Eternal Warrior #6 Discussion

[SJS4]

Loving this arc so far. Art remained top notch and the story is intriguing. Can't wait to see where this story goes. Have to think the story is going to tie back in to the first arc at some point...makes me wonder who this "King" is.

BTW I love how Gilad interacts with Caroline.

[bygranddesign]

I thought it was good

Some of the action scenes were great - like the bloody sword fight. And I LOVE the relationship between Gilad and his grand daughter. Pak is not a meaty writer. There is not a lot of description and detail and it's always a VERY quick read. (He's like the antithesis of Kindt) But he does do a great job at getting to the emotional core of the main characters.

Although the sword fight was great, I thought the action scenes with the giant robots weren't as well done.
It felt jumbled and rushed .. I'm not sure exactly how Gilad went from the ground to on top of the shoulder of what looks like a 20+ story robot. It might have been good to have inner monologue for that scene explaining how exactly Gilad killed the giant robots. Was a sword to the neck a weak spot? It jumped from that scene to fighting the boss guy with no real explanation.

I also do wish characters talked with a sense that its 2000 years later. It doesn't have to be a dramatic difference from the way we speak today but I do appreciate it when writers get creative and come up with unusual terms and adjectives that reflect a change in vernacular. Magnus and Rai did this in VH1. I'm sure Kindt will do this as well with Rai. It just shows an extra effort on the part of the writer to show he cares about transporting you to a different time and place.

I'm also getting a sense that this might be an alternate future. We know there are sentient cities and places of great technological marvel like in the Rai pages. Yet this world is described as a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Maybe they are only describing the little rock/middle america part of the world ... and Japan and other Sentient Cities were shielded from the nuclear destruction that seemed to ravage America. But i'm getting the feeling that we will reach the end of the arc and Gilad will realize that he SHOULDN'T have killed all the Gods and Buck the Geomancer was telling this alternate reality through the Earth to make Gilad realize that his mission to destroy the Gods would be a worse outcome than having them around (this will especially impactful if Caroline dies). And that's what ultimately will convince Gilad to re-dedicate his life to the Fist and Steal of the Earth and therefore directly lead into the crazy angry Gilad determined to fight for the Earth in A&A #5.

Even though I have some quibbles ... I thought it was a strong issue. I liked Robert Gill's art work overall. And the core of the story, the relationship between Gilad and Caroline, was very strong. Pak does a great job of making you care about his characters and the book definitely left me wanting more. 7.8/10

[hunter_peterson]

I thought it was good

Some of the action scenes were great - like the bloody sword fight. And I LOVE the relationship between Gilad and his grand daughter. Pak is not a meaty writer. There is not a lot of description and detail and it's always a VERY quick read. (He's like the antithesis of Kindt) But he does do a great job at getting to the emotional core of the main characters.

Although the sword fight was great, I thought the action scenes with the giant robots weren't as well done.
It felt jumbled and rushed .. I'm not sure exactly how Gilad went from the ground to on top of the shoulder of what looks like a 20+ story robot. It might have been good to have inner monologue for that scene explaining how exactly Gilad killed the giant robots. Was a sword to the neck a weak spot? It jumped from that scene to fighting the boss guy with no real explanation.

I also do wish characters talked with a sense that its 2000 years later. It doesn't have to be a dramatic difference from the way we speak today but I do appreciate it when writers get creative and come up with unusual terms and adjectives that reflect a change in vernacular. Magnus and Rai did this in VH1. I'm sure Kindt will do this as well with Rai. It just shows an extra effort on the part of the writer to show he cares about transporting you to a different time and place.

I'm also getting a sense that this might be an alternate future. We know there are sentient cities and places of great technological marvel like in the Rai pages. Yet this world is described as a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Maybe they are only describing the little rock/middle america part of the world ... and Japan and other Sentient Cities were shielded from the nuclear destruction that seemed to ravage America. But i'm getting the feeling that we will reach the end of the arc and Gilad will realize that he SHOULDN'T have killed all the Gods and Buck the Geomancer was telling this alternate reality through the Earth to make Gilad realize that his mission to destroy the Gods would be a worse outcome than having them around (this will especially impactful if Caroline dies). And that's what ultimately will convince Gilad to re-dedicate his life to the Fist and Steal of the Earth and therefore directly lead into the crazy angry Gilad determined to fight for the Earth in A&A #5.

