Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Nick Dragotta
Publisher: Image Comics
Rating: WORTHY!
Other Credits:
Frank Martin - colourist
Rus Wooton - letterist
DISCLOSURE: Unlike the majority of reviews in this blog, I've neither bought this graphic novel nor borrowed it from the library. This is a "galley" copy ebook, supplied by Net Galley. I'm not receiving (nor will I expect to receive or accept) remuneration of any kind for this review. Since this is a new novel, this review is less detailed so as not to rob the writer of their story, but even so, it will probably still be more in-depth than you'll typically find elsewhere!
Let me preface this by stating that I am not a comic book devotee. I read them a lot when I was a kid, but grew out of them. I can still appreciate what they contribute, however, and I have to say I was quite stunned by the first page of this comic. It wasn't anything intricate or complex, but it really made an impression on me, and definitely made me want to read what came afterwards.
This 152 page comic is volume one of the story of the four horsemen, and the end of the world, but it has twists and turns that were wholly unexpected. It’s told from the perspective of a fractured, splintered USA of 7 republics, and of wild west heroes and villains set in a modern technological age. Death has split away from the other three horsemen and gone rogue! Death also is in point of fact, the only one who actually rides a horse, but it’s not equus that he rides, it’s roboticus.
Death is accompanied by two witches, a guy and a gal who are both built much more like the stereotypical comic book heroes but who do not in the least behave like them.
While the other three (non-)horsemen(!) seek Armageddon, Death is looking for something far more personal, and he's not going to let a single thing get in his way or prevent him from finding what he seeks, but even Death is surprised that what he finds is not remotely what he expected, and it comes in the form of a double-whammy to him. But in return, he's able to surprise someone with a whammy of his own, and it’s this potent interaction at the end which triggers the premise for volume two.
I’d love to taunt you with more, but comics hold far less text than novels, and to tell more would be to reveal too much of the text. Frankly, for me, it was not so much the text but the images which impressed me the most, which is how it should be, otherwise why provide images? The artwork is by a seasoned artist who has worked on X-Men and Captain America, and he doesn’t fail in providing solid and stirring graphics to augment the intriguing story. I reproduce a few images here, inadequately, and by no means at their best (for which sins I hope the authors will forgive me!), but you can see more on Dragotta's web page listed above in the credits. That's not to diss the text - which provides an engaging and inventive narrative - by any means. You can read more about Hickman by clicking on the link above or by visiting his wikipedia page.
