Review – He-Man: The Eternity War #11 (DC Comics)

Publisher: DC Comics
Story: Rob David
Script: Dan Abnett
Artwork: Pop Mhan, Mark Roberts
Release Date: 28th October, 2015

Following the shocking revelation regarding Skeletor’s “War Wraith” last time out, this latest issue opens with a flashback sequence as we see Duncan’s fate play out. Excitingly, this fate involves a stunningly rendered battle with Tri-Klops – one of my all-time favourite characters – and as should probably go without saying by now, artist Pop Mhan rises to the occasion with some fluid, kinetic panels as the “Master Hunter” and the “Master of Warfare” go toe-to-toe.

Back in the present day, Rob David continues to subtly nudge his pieces around the board, keeping all of the plates spinning impressively as his multi-layered storyline creeps forward (how’s that for a weirdly mixed metaphor?). We check in with Teela and She-Ra following the latter’s rescue by the former in the previous issue, and see them run into a fairly substantial obstacle along the way – once again stunningly illustrated by Mhan.

We also get to see the eagerly-anticipated showdown between Adam and Duncan, with the verbal exchanges between the two absolutely scintillating throughout. It’s worth mentioning again that Dan Abnett continues to effortlessly capture the unique voices of these characters with his script, providing a subtle mixture of classic fantasy dialogue with just a splash of MotU nostalgia that will have long-time fans and recent converts equally thrilled.

At this point, perhaps the most impressive aspect of The Eternity War is the sheer scope of the story being told, with several distinct plot threads intertwining along the way, any of which could arguably carry the series of their own merit. As always, doing my best I’m doing my best to avoid any spoilers here, but suffice to say the final few pages will answer a question that a lot of readers have been asking for several issues now, and once again send the storyline careering off into an entirely new direction.

So much more than mere nostalgia, this is a fantasy series that has proven itself more than capable of standing on its own two feet, and even if you never picked up any of the toys or sat in front of your TV watching the cartoons, He-Man: The Eternity War still comes highly, highly recommended.

Rating: 4/5.

PREVIEW ARTWORK
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The writer of this piece was: Craig Neilson-Adams (aka Ceej)
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