Writer: Robert Venditti
Art: Renato Guedes and Ulises Arreola
Publisher: Valiant Comics
Summary from Valiant Entertainment:
It is a time before civilization…
On the brink of carving out victory in the most violent battle of his life, Gilad Anni-Padda suffers a devastating injury. He awakens weeks later in a strange land, nursed back to health but with no memory of his past. A tribe has shown him compassion in an age of cruelty, and he will return their gift in kind. Now the real violence will begin…
New York Times best-selling writer Robert Venditti (Hal Jordan & The Green Lantern Corps.) and acclaimed artist Renato Guedes (BLOODSHOT REBORN) lead a celebration of the Eternal Warrior’s 25th anniversary here with the second of four standalone specials honoring the most famous Valiant tales ever told!
Gilad Anni-Padda, the Eternal Warrior, Fist and Steel of the Earth is a farmer, and a poor one at that. The warlord that struck the blow that took his memory is cutting a swath across the earth destroying everything in his way, and he won’t be stopped until he has the head of the Eternal Warrior atop his throne of bones. Now Gilad must reclaim his memory, reclaim his mantle, and get to work. If that doesn’t scream “EPIC” at the top of its lungs, I don’t know what would.
Robert Venditti’s Wrath of the Eternal Warrior is a great 15 issue run that dives into the mythos of the character’s ability to raise from the dead. Now, with Awakening, Venditti is going traveling to before to the turbulent era before human civilization. The first 8 issue Eternal Warrior is the series that brought me into the Valiant world, so I always look forward to another adventure, and this issue did not disappoint.
The story stands on its own and provides a really cool tale about the Eternal Warrior’s past. The tone is dark, and there is a really great interplay between that tone and the bright palette used by the color artist Ulises Arreola. The artist Renato Guedes has worked on everything from the X-Men to Superman, and his work on this issue perfectly captures the violence of the era. The action sequences are visceral, the characters are unique, and the desolate landscapes are beautiful. I would love to see Guedes do more work for Valiant in the future.
Ultimately, Eternal Warrior: Awakening is a clinic in how to do a one-shot. The creative team works well together setting an intense tone for the book, and it makes me pray to the Valiant leadership that more Eternal Warrior is on its way. Eternal Warrior: Awakening hits the stands this Wednesday, May 10, 2017. Make sure to track down a copy with the veracity of Alpha Hyamm.
Check Out A Sneak Peek At Eternal Warrior: Awakening #1 Below!
