Eternal Warrior #1 (Valiant) Review
Brutal, Game Of Thrones style action is the name of the game in Eternal Warrior #1 by Greg Pak and Trevor Hairsine, and it's a bloody good time.
Valiant have been quietly releasing some excellent superhero titles over the last year or so, and as they’ve been expanding their line of books, they’ve also been expanding their pool of talent. It was only a matter of time before the Eternal Warrior made his way back into the Valiant fold, but nobody would have thought he’d have Greg Pak and Trevor Hairsine behind him. Not only do they deliver an excellent first issue, but they deliver a comic that can (and should) be enjoyed by non-comic fans as easily as if they were sitting down to check out the first episode of a new cable TV series.Eternal Warrior is the story of Gilad Anni-Padda, an immortal who has been around for at least the last six thousand years. Eternal Warrior #1 opens in Mesopotamia (home of Gilgamesh…although he ain’t here as Gilad rallies his tribe for battle against the Death Cult of Nergal. We meet Gilad’s son and daughter, get a glimpse of their fearsome enemies, and then it’s right into enough bloody barbarian action and family backstabbing to satisfy a Game of Thrones fan, all brilliantly rendered by Trevor Hairsine, who puts you right into the thick of the battle.[related article: Greg Pak Interviewed About Eternal Warrior #1]The battle doesn’t turn out quite as expected, and eventually, we get to see Gilad in the present, looking exactly as he did 6,000 years prior. Of course, there are still consequences from that battle that takes up most of the first issue, which is to be expected. And the big reveal at the end may not be that much of a surprise, but it certainly sets up a conflict that will define future issues of the book. And it also raises the question of how many more folks like this are out there with ties to Gilad.Other than the last few pages of the book, Eternal Warrior #1 could almost stand completely on its own as a short story about the perils and tragedies of immortality. Anyone who remembers his time as writer on The Incredible Hercules should remember that Mr. Pak has a firm grasp of mythology, so telling a mythic, self-contained tale like this is probably as easy as breathing. You don’t need to know a darn thing about the rest of the Valiant Universe to jump into Eternal Warrior #1, and this is as new reader friendly as it gets. Give it a shot and show your friends that there’s more to superhero comics than just capes!
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Mike Cecchini is a man with a deep and abiding love of comics published before he was born, low-budget sci-fi, lo-fi garage rock, giant monster movies,…