Valiant Entertainment 2017
Written by Robert Venditti
Illustrated by Renato Guedes
Coloured by Ulises Arreola
Lettered by Dave Sharpe
Since Valiant came back Gilad has consistently been one of the most diverse and interesting characters on shelves. His potential is unlimited and the scope of his experiences and what makes him the man we see in the present are things to can be explored at a whim. This issue from Robert demonstrates what we already know but Gilad still has to learn and that death is never permanent and there will come times when he forgets who he was. It’s an interesting thing to see happen and that he found himself in a time and place where he was content and unaware of his true nature well it just makes for fascinating reading.
This is one of those instances i’ve been waiting for, to see Gilad in the past and in a way we’ve yet to see. Robert’s mind, imagination, creativity and knack for storytelling through characterisation and circumstance is on full display here. It’s really no wonder why he’s having so much fun at Valiant as he gets to explore these characters, their worlds and eras where the social norms were very much not what they are today. Though i’m still waiting to see him be in a bi-sexual situation since there were many times in World History where that was the norm for society. That aside the further back Robert goes the more interesting things become.
That we see a Geomancer who is as foreign and as colourful as this one well it makes the heart sing. The representation in this series has been so above and beyond when it comes to the peoples who inhabited the world. I mean it’s interesting to me that then colour made no difference it was really about power and ability. The strong survive the weak either die or follow simple as that.
Renato and Ulises do some absolutely marvelous work on the interiors. I mean when we see the Geomancer show up that Camel steals the scene and considering the amount of work on that page it’s saying something. The attention to detail throughout is amazing to see and that they utilise the page layouts in such ways to demonstrate power, Hyamm on his throne (which surprised me we didn’t see his junk in that shot) for instance was mad powerful. The way angles and perspective tell the story, control the flow and just let us into this world is one of it’s highlights.
Robert is an amazing writer who can take a concept and turn it into this story and show us the beginnings of something while making it clear we’re in the middle of it all. There’s a clear cut beginning but along the way there are moments that significantly change who he is and I think we see one of those here. He used to be the least interesting of the three siblings to me and now I find him the most fascinating because of what we get to see of the man throughout time and how it’s shaped him.
Anytime there is a Eternal Warrior book it’s one that should be read, talked about and shared because it’s everything we experience and more in settings that remind us all about choices and human nature.