IDW Publishing 2017
Written by Brian Ruckley
Illustrated by Andrea Mutti
Coloured by Vladimir Popov
Lettered by Dezi Sienty
Since the dawn of time, immortals have lived amongst us. They await "The Gathering," when those who remain will battle for "The Prize." The victor will inherit unimaginable power and influence over all humanity.In 1985 Manhattan, on the eve of The Gathering, the Highlander—Connor MacLeod—has been re-united with fellow immortal Osta Vazilek. A shadow from the past looms over them: John Hooke, one of the very worst of their immortal kind, whom they first encountered and fought during the American Civil War...
One of the most interesting aspects of the Highlander franchise is that the immortals aren’t chosen they are made. So there is no rule or standard for who becomes one and that means that people who are inherently good or inherently evil can become immortal. While the Highlander and his friends represent the good side it’s always nice to see how they deal with those on the opposite side of the spectrum. Also that those who aren’t as well shall we say balanced mentally can win their fights and could possibly be the last one standing well it’s a prospect that makes things much more fascinating to follow.
Brian does an excellent job in using that dichotomy of the two sides in this story so far. Seeing Hooke through the Monk and Connor’s eye’s is great and that he’s so dangerous and nasty is something we need to see. Why do we need to because everything has a balance so if there’s good in the world then it needs evil to counter it. Pure and simple can’t have one without the other unfortunately. Also it gives us someone to hate and root against, while secretly (or not so) wanting to see more of.
Also his use of history here is spectacular! That we see everything through the eyes of the immortals so that it’s less a history lesson and more a memory means that the perspective we see it from is much more personal and interesting. Gone is the guessing instead it’s fact that it happened, first hand experience, and we get to see personalities at various times throughout their existence. That alone is a powerful tool for characterisation and character development in a short amount of time or a series of then and now storytelling.
I have been a huge fan of Andrea’s for some time now and his work here continues to keep me incredibly happy. His attention to detail in what we see and in the backgrounds he provides is utterly amazing. We get such a complete picture of what’s going on during any time period through buildings and clothing. Plus his people are natural looking so that there is no exaggeration just something that we see everyday that’s believable. His use of page layouts through angles and perspective are masterfully done.
This is the complete package of how an immortal can worry, live, love and lose and still be as thoroughly entertaining and enriching through its storytelling.