Even though I have some quibbles ... I thought it was a strong issue. I liked Robert Gill's art work overall. And the core of the story, the relationship between Gilad and Caroline, was very strong. Pak does a great job of making you care about his characters and the book definitely left me wanting more. 7.8/10

I'd be sad if you're right about this being an imagined future- that would be a lot of wasted world building. I also prefer 4001 to have vastly different settings, too, so having something like this next to Rai makes the whole world richer.

Great issue, loved it all. Caroline is awesome and I really hope she survives. This actually kind of reminded me of an episode of Xena, oddly enough. A really, really good episode.

[Brother Darque]

so is his left arm robotic or not?

[Paradigm38]

Robotic arm? Not... yet?

[jmatt]

Enjoying this arc much more than the last. The robot fight sequence was pretty quick, that would have been 8 pages in an old Marvel book. But I appreciate that the robots are lumbering idiots smashing into each other; it's not like they could have had very advanced AI, having been cobbled together by a relatively primitive society.

The Boss seemed like a cool villain, I wouldn't have minded seeing his demise stretched another issue. Gilad walks into the place and an hour later he's running the show. Enjoyable, but I feel like the arc could have benefited from things being stretched out. But fair enough, we're on to a bigger matchup with the King.

Great issue.

[pixierosa]

Have to agree with the consensus here. Solid story but a quick read. Ditto on the robot action sequences needing more exposition.

Love his relationship with Caroline. He is at his personal best - we've seen an agressive EW, and concerned but still violence-first EW, but now we are getting a man who thinks first and who embraces a sense of family and larger community.

I was so sad when I saw her nose bleed.

[Ramses818]

pixierosa just beat me!! lol. I was going to say how sad I was looking at her nose bleed because we have already been told what that means. I do like that this is another area of the world that will be in stark contrast to the Rai series. Obviously nuclear war wrecked where ever they are , made obvious by the fact that they have no safe guards on the uranium and just run through people. I think this issue is really building to something. The King and other higher ups I think are going to be something much bigger... maybe somebody in Japan or in competition with them? I cant wait for the next couple issues!

[dornwolf]

I'll continue to echo everyones thoughts on caroline. It's wonderfully done showing how she has her grandpas wrapped around her finger. Also this kinda explains why everything right now looks like a wasteland, this area is a wasteland due to the use of nukes. I imagine the King would presumibly be living in a sentient city.

[SJS4]

so is his left arm robotic or not?

Nope, that is just armor. His signature look has always been to have some sort of extra "flair" on his left arm.

[Newton]

I like the minimalist storytelling for this book and though fast I thought this issue ranks very high on my top issues list. They are efficiently establishing that Gilad's character has evolved in the future, but he still has some of his same habits which I dig.

[Keith]

I'm also getting a sense that this might be an alternate future. We know there are sentient cities and places of great technological marvel like in the Rai pages. Yet this world is described as a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Maybe they are only describing the little rock/middle america part of the world ... and Japan and other Sentient Cities were shielded from the nuclear destruction that seemed to ravage America. But i'm getting the feeling that we will reach the end of the arc and Gilad will realize that he SHOULDN'T have killed all the Gods and Buck the Geomancer was telling this alternate reality through the Earth to make Gilad realize that his mission to destroy the Gods would be a worse outcome than having them around (this will especially impactful if Caroline dies). And that's what ultimately will convince Gilad to re-dedicate his life to the Fist and Steal of the Earth and therefore directly lead into the crazy angry Gilad determined to fight for the Earth in A&A #5.

This. Keep getting the feeling that the Eternal Emperor will bleed over into the next arc, maybe he arrives in the "present" via the Faraway to stop modern day EW from destroying the Earth tree. Very Terminator-esque.

[grendeljd]

Another very enjoyable issue.

