4001 AD #2 Discussion

[grendeljd]

If anyone would like to hear our OTV:VCR podcast discussing/reviewing this issue, please follow the link;

http://onlythevaliant.com/episodes/vcr67/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks to any who listen in

[nonplayer]

Just finished up. Good episode. Personally it's exactly what I thought it would be. But what about Momo?

[agent_graves]

Eh, it was aight. I wish Valiant did bigger page counts for their Summer Events.

[greg]

I liked this... lots of feelings of Rai 1991-1992 stories in this one... and Eternal Warrior 4001... a Geomancer "looming" (surely she has a purpose, especially with Gilad on his way...)

[jmatt]

Great issue, no complaints. The story is rolling along at full speed!

[Phoenix8008]

Loved Lulu getting a 'Spylocke' cyber-eye!

Good story all around and looking forward to more. Art was a little confusing to track exactly what was happening in some of the outer space fight scenes though.

[Keith]

Agree with the wish for bigger page counts during the summer events, but otherwise this was a good issue. Action packed, moved the story along, no major revelations/shockers... though the loss of the X-O mech could be problematic.

[Psiot X]

Man, I loved the art and color in this issue. I agree though that they have a way of paneling these action scenes that makes it hard to follow what happens sometimes. I am going to miss the X-O Knight armor as I thought it had more life left to it for future stories. I still cringe when I think about how Lulu got her injury. So, it was nice to see them go somewhere with it. Reading Father in his RAI persona nonchalantly tallying the death counts was... disturbing.

[nonplayer]

I'd have to look closely but at the end of xo 4001 wasent the mech standing up right. When it was found was it down on one knee. If this is the case then the xo mech was used before Rai and glad used it against father.
Thoughts?

[Sven the Returned]

Moves the story along, cannot judge it till the end of the event.

[JasonTodd428]

I thought this was a great issue but I'm with those that wish Valiant went with a higher page count for events. It felt like I had just started reading and quite suddenly I was on the last page. Father coldly tallying the death toll was really disturbing to me though. Show just how out of touch he really is from the people he supposedly wants to protect.

[jmatt]

Loved Lulu getting a 'Spylocke' cyber-eye!

Good story all around and looking forward to more. Art was a little confusing to track exactly what was happening in some of the outer space fight scenes though.

Agree on both points. At this point on some of the panels I'm not getting hung up on the specifics and just think "more battle stuff happens." Which is kind of a shame because it looks like a lot of work went into them. I just can't suss it out.

[jmatt]

Did anyone else notice that the red circle on Rai's head starts being colored blue halfway through the battle? Page 14 not counting the ad page. Stays blue for the rest of the issue.

[Phoenix8008]

Did anyone else notice that the red circle on Rai's head starts being colored blue halfway through the battle? Page 14 not counting the ad page. Stays blue for the rest of the issue.

I remember seeing some blue 'circuitry lines' on his forehead, but never noticed the whole circle go blue. Isn't that a positron thing? The positrons are usually a blue ring though, not a filled in circle. I wonder of that's a hidden attack by Father or Rai being very tricksy somehow? I'm gonna have to go read it a third time now and look for that...

[JasonTodd428]

Did anyone else notice that the red circle on Rai's head starts being colored blue halfway through the battle? Page 14 not counting the ad page. Stays blue for the rest of the issue.

I noticed that too and my first though was the circle positrons have on their foreheads. Wonder what it means?

[jmatt]

...or Rai being very tricksy somehow? I'm gonna have to go read it a third time now and look for that...

I thought it was an indication that Rai was trying to mask his whereabouts from Father, as it is when they first enter New Japan proper. But you would think we'd get a line of dialogue to that effect as well.

Perhaps it indicates that Father has turned off Rai's ability to 'travel' through the structure.

