REVIEW: Book of Death #1

Written by Robert Venditti
Art by Robert Gill with Doug Braithwaite
Colors by David Baron with Brian Reber
Published by Valiant Entertainment LLC.

First, a reading from the Book of the Geomancers:

Thank you Tama.

Greetings fellow Comic Crusaders.

Heed well the words that Tama just read for us, for she is a Geomancer that hails from the future, providing us with the answers to the questions you have yet to ask. Undoubtedly, these answers will trigger more questions, which might very well remain unanswered until the present and future state of the Valiant Universe becomes established.

So, how would you commence to unravel the mysteries surrounding the ominous era that is prophesized by the Book of the Geomancers? Perhaps the first step would be for you to run to your local comic book shop and acquire The Valiant four issue series or trade paperback.

The mission Gilad Anni-Padda, The Eternal Warrior, has undertaken after the events of The Valiant, would appear to be insurmountable. Since the Immortal Enemy slew Kay McHenry, Earth’s most recent Geomancer from the present time, The Eternal Warrior has cared for a Geomancer that was sent to him from his future self in an attempt to thwart the imminent annihilation of the human race. The name of the future Geomancer is Tama. Geomancers have spiritual abilities and are able to provide a voice for the Earth and only one Geomancer exists for any given era. So if Tama is from the future, who is the new Geomancer that will succeed Kay McHenry in the present time? You will meet him in the Book of Death and learn that a Geomancer can be corrupted. Let me tell you, he looks like he might be able to give Damien Thorn (primary antagonist of The Omen movies) a run for his money! The presence of two Geomancers during the same time period has caused a disruption in the Valiant timeline. As we learned from The Valiant series, when the Immortal Enemy kills a Geomancer, it ushers in a period of darkness and terror. To make matters worse for Gilad, the Unity team is at odds with him due to “unexplained” massacres and attributes it all to Tama’s unknown abilities. No one other than Gilad and Tama knows that a Dark Geomancer is quietly initiating these events and seeking them out.

The Book of Death promises to be another exceptional and very entertaining story that was set up beautifully by The Valiant series. Robert Venditti assembles a powerful script, suitable for first time Valiant readers to comprehend, while simultaneously providing plenty of excitement for those who have been on board with Valiant since day one of their re-launch. The art here was good, but perhaps better during the scenes that were read by Tama from the Book of the Geomancers. The coloring was fine, but I did find most of the issue to be a little bit too bright, particularly for a story that’s centered upon forthcoming doom.

Until next time Crusaders!

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Author Profile

13th Crusader

Real Name: Mike / Occupation: (As Mike) Classified; (as The 13th Crusader) Host of The Definitive Crusade, DC Podcast, for Undercover Capes / Known Aliases: 13, The Iron Mike, Ironhide, The Walking Human Encyclopedia, Professor M / Affiliations: Comic Crusaders / Base of Operations: The 13th Lair (location classified), often mobile / Abilities: Photographic memory (to the extent where he is capable of memorizing the comic book inventories of several stores simultaneously for lengthy periods of time), voice impersonation, acute senses (The 13th Crusader possesses an uncanny ability to track down vintage comic books, and on several occasions, with his eyes closed, he has been able to determine the exact year a comic book was published just by smelling the ink inside of it), capable of drawing sketches; however, he prefers to write. He has a substantial amount of resistance to alcohol, surpassing the levels displayed by Marvelâ€™s Volstagg and Valiantâ€™s Aram Anni-Padda â€“ combined. Multilingual (Proficient with English and Spanish, adequate with Portuguese and Italian). Above average marksman (he is capable of throwing objects accurately at high velocities), limited sword fighting skills and kickboxing techniques. / Known Weaknesses: Anything that involves the original Gwen Stacy, 2 for 1 drinks during Happy Hour, 50 cent comic book bins, the scent of 1983 comic book ink / Hobbies: Vintage comic book collecting, baseball, listening to excessive amounts of 80â€™s music / History: Little is known of The 13th Crusader. He is a man of many talents who was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He has extensive knowledge of the comic book world and heâ€™s been collecting comic books since before he was able to read. Heâ€™s a BIG time fan of Silver and Bronze Age comics, and as such, his personal collection is truly impressive. He owns books that range from the 1950â€™s and onward. First Appearance: Comic Crusaders Column â€“ What Defines A Characters First Appearance (Feb 2014)