Once again, PopCultHQ was honored, by given the opportunity to read the first issue of a new Valiant series, Wrath of the Eternal Warrior. Here is what our resident Comic Book Historian and avid classic Valiant fan, Christian, had to say about this fantastic new series.
WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #1
First… it was good! A bit slow but it shows us so much more about Gilad’s background and where the mysterious Eternal Warrior may come from.
Coming off the heels of the shocking ending of Book of Death #4 is Wrath of the Eternal Warrior. Robert Venditti jumps right into expanding on the future of the Eternal Warrior now that the Earth and its chosen Geomancer have overcome what will probably be the first of many great battles for their existence.
Gilad Anni-Pada is an immortal, who has walked the Earth for thousands of years, six to be exact. Known as the Eternal Warrior, his sole purpose is to protect the Geomancer of Earth in every form which the Earth chooses every generation or so. Constantly dying and returning to life.
But…
What Venditti has done is given us a look into the intimate life of the Gilad Anni-Padda and where he goes when he is not being the Eternal Warrior. The first issue has a going home meets the Grapes of Wrath feel to it as you read it. And for the first time since I first met the Eternal Warrior back in the summer of ’92 I am finally shown just how tormented this man is. Venditti peels back the superhero layer and shows us the raw, the exposed nerves of what makes this man tick and how just like any other soldier becomes lost and confused when there is no more wars to fight.
Don’t expect your common every day Eternal Warrior story, this one is a very different story, one about being sent out to pasture and cut off when you are no longer needed. It probably is a story every last one of can relate to on some level. The first issue is fast paced, giving a decent amount of story and words but spreading it out that by the time you reach the last page, one may have to flip back to see if they really have read the whole thing. That is rare for modern-day comics not to be wordy and boring over the span of 30-something pages.
Valiant is proud to present the first lettered preview of WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #1 – the FIRST ISSUE of an all-new ONGOING SERIES from New York Times best-selling writer Robert Venditti (BOOK OF DEATH, X-O MANOWAR) and breakout artist Raul Allen (BLOODSHOT REBORN, Hawkeye)! On November 18th, Valiant’s next tentpole series launches Earth’s Fist and Steel into unrelenting odyssey to the far end of existence…and forges a major new milestone for history’s most legendary soldier!
For five millennia, the Eternal Warrior has shaped history at the end of his sword. He’s razed empires, toppled civilizations, and broken armies as an immortal soldier in service to the Earth. But now, the Eternal Warrior has been torn from the world he once protected and finds himself stranded in a hostile alien landscape unlike any he’s ever faced. Separated from his earthly environs, can history’s deadliest soldier survive a realm far older, far deadlier, and far more ruinous than anything he’s ever encountered before? Beyond Earth lies eternity…
“There are lots of immortal characters in comics and pop culture, but the way I’m approaching the character is a different take on that,” series writer Robert Venditti told Vulture.com. “What gets you out of bed in the morning? For him to get out of the grave every time and be immortal again, he has to be an eternal optimist. For a character like that to have seen everything he’s seen and to still be optimistic and to still believe that there’s more beauty than ugliness in the world, that the war can eventually be won? That’s something that I believe myself. I believe we’re inherently good.”
On November 18th, in the aftermath of the decade’s most successful independent crossover event, all-star creators Robert Venditti and Raul Allen drag Gilad Anni-Padda, Earth’s First and Steel, away from the world he was sworn to protect and into the farthest reaches of the Valiant Universe, only in WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #1 – featuring covers by David Lafuente (Ultimate Spider-Man), Raul Allen (NINJAK), Cary Nord (X-O MANOWAR), Marcos Martin (The Private Eye), Pere Perez (ARCHER & ARMSTRONG), and Lewis LaRosa (BLOODSHOT)!
WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #1
WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #1
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by RAUL ALLEN
Cover A (Wraparound) by DAVID LAFUENTE (SEP151652)
Cover B by RAÚL ALLÉN (SEP151653)
Cover C by CARY NORD (SEP151654)
Cover D by MARCOS MARTIN (SEP151655)
Emblem Variant by PERE PEREZ (SEP151656)
Artist Variant by LEWIS LAROSA (SEP151657)
B&W Sketch Variant by DAVID LAFUENTE (SEP151658)
$3.99 | 32 pgs. | T+ | On sale NOVEMBER 18 (FOC –10/26/15)
WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #1 – six preview pages:
