How would an immortal being choose to live after losing their everlasting life? Would they run in fear and hide from the world, or face their enemies with more brains and bravery than ever? That is the question that Zack Kaplan is asking in Kill All Immortals II, a limited-run sequel comic to the popular original series. Following Frey Asvald and her immortal Norse family as they begin their war against the monstrous Khan Family, Kill All Immortals II #1 is an explosive start to the bloody series. With the Asvald’s eternal favor destroyed, and their immortality severed, will the powerful family survive, or fall under Khan’s mighty sword?
Kill All Immortals II has the same creative team as the original series, with writing from Zack Kaplan (Dark Empty Void, Masterminds), art from Fico Ossio, coloring by Thiago Rocha, and letters from Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Which I am very thankful for, because I absolutely loved Kill All Immortals. In fact, in order to prepare for reading the first issue of this sequel comic, I went back and read all five of the original series, and I loved it even more this time around. Is that because I am currently playing Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and very into Viking stuff? Perhaps! But I would have loved it even if I wasn’t swinging an axe every afternoon.
Variant cover by Tula Lotay
Dark Horse
As a quick summary, Frey, her three brothers, and their impressive father have lived as immortal Viking warriors for centuries after discovering the Norse God Idunn – actually an extraterrestrial being – and using her powers to give them eternal life. Since then, Frey grew more and more disconnected from her violent and manipulative family, until she was able to destroy Idunn’s tree that gave her family immortality, effectively “freeing” them from the curse of life. Unfortunately for Frey and the rest of the Asvalds, it turns out there is another immortal family, that of the brutal conqueror Genghis Khan, and now that the Asvalds have lost their immortality… the Khans are coming for blood.
Kill All Immortals II #1 does not waste a single second diving into the violence, politics, and family dynamics of the Asvalds and Khans, and the speed works incredibly well. The original Kill All Immortals series also dived right in, but at times character development and world building felt rushed since the reader was introduced to the main characters and their relationships so quickly. Now, the reader should already know the Asvalds, so the quick pacing of this first issue lends itself to the intensity of the Asvald Family and their immortal crisis. By the end of Kill All Immortals, Frey had repaired her relationship with her three brothers and injected true humanity into the trio of bloodthirsty Viking warriors that makes you care about all four Asvald siblings.
Variant cover by John Giang
Dark Horse
In fact, one of Kaplan’s great strengths, evident throughout all his comics, is the humanity and depth he instills in his characters. You can tell Frey really cares about her new Asvald Family charity and the safety of her brothers. This is shown deftly not just through solid dialogue, but also Ossio’s gorgeous illustrations. Ossio is an incredibly talented artist, imbuing real emotion into scenes that are also wildly action-packed and sometimes wonderfully gory. The gore in this comic is great, and again starts off incredibly strong, with a decapitation in the first five pages! Rocha’s coloring is excellent as well, offering lovely shadows and environments throughout, and do I even really need to compliment Otsmane-Elhaou? The reigning king of comic lettering!
What I am most excited about from Kill All Immortals II is the building lore of the Asvald’s supernatural world. Solicits for future issues hint that the family will seek answers about their own mysterious, immortal past, while exploring other immortal families throughout their violent, Viking world. The original series was all about truth, sacrifice, and betrayal through the lens of family. This new series keeps the grounding family perspective, while seeming to focus on unity, exploration, and resilience. I can’t wait to learn more about the Asvalds, Khans, and other Immortal Families, especially diving into the past of Frey’s father, Erik the Red, who has known about the existence of the Khan Family all along.
I feel incredibly confident in saying that if you at all enjoyed the first Kill All Immortals comic, you will undoubtedly enjoy this new sequel series. With beautiful art from Ossio and strong writing from Kaplan, Kill All Immortals II #1 is the perfect start to the Asvald’s new quest: Surviving their war against the Khans and ensuring their family’s safety in the future. If you have not read the original series but are a fan of Viking lore, violent fight scenes, and interesting familial politics, I would highly recommend you read the first comic and then dive right into this new one. I promise it is worth it!
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