Comic Info
Comic Name: Book of Death
Publisher: Valiant Comics
Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Robert Gill/Doug Braithwaite
# of Issues: 4
Release Date: 2015
Book of Death #1 Variant
Reprints Book of Death #1-4 (July 2015-October 2015). The Geomancer has become a problem for Unity. On the run with Gilad the Eternal Warrior, Unity suspects the young Geomancer is losing control of her powers as a path of death and destruction follows them. Gilad knows the truth. Tama is being hunted by an unknown force and The Book of the Geomancer foretells the fall of humanity if the force isn’t stopped. A second Geomancer has arisen and is being used in a nefarious plot by an unseen enemy…and the Eternal Warrior could be the world’s only hope.
Written by Robert Venditti, Book of Death is a four issue Valiant Comics limited series. The volume contains art by Robert Gill and Doug Braithwaite and issues in the volume were also collected as part of the Book of Death—Deluxe Edition.
Valiant Comics was a fun little experiment for me. I didn’t read a lot of Valiant on its first run (the early issues were too expensive to hunt down and individual issues didn’t really tell the story). I started Valiant with its second run (or third run if you are counting the Acclaim period as the first rebirth). Book of Death was kind of at the end of the issues I had been reading, and I never got around to reading the story until now.
The series is a pretty solid read. Unlike a lot of event series with lots of spin-off titles (Book of Death had four one-shots and a Legend of the Geomancers four issue series), you didn’t need to read the spin-off to read and enjoy Book of Death. The series actually kind of reads like the Wolverine movie Logan with the Eternal Warrior trying to protect a special child from forces that threaten to destroy her…with a shocking end.
Book of Death #4 Variant
The only fault I would say I have with Book of Death is that it is rather short without the associated material. I was enjoying the story and art for the comic, but it felt like it ended a bit too quickly. I don’t feel like I missed any of the story, but it feels like the story could have been five or six issues to really flesh out the battle and make the ending even more significant.
I like Gilad. With both X-O Manowar and the Eternal Warrior, Valiant made some creative characters in the 1990s. A warrior who has fought in every war (kind of a Vandal Savage for the side of good) is an interesting idea. Book of Death kind of gives an ending to character (though comic books generally don’t work that way).
Book of Death could arguably be called Eternal Warrior: Book of Death because it really feels like an Eternal Warrior storyline. If you don’t read Valiant Comics, the title won’t mean much to you nor will most of the characters that show-up. Though it isn’t a jumping-on book, the story does feel rather independent and can be enjoyed by those familiar with the Valiant line…in fact, I would recommend it in that sense. It is a fun, solid Valiant title that delivers even if it feels a bit abrupt.
