake up to the smell of a home cooked breakfast and be greeted by his wife and kids. However, she asks him if he will stay for good this time and he’s unable to answer because he’s not sure. What is this world Gilad now inhabits? And how is it possible that he now has a wife and kids, and this isn’t his first time here?
If you’ve already read Book of Death series then you’ve seen some of Gilad’s potential in carrying an interesting series. I’ve felt this way after seeing him in the Eternal Warrior: Days of Steel series and Unity #16 and I’ve been of the mindset that given a great story and context he could be one of the more intriguing characters in the Valiant universe. S
I won’t give away any spoilers about the ending to Book of Death #4 so no worries about that. And I actually enjoyed Gilad having a family and the intriguing situation at home. So I didn’t have an issue with the time spent there ranging from him playing with his children to enjoying the time with his wife. Not much was given about his children individually except one, who seemed to have Gilad’s fire and constantly trained. And the mature interactions with his wife also including him recapping the events from the Book of Death series. It was a good way to show how those events impacted him while clarifying the current situation more.
SUMMARY
Wrath of the Eternal Warrior #1 is a great start to the series laying out an engrossing situation for Gilad that allows for intriguing character development and plenty of action. This issue wastes no time in picking up from the conclusion of the Book of Death series and makes a compelling case to be drawn into Gilad’s world and learn more. The time he spends with his family makes him a more rounded character to start, and hopefully the overall situation is explained more in the coming issues. I’ve been of the mindset that Gilad would be great in his own series and this issue makes me feel this just might be it.
Release Date: 11/18/15
Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Raul Allen
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