Having jumped on this series with issue #4, it was clear that the comic was doing some back tracking. The whole issue read like a first issue. Sure there were some things that I didn’t get, but all in all it opened with a back story, the introduction of characters and laid out a pretty decent conflict to follow. I don’t know if it was planned or if the comic sucked at doing this in the first three issues, either way I read it with an impartial approach looking forward to seeing how the plot unfolded. We enter a new world with Sovereign, and I love when comics build new worlds or us. For me, I think this issue built a pretty capable world. Although that worries me that the other issues didn’t. I am not sure I understand it all, but it seems there are many trees of life out in the universe. The other worlds have magic, dragons, demons, and so on. Some of these worlds end because of the clear destruction its inhabitants create. They call these ages epoch and when battle wages on a Convergence happens ending their age. The first part of the three part comic talks about this history. It even brings up some worlds that have ended and why. Again, it is a good opener and definitely lays out the story for you. I am not sure I got all of it, but I think the full understanding will come with time.
We then roll right into our new world. An old man is warning the King of dead bodies coming back to life. These dead are powerful and will soon take over. The town must revert back to their old rituals in order to handle the dead. This old man is a Luminari, a caretaker of the dead. Of course the King and his advisors all have a different approach to handling the man. Suddenly the dead are coming though and their best bet is to close the gates until they have come up with a plan.
Now we enter the second part of the story titled Invaders. Here we again debate the next step that should be taken. Then we roll right into the third story about a Seer. She can see the reality in her mind where others cannot. She tells one man of what will come next and he is frightened.
I like how the comic has three different stories. It shows the effect of the problem on a wide range of people. I think the story needs some clarification because it is very hard to enter a new world and know exactly what the author is doing with each moment. We will obviously never understanding completely how the author meant it to be, but with good writing we can try. I think if I fully understood the world, I would enjoy the reading more. I am not giving up on the comic as there were some points I really liked. My favorite story was the shortest one about the Seer. She intrigues me and will probably intrigue most readers. She has a lot to say not only about what is to come but about herself.
Even though the comic could improve, I think the potential outweighs the faults. Sovereign did a clearer job getting their world across in issue #4 and if they are willing to help out the audience with insight into the comic then I think it is worth a read.
Score: 3/5
Writer: Chris Roberson Artist: Paul Maybury Colorist: Afu Chan Publisher: Image Comics Price: $2.99 Release Date: 6/25/14 Format: Print/Digital