Ether: The Copper Golems #1 is one of the first books I’ve seen in a while that captured me by the cover alone: Rubin’s beautiful spread of Boone Diaz riding some unusual creature with a backdrop of vibrant blue, red, and green in an unknown world stole my imagination. I knew this was a series that would take me somewhere. Sure enough, the first issue clipped along and quickly caught the readers up on Diaz’s status as well as the state of those dwelling in the Ether. Kindt and Rubin simultaneously gave us some enlightening character moments as well as provided us with a plot that clipped along at a pace that kept us at attention. One of the highest compliments I can pay this book is that it quickly distinguishes itself from the hundreds of other adventure stories on the stands right now. It does this mainly by wrapping this gorgeously imaginative world around characters that we care to follow.
Written by Matt Kindt
Illustrated, Colored, and Lettered by David RubinFrom New York Times bestselling Mind MGMT creator Matt Kindt and Black Hammers David Rubin comes this fantasy adventure about a science-minded hero intent on keeping the balance between Earth and a magic world!
As Boone Dias and his team get closer to closing the breaches between Ether and Earth, they find themselves pitted against terrifying Spider Golems, AT-AT-sized sphinxes, and living anthropomorphic monster-mummies!
Rubin’s cinematic panels are worth the price of the issue themselves. Whether it is a strip of Grandor charging headlong for a Copper Golem in the pit of a volcano in the opening pages, a half-page spread of the Ether’s version of Egypt on page 17, or seeing the entire crew ride a massive sea creature in the best panel of the book on page 16, every inch of Rubin’s illustrations is popping with imagination and personality. One of the greatest strengths of this book is the personality and levity of Rubin’s character illustration – it is not uncommon to see a smile on their faces, their eyes grow wide in amusement, or a sudden burst of laughter in the middle of an action sequence. Rubin showcased his ability to show complex emotion beautifully in his work on Black Hammer and Sherlock Frankenstein, but it’s so refreshing to see him bring this skill to a more light-hearted book. It adds to the bright, popping aesthetic the book strives for.
Kindt’s script lays this out beautifully: every character has a distinct voice, needs, and wants and they are revealed in ways that don’t halt the plot from moving forward. An excellent example of this is when Boone talks with Violent right before they approach Egypt. He expresses gratitude for her coming along and the conversation becomes a very brief look at the life they used to share together. But they are quickly interrupted as they reach the place where they are going. It’s also quite a bit of fun to see some of these characters start to interact with one another. One of the most delightful sequences is watching Violet and Glum sit back and narrate the fight– and, consequently walk away.
Kindt also manages to do quite a bit of world-building in very little space. World-building is one of the biggest traps of this genre – so many writers lose themselves in diagraming geography, magic, rules, etc. of their world and leave their characters to be conduits of that information. Kindt is better than that. On page 18, he introduces these unusual Egyptian creatures that they must look away from because if they look them in the eye because they “love askin’ riddles and they won’t leave ya alone until you answer.” A less creative writer may have tried to stop and have the characters speak with those creatures or have nothing in the empty space at all, but having Glum just say a quick throwaway line gives us a sense that there is so much more to know about this world. Likewise, Rubin often throws little interesting creatures in large panels like in page 16. The only exception to this is when Kindt tries to explain a little too much through Boone’s words in the opening pages, but Rubin’s illustration of Grandor ripping apart the Copper Golem was almost enough to forgive it.
Continued belowMy only complaint is that the threats that Boone and company are facing seem only to be marginally dangerous. There seems to be little risk involved in the conflicts from the opening of the book to the end; none of the characters ever seem to be in true danger and all conflict plays off as more of a fun excursion rather than actual threats being faced. Even the “cliffhanger” at the end of the book felt more like an obligation rather than a legitimately life-threatening situation for our heroes.
Regardless, this book’s strength is in its unique nature: the universe Kindt and Rubin have created paired with equally unique characters to guide us through it. At a time when so much of the comic book genre is seeking to go darker, Kindt and Rubin’s series leans into the wonder and excitement of an adventure.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Kindt and Rubin deliver yet another imaginative and delightful installment of their Copper Golem miniseries.
