Brandon: Well, on one hand I enjoyed it and on the other I wasn’t sold. I am interested to see where the book goes and really dug the art but the story was just kind of alright. I think there is enough here to build off but this single issue did not sell me on the need to buy every issue of this series. There was no real hook other than his having a whack job daughter who also happens to be immortal. It just didn’t do enough for me.
What about you?
David: I actually really enjoyed it. I thought with a character like Gilad, you’re in a weird place where you have to reference his history but not be a slave to it, and in this issue it does a great job in setting up the run while giving depth to his history. After all, if Travis Henry, former NFL running back, can produce a billion kids in one small portion of a lifetime, wouldn’t it make sense that an immortal guy like Gilad would do the same?
It helps that his daughter is a nutcase and is pushing the story, and I’m interested to see where it goes from here for sure. I think the idea for this issue was, in many ways, to introduce Gilad to those who have not necessarily been reading other Valiant books. Do you think this book did that?
Brandon Yeah, I’d say it did a decent job of laying out the groundwork by, like you said, not shackling it to any previous appearances or anything. You don’t have to know the continuity of the character thus far to understand anything. If you do already then that’s great. It adds something for those readers. If you don’t though it’s just this crazy war story set on a battlefield for the most part. Which is something anyone can really wrap their brains around and run with. I have no issues with it’s setting things up. I think it did that fairly well. I just wasn’t overly engaged by a few pages in.
What did you think of the art?
David: I think this is Trevor Hairsine’s best issue at Valiant. He’s traditionally a very good artist, and I think his previous work at Valiant had felt a bit rushed. That was not the case here, as he brought a ton of energy and chaos to the fight scenes, and I loved everything with the elephants. That was supremely badass.
I would say the one weakness was at some points it was hard to recognize Gilad in the chaos. Text bubbles were attached to him, but he looked completely different at times. Overall though, that’s one small nitpick in an issue where Hairsine brought power and strong storytelling where it could have been a complete cluster in someone else’s hands. You said you liked his work. What were your overall thoughts?
Brandon Yeah, I really enjoyed his art throughout the issue and felt that his raw style was a perfect fit for the book. I would absolutely agree that sometimes some of the character work was confusing. There was a lot of darkness and this sometimes caused me to have to flip back to make sure everyone was who I thought there was. At one point I thought this was intentional and maybe there was some sort of reveal coming. There was not.
I thought this was a good intro book but not a great book overall. I think where this book has a lot of potential is the fact that Gilad is so old that you can move this book around through time whenever you want to shake things up. If played correctly he could easily be their Wolverine as we follow him through time seeing how he developed. A lot of fun could come of piecing his history together.
Continued belowDavid: So is that what you’re thinking for this book? I think there are a lot of options for it, and a man who is basically for whomever needs it based off historical importance could be a really, really interesting book. That said, I think they probably play it like Archer & Armstrong, where the play occasionally place him in the past to give context to his story, but they’ll primarily keep the story in the present.
Brandon Yeah, I think there are a lot of ways it can go. Anytime you have multiple directions you can fluidly take a book you’ve got a good idea on your hands.
For a rating I would give the book a 7. What about you David?
David: I’d give this one an 8. It wasn’t spectacular, but it was a rock solid introduction to a new series and a new character – for some – that features some amazing action and an engaging ending. Pak and Hairsine are a hell of a team, and I’m looking forward to what they’re going to do on this book.
Brandon: I thought this issue was quality like the previous issues. I enjoyed the humor and bringing in Amelia was pretty awesome and logical based on what we’ve been dealing with in this arc. I thought the stuff between Archer and Armstrong was pretty terrible in the sense that he screwed his friends love interest but I really didn’t feel a connection on an emotional level to it. It just kind of was a bad situation for all involved.
UNLEASH THE LOVEFEST DAVID!
David: By lovefest, do you mean utter heartbreak fest?! I was genuinely saddened by Armstrong screwing over Archer. I know in his mind he didn’t, but it’s pretty hard to say he didn’t, and the fact that Armstrong looks at him and basically sees General Redacted in the future is a truly devastating thing. One of my favorite aspects of this book is how these two characters get along on their adventures. It’s a friendship, but it’s also like a big brother is taking care of his little, sheltered badass of a brother in many ways. To me, I had a huge emotional connection to them, and that really killed me. I’m kind of amazed you don’t have any connection with them. They’re such well drawn characters.
Also, it was hilarious, it had Amelia Earhart being a badass, and SQWARK! Hearst is amazing. Let’s talk art. Pere Perez man. He’s really great, but I loved that he was given some nice full two page splashes here. There were some really amazing moments throughout, artistically, and I love seeing him unleashed like this. What did you think?
Brandon: Yeah, the art was great. He really is the best artist to put pencil to paper for this series thus far. We’ve had some excellent talent come through but he really has made it his own in a way I don’t feel the others did. He really does a great job with the emotions of the characters as well as moving the story along through his panels. Everything is always crystal clear and beautiful.
David: Agreed entirely, although I do love Clayton Henry’s work on this book. Do you have anything else to add? We had a bit more about the time teases about what could be coming, and I thought those were really fun.
Brandon: Not much else to add except that this book keeps getting better for me. I know it is a usual suspect for you in that #1 spot, but it isn’t there for me yet, but it really is in the top 3.
David: Can’t argue with that! I’m going to give this issue a 9.0. For me, it really proved how much I care about the characters, as for the first time a real, genuine rift developed between Archer and Armstrong. It was heartbreaking to read, and it had beautiful art and hilarious story beats. Not much for me to not love here.
Oh, I also want to point out that Mary-Maria’s “parents” had to have been “watching” when she got busy with Armstrong. Messed up. What would you give it?
Brandon I’d give it a 7.5. Good but not great.
