Review – Seven To Eternity #3 (Image Comics)

Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Rick Remender
Artwork: Jerome Opeña, Matt Hollingsworth
Release Date: 30 November, 2016

The story so far: The God of Whispers has spread an omnipresent paranoia to every corner of the kingdom of Zhal; his spies hide in every hall spreading mistrust and fear. Adam Osidis, a dying knight from a disgraced house, must choose between joining a hopeless band of magic users in their desperate bid to free their world of the evil God, or accepting his promise to give Adam everything his heart desires. Will Adam hear the God of Whispers offer and bend his knee?

Issue three sees the last Mosak charge headlong into battle against the God of Whispers and his terrifying guardian, the Piper. Will Adam join the fight, even though the Mosak were the cause of his family’s downfall?

To find out all you need to do is read the comic, and here’s why. Rick Remender is telling a story of epic proportion, but without losing the human, personal touch. Although the actions taken in this tale are having Zhal-wide repercussions, that doesn’t really matter, as this story is all about Adam’s journey to redeem his family name, and I love it because of that. Remender is taking his time to build a world, a family and a mythology.

So far, Seven to Eternity has evoked for me, in no particular order: The Last of the Mohicans, Little House on the Prairie, John Carter of Mars, Flash Gordon, Stephen King’s the Last Gunslinger and, of course, the Fellowship of the Ring. But through all of that, and this is important, it remains evocative rather than derivative. Now that’s tough to do, and incredibly clever.

What can I say about Jerome Opeña that’s fresh and new? Well, nothing really. His artwork is consistently fantastic, and dynamic, and emotive, and just flippin’ cool. The characters he has depicted here are all so marvellously different. Add to that the magnificent colours from Matt Hollingsworth, and you have an absolute visual feast. There is one panel in which Adam fires the “nails” from his gun and… wow. All the pretty colours.

I meant what I said earlier – read this comic. I say this with a little caution, as it’s still early doors, but Seven to Eternity could be Remender and Opeña’s magnum opus. If you like fantasy, if you like Westerns, if you like beautifully drawn, exquisitely coloured and magnificently written comics, then you owe it to yourself to buy this one. If you don’t pick up any other comics this week then pick up the first three issues of Seven to Eternity. You won’t be disappointed. And if you do and you are disappointed, read them again and again until you aren’t!

Rating: 5/5.

PREVIEW ARTWORK
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