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A Time Traveling Western from Valiant Comics
What’s Up Comic Book Fans!? Rich here from the 3FN Podcast & NI Wrestling, but most importantly repping the NI Comics Bullpen. I know you have gotten used to me reviewing horror comics over the past few weeks, but to not be type cast here I am reviewing a western/superhero comic.
For this review I will be giving my takes on Valiant Comics’ new offering Eternal Warriors: Last of The Immortals #1. This book is written by Fred Van Lente, art by Alvaro Papagiani, colors by Mariano Morales, flats by Ludwig Olimba, letters by Ezequiel Inverni, covers by Fernando Baldo & Agustin Alessio, and edited by Lysa Hawkins.
Let’s take a journey back to the old west and dive into this book.
***Minor Spoilers Possible***
Let’s Ride!
The book opens with an explanation of how the Immortals came to be. They were created 8000 years ago in the City of Ur as a family of 4 siblings would use a mystical device called The Boon to bring one of the brothers back from the dead. Upon using The Boon, it killed everyone in the city and their lifeforces gave the siblings immortality. It also made one of the brothers Gilad the Eternal Warrior.
The actual story then opens in the Arizona Territory in 1882. The 4 siblings are getting the jump on a posse that is looking for them. They dispatch this posse rather easily, all well giving us an introduction to them all. There are 3 brothers Gilad, Ivar, and Aram, they also have a sister named Vexana to round out the siblings. After the introductions we get a surprise guest appearance by Wyatt Earp!
Hello Darkness!
This is where the story takes off because they start to give the tale of how we got here. We flash to NYC in 2024 where the siblings all meet up at a bar. They share some stories of there time travels before Gilad gets there to transport them all back to Tombstone, AZ in 1882. Once in the past, they get hired to be a posse to hunt Wyatt Earp’s “Gang” by Johnny Behan.
The siblings then start to track the Wyatt “Gang” through the Arizona Territory. First, stopping by the Sierra Bonita Ranch owned by Henry Hooker, who is one of Earp’s closest friends. Obviously, he was in no hurry to help their search.
They then move on to a tent that is housing a Miracle Medicine Show about 110 miles away. Once there they recognize the name of Monsieur Darque and it appears that we will learn more about this individual later. They end up speaking with Sandria Darque, before Ivar goes off with her alone. We end issue #1 with Ivar in a precarious situation
Final Thoughts
After reading Eternal Warriors: Last Ride of The Immortals, I was left with a lot of thoughts. My first thought is the art in this book is incredible. It transports you back to the old west with the art style and earth tone colors. When I think of the Old West, this is what comes to mind.
The story itself is very intriguing and ends with a wonderful cliffhanger to whet your appetite for issue 2. However, I had some issues with it as well. The book for a first issue is rather confusing. I understand this is probably to drag out reveals for future books. But, could’ve used a little more information than was provided to really grasp the concept.
It was cool to start at a later point in the story and then tell the tale. But that led to an extra jump in timeline spot, which as I mentioned before made things confusing in the context of the first issue. In later issues when we’ve established as readers the rules of this world, this would be fine.
Overall, I did enjoy this issue and I will be looking forward to reading the upcoming issues to see where the story goes. If you are like me and a fan of Westerns, you’ll enjoy this book. If like me you enjoy time traveling content, you’ll enjoy this book.
Final Grade: 7/10
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