I'm really liking the Mad Max/Nuclear wasteland setting, I don't see it as conflicting with what is coming in RAI, or that there are also sentient cities out there. Its a big world, lots of room for variation - its very cool that the world of 4001 is not entirely the utopian, atomic age influenced version we basically inherited from Magnus in the 90's. It is developing its own feel. I thought The Boss was definitely channeling Lord Humongous - I read the dialogue in that voice & was expecting to read him say 'Just walk away, I will give you safe passage in the wasteland. Just walk away and there will be an end to the horror'

I agree with the sentiments posted here, there was something a little awkward about the robot battles scene pages, but overall I liked the art once again - though I think I liked the previous issue a little more. I had a look, and I think Robert was inking his own pencils in #5, which may have made the difference. I like the somewhat scratchy, frenetic look of his art in #5, this issue was a little cleaner with Victor Olazaba inking.

Love the continued great relationship Gilad has with his granddaughter - especially the feeling that he is letting her make the decisions & even if she decides against taking any advice he offers, he is happy to deal with the consequences. He has seen so much, has the confidence of being immortal & thousands of years of experience behind him, that I think it is refreshing for him to go on an adventure and experience life anew through her eyes, do what she ultimately wants to do. Great stuff. And the bloody nose - so tragic, if she is not immune to radiation sickness after all.

[Bone-A-Fach-ee]

This arc > first arc.
Art is very good, yet I agree with the robot battle scene reviews of others.
Love the dynamic, and Gilad's willingness to defer to his grandaughter's wisdom, as if she too is 1000's of years old and wise.
I thought she was immortal too though? Does the bleeding nose really mean she's dying? I would not be happy.
Like the story and art. What more do you need than that?

[Phoenix8008]

This arc > first arc.
Art is very good, yet I agree with the robot battle scene reviews of others.
Love the dynamic, and Gilad's willingness to defer to his grandaughter's wisdom, as if she too is 1000's of years old and wise.
I thought she was immortal too though? Does the bleeding nose really mean she's dying? I would not be happy.
Like the story and art. What more do you need than that?

Just finished reading #5 last night and eagerly awaiting this issue (and the rest of February's issues which I should get in a few weeks). Based on what Gilad told her in #5, he expected that she would be tough like him and likely to survive the radiation like him unlike the rest of the townspeople. How does that fit in with either theory of his immortality though? Either he's immortal and regenerating due to serving the Earth (even though he quit and killed her?? ), or he's immortal like Aram due to the Boon. How does either of those factors get passed down to a descendant. Gilad's daughter could be assumed to be immortal like him due to serving another house as well, so I didn't question it at the time.

But if it is a trait that can be passed down, then maybe the immortality is just from the Boon and having that makes that family a desired resource for the Gods of the Houses to choose from in order to have champions that are better or longer lived than the other Gods can possess? Then why does he age when he doesn't serve? A 'curse' from the Gods? Slowing down or negating the Boon efect as punishment? Or could it be psycosomatic. He thinks that he should age due to guilt and therefore does? Arrrgh! It all doesn't make sense. It's one thing to have mysteries and unknowns for a character (i.e. Bloodshot), but at least try to be internally consistant. What they seem to need is a character bible where all this is spelled out and decided on in advance. It seems like they're making it up as they go along, and that leads to the need for sweeping retcons later which is down the bad path where Marvel & DC reign as monarchs of the land of the constantly rebooted story continuity.

[Aomalle27]

How will you know if it gets better if you drop it? I agree this title has me confused, first arc was uneven to say the least. No resolution , no cliffhanger, no point to it, maybe some things will tie in better with this arc. I am amused at the Prince Valiant homage vibe I'm getting from this arc. The art is very reminiscent of said title, as is the story telling. Wonder if that's intentional. Not too impressed with this 4001, but perhaps what awaits beyond the inner wall will get me vested in this title. Meanwhile I'll have happy thoughts about Rai and his upcoming adventures

[BugsySig]

One thing that struck me in the interview Matt Kindt did on Rai is he talked about introducing EW into 4001 because he would still be alive. His comment seemed off though because 4001 and EW are already being introduced here...maybe the alternate future theory isn't so far off. I wouldn't like it much as I always liked that VALIANTs future was VALIANTs future and that was that.

[bygranddesign]

One thing that struck me in the interview Matt Kindt did on Rai is he talked about introducing EW into 4001 because he would still be alive. His comment seemed off though because 4001 and EW are already being introduced here...maybe the alternate future theory isn't so far off. I wouldn't like it much as I always liked that VALIANTs future was VALIANTs future and that was that.

Yep I noticed that too in the interview - its as if Matt didn't realize the current EW arc was happening

[Brother Darque]

so is his left arm robotic or not?

