INCURSION #1 of 4 (Valiant Entertainment, release date February 20, 2019) Written by Andy Diggle and Alex Paknadel. Pencils: Doug Braithwaite. Colors: Jose Villarubia & Diego Rodriguez.
The latest threat to planet Earth comes in the form of a brand new character, the Imperatrix Virago, a planet vampire who slowly (or rapidly when she becomes impatient) sucks worlds of their energy until nothing of substance remains. A horde of monsters, cleverly dubbed the Children of Imperatrix Virago, serve her along with a child-like (although older) envoy/scout named Syntilla. Earth is particularly appetizing to Virago, as if she controls the geomancer (whom she is aware of) she’ll benefit from the extra fiber while consuming Earth.
The first line of defense of course is the geomancer (the young female Tama) and her Eternal Warrior bodyguard (Gilad) whom regular readers of Valiant are familiar with.
The horde arrives on Earth in Issue #1 and the preliminary conflict begins with Gilad facing off with the Children while Tama battles Syntilla. A new concept is added to the Valiant Universe, as the Deadside can be used for intergalactic travel, serving as a shortcut between Virago’s husk of a world and Earth.
What made the issue better than average for me was the dichotomy between the forces at work here. Rather than depict them as pure evil versus pure good, both sides have gray aspects. Syntilla is not totally onboard with everything her master espouses. Gilad and Tama see things differently as well, contrasting experience and history with innocence and goodwill towards all lifeforms.
RATING SYSTEM
STORY: It’s a set-up issue, as all #1 issues of mini-series need to be. Given that, the story is interesting enough to come back for more. The main conflict here, a world devourer with plans for Earth, has been done before - most notably with Galactus at Marvel. 2 POINTS
ART: Realistic and engaging. Deserves multiple looks. 2.5 POINTS
COVER: Not boring, but not very enticing. I’ve seen Gilad enraged before. 1 POINT
READ AGAIN? Yes, especially for the interaction between both sets of characters. 1 POINT
RECOMMEND? There’s enough promise here that it’s worth picking up. 1 POINT.
TOTAL RATING: 7.5 POINTS. Above average and worth a look.
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