[mateo107]

I'm still not seeing a reason for this series to be an event, it just reads like the next arc of Rai. Eternal Warrior is nothing more than a voice in the background along for the ride, he doesn't actually do anything or seem to be characterized in any way, really. Not much seemed to happen in this issue, after a lot of incoherent action Rai finally gets back to New Japan. frankly, they could have skipped most of the action and had the team arrive in New Japan at the end of issue #1 and it probably would have been more coherent. It's halfway over, and while I would say a lot needs to happen in the next 2 issues for it to have been a real story, there's not even much indication where the story is heading. I get that it's not necessarily a a cross-over, but for an event it doesn't seem to have any defining or identifiable moments or reveals as of yet.

[jmatt]

... I get that it's not necessarily a cross-over, but for an event it doesn't seem to have any defining or identifiable moments or reveals as of yet.

Father as a Giant Worm? The creation of the first Rai? Japan shedding sectors killing millions? And taking the form of a dragon? Mention of the X-O Wars? The discovery of a dormant X-O Knight? Rai and Father about to go at it?

I'd say there are a few moments in there. And it's only halfway through.

[DirtbagSailor]

This story is working out very well, and has NOT disappointed one bit.

[Watchtower]

This is so anime like oh my god.

While we're on the subject of wanting characters to come back to life, I nominate Grace. She and Lula had a nice dynamic as adventurer and robot butler/best friend.

Other than that, good stuff so far. As noted, will need to see the whole event to really assess it.

[jmatt]

I'd like to know why a robot created in Japan is named Grace. And apart from a cherry tree in Rai #1, why we've seen so many, many different sectors... but none of them look like traditional Japan. I think they missed some low hanging fruit there.

And while I'm on the topic, why "Komodo" mode? Komodo dragons are African.

[Watchtower]

I'd like to know why a robot created in Japan is named Grace. And apart from a cherry tree in Rai #1, why we've seen so many, many different sectors... but none of them look like traditional Japan. I think they missed some low hanging fruit there.

And while I'm on the topic, why "Komodo" mode? Komodo dragons are African.

1) I think the robot named Grace is less weird than the human named Lula. The one language that can't handle L's, and you use two of them. Granted, the Japanese themselves seem to like using L's, but from what I've seen it's mainly used to highlight something as foreign, which I'm pretty sure Lula isn't.

2) There's a lot of not-Japan in New Japan. There's a sector dedicated to recreating 21st century Manhattan, Kami God knows why.

3) Yeah, it seems like "Komodo" is just meant to invoke the Komodo Dragon. "Ryujin" would've been so much simpler and not look as dumb.

Bottom line is Kindt can be pretty bad at this whole Japan thing. Which, well, should've been obvious when he named a hair-based assassin Rokurokubi.

[jmatt]

1) I think the robot named Grace is less weird than the human named Lula.

I think she's named after a tv character, Lula Lemon or something like that. But yeah, there's not as much 'Japanese' as one might expect.

[mateo107]

Father as a Giant Worm? The creation of the first Rai? Japan shedding sectors killing millions? And taking the form of a dragon? Mention of the X-O Wars? The discovery of a dormant X-O Knight? Rai and Father about to go at it?

the sectional destruction of Japan had already happened in Rai #12, so that it's still going on at this point makes it less of something happening and more of just a backdrop to the action. it's written as something that could just go on indefinitely, and since they've already let millions of people die, there's not much sense of urgency. at most, players are just moving from place to place, sometimes assuming different forms, but they're not really functioning as fully developed characters with their own motivations, they might as well be robots like the X-O Knight. would a new reader even know who the Eternal Warrior is if they started reading with this series?

[jmatt]

at most, players are just moving from place to place, sometimes assuming different forms, but they're not really functioning as fully developed characters with their own motivations, they might as well be robots like the X-O Knight. would a new reader even know who the Eternal Warrior is if they started reading with this series?

I see motivation all over the place. Rai's is obvious, he wants to free Japan from Father and that's be his stated mission since #4. EW's is too, he wants his Geomancer. Leemur said he wanted to help Rai avenge the death's of his friends on Earth. Lula wants to avenge the death of Grace. Father wants to maintain control.

Now, is it being regurgitated with every issue? No, but I don't think it needs to be, in panel. And it may well be in the summary page at the beginning of all of the issues, which is fitting.

Not restating it all has the added benefit of making readers want to pick up back issues to get a better sense of all of it.