Advance Review: The Eighth Immortal #1 (of 4)
Walking the Earth for all of eternity sounds great at first glance, but how many Dolphin losing seasons would you have to suffer? All joking aside, being immortal seems like a plan, but with each new dawn there will be the twilight of death. Throw in the idea of rules and you find that even an immortal life can feel like a, well, life sentence. This is the exact situation that Curipan finds herself in.
Curipan is one of the Seven Immortals that are set to walk the Earth. Her task is to follow the coda of her existence. You see, there can never be an Eight Immortal, ever. walking the Earth through countless lifetimes, she has gone about her work. Through her religion, Curipan has lost so much; this religion also calls for her to ensure that those people who may evolve into immortality, effectively flying in the face of Curipan’s faith. But with so much loss, with so many futures taken away, is faith alone enough to sustain Curipan’s unending life?
Writer Jacob Murray poses an interesting question. Most interpretations of Immortals have longer life as a good thing. If anything, Highlander, and it’s following TV show, has shown that with longer life comes the risk of more losses. Therein lies the question, what would that much loss do to a person? Murray takes his time in showing us the aspects of Curipan’s pain and situation. We meet her immediate and extended family, each with their own quibbles and quandaries. It is an interesting take for sure. Murray creates a character whose pain is almost palpable, whose core belief sustains her; the cost of that though has a huge impact.
The art is provided by Alice Li Barnes who has a very apparent manga influences. Whilst not mu personal cup of tea, I don’t have a problem with the style, especially as it gives Curipan an almost ephemeral feeling, given how she vapours in and out of peoples lives. Small chins and big eyes are one thing; there is alos quite a bit of sex involved, as normally happens when gods are around. There is no quarter asked in regards to the nudity; each element fits the story well so gratuitousness is not a problem. Barnes also has a clever little trick when it comes to the color. Apparently, Murray wanted a greyscale book with flashes of color, almost accents if you will. Barnes meets this quirk, choice or challenge (depending on how you look at it), with great aplomb allowing various emotions to shine. Finally, Letter Squids provide a font that is a elegant in places and meandering when it comes to Curipan’s thoughts and feelings.
An interesting book, which challenges Curipan and could give the reader a chance to consider all the implications of an extended life; the good, the bad and the down right painful.
The Eight Immortal #1 is scheduled to hit comic shops on 27th January 2021.
Writing – 4 Stars
Art & Colors – 4.5 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating]
Written by; Jacob Murray
Art & Colors by; Alice Li Barnes
Letters by; Letter Squid
Published by; Source Point Press
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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