Rick Remender’s Image Comics library has been nothing short of grand, and “Seven To Eternity” is Remender’s most recent epic to grace the publisher. Previous issues have had long-time collaborator Jerome Opeña on intensive art duties, but this issue has “Rumble” artist James Harren step up to bat. Let’s see how this chapter fares.
Written by Rick RemenderCover by Jerome Opeña
Illustrated by James Harren
Colored by Matt Hollingsworth
Lettered by Rus WootonNow suffering from the aftermath of the sentient swamp, The Mosak follow Adam to Jevalia’s childhood home to discover a trampled paradise, the bled souls of its heroes, and a fetid industry thirsting for more.
SEVEN TO ETERNITY is proud to welcome superstar JAMES HARREN as a special guest artist to unveil the heights of heroism in a world awash with corruption.
Remender’s narrative brings his party of hard-travelled folks to “the most beautiful place in Zhal”, Gliff. The character cast are still at odds with each other, which makes for interesting dialogue even though they all seem set on the same goal. Adam’s daughter Katie seems to be the only one who genuinely wants to save Jevalia’s life, but also wants to redeem the image of her father in his companion’s eyes. She’s a compelling character with a lot of potential, that seems to be the optimistic link between the rather depressing supporting cast. I’ve had gripes with past issues because of this, as everyone seemed to hate each other, but I think Remender’s struck gold by having this character at the center of things.
I also love that even though the big bad Mud King is off the table now, his presence is still very much felt. In a flashback at the start of the issue, we see how the Mud King played an important role in Jevalia’s past, and how it might have affected her brother, the recently introduced Lovro. Remender doesn’t have the character directly appear in the present of the issue, but you can bet that his shadow is cast over the whole narrative. People talk about him in hushed whispers, with the supporting cast always wary of what his contract with Adam Osidis was. It’s a great way to build up a villain’s reputation, and Remender has complete control over it.
Regardless, I still find that like much of his other comics, Remender falls into the trap of over-exposition too often. Especially with so many superstar artists in tow. The scene in which Katie sneaks into the furnace of Gliff has a great, stealth style scene that is cleverly plotted to her hunter-like skill set. However, Remender overlays this with exposition about her family upbringing, and it’s distracting to the scene at hand. I often had to make double takes just because I was too engrossed in either the dialogue or the scene at hand. It’s great that he wants to flesh out characters like this, but there needs to be space to let the artist breath too.
Harren’s art is on par with some of his best here, and it’s great to see him flourish in a high fantasy setting. One thing that has stuck in my mind heavily after reading was his depiction of the village of Gliff. As soon as it is introduced roughly a third of the way into the book, we’re gripped with the image of a burning, almost gothic/cyberpunk fusion of a city. I was brought back to my days of experiencing Final Fantasy VII’s Midgar on the PS1, to give you a feel for the idea. A lot of the architecture in the village is equally stunning as its debut. Harren draws Victorian, bank-like buildings towards the entrance and flaming industry sections filled with factories. To throw you off even more, Harren adds a medieval castle topped with gaudily armoured knights at the entrance. It’s a great mishmash of eras to create something original, making it exciting to see an artist primarily known for his character-focused action spread his wings like this.
Sequential action is the backbone of the medium as we all know, and Harren knows this better than most. As previously stated, there’s a scene in which Katie sneaks into the village’s furnace. The scene plays out like a well plotted heist movie, with Harren making sure you know how lithe and hasty our protagonist is. The action climaxes with an Indiana Jones-esque knee slide under a rapidly closing door, but Katie doesn’t even break a sweat continuing to leap through the gorgeously rendered inner workings of the furnace. The ensuing scene is another great example of Harren’s understanding of visual storytelling. The purple-skinned figure dances among the flames of the furnace, performing an intricate ritual. Harren includes panels of her executing complex hand movements and strange actions, making the scene more engrossing and mystifying all at once.
Continued belowThe character work here is a bit of a mixed bag, I find. Harren excels at drawing the heck out of regular or strange looking people – you’ll be hard pressed to find a supermodel replicated in much of his work. So for the most part, his art is well suited to the tone of this issue – Gliff is a dirty, underworld type city, so Harren makes sure it’s residents reflect this. The prime example is the cover villain, the hitman Dragan. Every panel he appears in, he’s looking comfortably grimy, with a bloodcurdling grin to match. It’s impressive visual storytelling that gives you more information than words at the best times – you get a good sense of Dragan’s character when he takes a swig of wine and lets it dribble down his chin as he talks. However, his work on some of the regulars feels a little lacklustre compared to Opeña’s. In the opening flashback, Jevalia and her brother feel cartoony as opposed to mystical. The Mud King’s sole appearance feels more like a typical cackling villain, too – not the inquisitive, intelligent hulking figure that graced previous issues.
Matt Hollingsworth, as always, provides a veritable wheel of colour to this issue. Gliff isn’t the most vibrant of settings, but Hollingsworth accentuates where it counts – the flames of industry fires glow ominously over the black city. The insides of pubs and taverns are hazy and filled with splashes of colour, relaying to the readers that this is a cesspool of different cultures. What’s most striking is the furnace scene. Hollingsworth captures the intensity of the flames with harsh glow effects, but has the focal figures (the pink-skinned lady) stand out from the heat, to centralise them as the reader’s focus. It’s clever, giving readers the harsh, ritualistic tone of the scene whilst also directing attention effectively.
“Seven to Eternity” #7 may not be the best issue in the series, but it works well as a great display of Harren’s art. The ever-winding saga of Remender’s fantasy unfolds more, with a new setting and slew of despicable characters to play around with, and it’s a lot of fun for the most part. Remender’s not so subtle dialogue butts in at uncomfortable moments, but it stop this from being a solid, enjoyable story.
Final Verdict: 7.2 – Harren brings his uncontrollable style to Remender’s grand fantasy tale, delivering a chapter that’s exciting and deliciously grimy.
