Valiant Entertainment 2015
Written by Fred Van Lente
Penciled by Francis Portela
Inked by Francis Portela & Karl Kesel
Coloured by Andrew Dalhouse
We all know how I feel about Fred he’s got these mad writing skills that prove he’s capable of pretty much writing any character in any place and time including these kinds of epic time travel stories that put to rest that they are generally considered a headache to write, read and understand. With Francis along for the ride this series has taken on a whole new feel to it and with sweeping two page spreads that not only demonstrate his artistic genius but how he can fill pages with that kind of attention to detail and bring things to life so utterly beautifully just reinforces the fact that Valiant continues to demonstrate a maturity and a passion that keeps them at the forefront of the industry.
Wow so how does one continue a story that ends like this issue did? I’m excited to see where Fred is going to go with this next now more than ever!
So Ivar, his brothers and pilot extraordinaire Amelia Earhart have found Oblivi-1 and it’s time for Ivar’s plan to be executed. What I really enjoyed about this was the whole look and feel of the ship Amelia’s piloting arriving at the station there’s this whole science fiction vibe mixed with this steampunk aspect that really grabs your attention and imagination.
The relationship between the brothers here is something Fred gives us extremely well. While yes they are facing the end of everything it’s really just another day in the life of Padda brothers and their own distinct personalities shine through and while they’ve fought like siblings do for countless millennia when push comes to shove they are above all else family. Though the dialogue is pretty spectacular to say the least. As is Ivar using the self-replicating von-new-man machines that attacked them previously to help attack those on Oblivi-1 was something that I should have thought of but didn’t and that’s what’s great about this is that the obvious sometimes get overlooked and repurposed to their advantage.
Neela’s own journey throughout this arc has also been extremely well portrayed and as we get closer and closer to the end of this issue you begin to see that Ivar had another purpose for going to her in the first place and it’s a personal reason that has led him time and again to try to right that wrong which occured and now brings us here.
Gosh the reveals this issue brings just keeps the hits coming one after another and leave the reader with this whole what the heck is going on feeling and then that immediate desire to see and learn more about this from another perspective, namely the evil Neela’s and the events that drove her to be this crazy let’s destroy everything mad woman whose obsession seems to know no bounds. After all two sides to every coin right and besides it would just darn interesting to see.
This series keeps getting better and better with each issue and this team manages to capture the sheer scope and size of what’s happening beautifully. Some of today’s best and most prolific talent shine at Valiant with these characters getting to kind of build them from the ground up all over again and I wouldn’t miss it for anything!