I feel like all my favorite comics are coming to a close. Next Testament is one of those mini-series that I will always reference back to. But I am jumping way ahead of myself. Let’s not think of the sad future, but of the present where this comic is still thriving. I was surprised to Tristan and Elspeth on this month’s cover. Actually it may be a first for the two as far as I recall. But honestly I loved it. I mean I really can’t see Haemi Jang doing wrong with this series. The volcanic-like explosion over the two in a library is just pure awesomeness. I never thought a simple concept cover could be so cool. Needless to say, I was stoked to jump right into this issue. With last issue leaving me a little terrified of France, I wanted to rekindle my love.
I have to tell you right now that for some reason this issue gave me chills. I am not sure why, but my review will hopefully explain it. God is on a rampaged if you haven’t noticed. And I can tell that Julian is getting sick and tired of it. Obviously, Julian hates the chick that God is with, but everything is just building up inside. He is ready to explode. I think just like the readers, Julian wants to know the point of it all. That’s how human beings are, and I think that is where one of our themes comes into play with this issue. I don’t even know if there is a point. God is destroying everything and everyone. Maybe he is bored. I mean when you hold all the chips, and each thing you want is at the tip of your fingers, I would get bored too. Creating something just to destroy it sounds like Next Testament’s God has the Michael Bay syndrome.
Julian’s son, Tristan, finally finds the place he and his fiancé have been looking for. It has been a trip and even arriving at their destinations has had some problems. Although Tristan and Elspeth have only had one interaction with God, they still feel his presence everywhere they go. Tristan hasn’t mentioned his father in a while. There are some clear daddy issues between the two. And with what goes down with Julian in this issue, I think Tristan may be confused as ever whether he finds out the truth or not.
With Next Testament having three issues left, we are starting to see some serious build up. This issue, like the last, didn’t have much action but tons of anticipation. Although this issue did have more to say with the relationships between our main characters. God and Julian have some real passion between them... but you will have to read the issue in order to see if it is good or bad. I think there will be a lot more said with issue #10. I can’t help but jump the gun on this series, because it is that good.
Score: 5/5
Writers: Clive Barker and Mark Miller Artist: Haemi Jang Publisher: Boom Studios Price: $3.99 Release Date: 5/14/14 Format: Mini-Series, Print/Digital