He’s a bit perturbed, and he can’t be killed–it’s Wrath of the Eternal Warrior and we’re checking on the goodness.
Wrath of the Eternal Warrior (Valiant Comics)
“Look, it’s the middle ages. Everyone gets dressed in the dark”
Flashbacks.
Outside of the 80’s style montage, is there anything more obvious and crowd pleasing to build out a backstory then a well planned flashback? Of course not. Novels, movies, and yes, comic books have used this tactic to huge success. It’s fun to get a prequel moment (exception – Star Wars), to know what the end result is, and to have that information build out the plot.
Except here, in Wrath of the Eternal Warrior, where the entire first five issues are flashbacks. No exaggeration, we’ve so far seen our hero die (as he does a lot) in a flashback – some small family time as he prepares to go forth and kick ass once again, and then flashback ever since. I honestly don’t remember where we left off with the main plot, because everything has been jumping so much.
That has to be a heavy pull bow, because that vein bro?
This issue, a complete flashback, is a GREAT ISSUE. It’s plotted well, with tantalizing pace and good juxtaposition between Gilad out in the wilds hunting for dinner and a huge band of barbarians destroying his home village. The action is bloody and good, the artwork is excellent, and overall this should be a 9 out of 10 easy. Except…
What? Mesopotamia? WE’RE GOING BACKWARDS AGAIN!?!
Is It Good?
There is literally no advancement to the series in this issue. To quote the sage Paula Abdul, it’s two steps forward, 14 steps back. Looking back with hindsight, if the creative team had decided to do an anthology story–Gilead tells his family about his various quests for vengeance–then I’d be on board and loving life. Since there’s supposed to be some linear narrative built into this book, though, I’m just getting serious flashback fatigue.
I’ll stay on board for a bit, as this flashback is great storytelling, and I care where it’s going but why even bother going back to the main story now? Does anyone actually remember what it is?
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