Nope, that is just armor. His signature look has always been to have some sort of extra "flair" on his left arm.

but it looks like in some scenes it's robotic and in other's it's human.

[AnthonyF]

I'd hate to be the only dark cloud in the thread but I didn't think it was up to par with the rest of the Valiant titles. The story and art seemed rushed to me and the whole arc feels very generic-post apolocalyptic stuff we've seen a dozen times over; just with an immortal this time. It's been very clunky; a quick unremarkable read, and so far it has very little to do with what came before. I'm considering dropping the title until it gets better.

I'm feeling similar, but giving it one more issue. The teasers gave off an Old man Logan vibe, but these issues aren't close. Below average read, EW is coming off like a second tier title. It's complete lack of tie in to the Harby, Unity, XO, (Rai!) universe, makes the decision easier.

[kjjohanson]

I'd hate to be the only dark cloud in the thread but I didn't think it was up to par with the rest of the Valiant titles. The story and art seemed rushed to me and the whole arc feels very generic-post apolocalyptic stuff we've seen a dozen times over; just with an immortal this time. It's been very clunky; a quick unremarkable read, and so far it has very little to do with what came before. I'm considering dropping the title until it gets better.

I'm feeling similar, but giving it one more issue. The teasers gave off an Old man Logan vibe, but these issues aren't close. Below average read, EW is coming off like a second tier title. It's complete lack of tie in to the Harby, Unity, XO, (Rai!) universe, makes the decision easier.

Considering that Rai will be starting at about the time this arc is wrapping up, there may be some tie in to come. Probably makes sense to give it to the end of the arc at least.

[SJS4]

I'd hate to be the only dark cloud in the thread but I didn't think it was up to par with the rest of the Valiant titles. The story and art seemed rushed to me and the whole arc feels very generic-post apolocalyptic stuff we've seen a dozen times over; just with an immortal this time. It's been very clunky; a quick unremarkable read, and so far it has very little to do with what came before. I'm considering dropping the title until it gets better.

I'm feeling similar, but giving it one more issue. The teasers gave off an Old man Logan vibe, but these issues aren't close. Below average read, EW is coming off like a second tier title. It's complete lack of tie in to the Harby, Unity, XO, (Rai!) universe, makes the decision easier.

To each their own of course, but i have to admit that, to me, criticizing a title because its not the type of story you expected is odd, but i actually see it a lot here. Never understood that type of mindset. Generally speaking i just take the stories as they are presented and decide whether i like them or not. Not liking something because it doesn't fit a preconceived notion seems like you would hurt your own enjoyment.

That being said, if you just think its an uninteresting (or below average) story, nothing to say about that. I am enjoying this arc quite a bit, but mainly because of the interaction between Gilad and Caroline. I don't feel like enough of the story has been told yet to say whether it was below, above, or just average.

[Baramos]

I feel like I read a different comic than a lot of people here. The story is...fine. I feel it's an improvement on the original story arc. Still not great plotting, per se, but the overall arc seems like its shaping up to end up interesting.

But the art? Each individual panel is pretty good (although the angle of lines seems distorted frequently, like the artist can't quite get the depth perception of the panel right), but my goodness the action was terribly hard to follow. It was just a confusing mish-mash to me. I got that he killed The Boss--but keeping anything straight within the actual fight seemed impossible.

This remains at the bottom of the Valiant list in my opinion. I suppose something has to reside there, but still.

[jmatt]

...but my goodness the action was terribly hard to follow. It was just a confusing mish-mash to me. I got that he killed The Boss--but keeping anything straight within the actual fight seemed impossible.

Yeah, the action was kind of on Fast Forward but apparently Pak needed to kind of "summarize" the action so he could have enough panels to have the issue end where the plotting needed it to be.

[kjjohanson]

...but my goodness the action was terribly hard to follow. It was just a confusing mish-mash to me. I got that he killed The Boss--but keeping anything straight within the actual fight seemed impossible.

Yeah, the action was kind of on Fast Forward but apparently Pak needed to kind of "summarize" the action so he could have enough panels to have the issue end where the plotting needed it to be.

I'm not a huge fan of drawn out fight scenes. Unless there's going to be some amazing revelation of a character using powers in a way they never had before, I really just need to know what the outcome is.