Review: Reaver #3
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer:Â Â Justin Jordan
Artists:Â Â Â Alex Guimaraes and Rebekah Isaacs
Colors:Â Alex Guimaraes
Letters:Â Clayton Cowles
Reviewed by: Carl Bryan
Summary
“You should speak more carefully. I have been nice. Not cut off any parts. ” – Rekela indicating to her transport to not curse in her presence.
The continent of Madaras once promised a new start for settlers, but 200 years after its discovery, the war rages on. Deep within this savage and untamed land, a darkness builds at that must be stopped at all costs. To do so, the Imperials assemble six of its most despicable prisoners—a turncoat, a skin eater, a sorcerer and his bodyguard, a serial killer, and the Devil’s Son—the only ones who can stop the end of the new world. They are Hell’s Half-Dozen.
Madaras is going to hell, and only Hell’s Half-Dozen can stop it. Their suicide mission brings them to an outpost deep within enemy territory to pull a brazen heist using deception, seduction, and murder—all their most notable skills.
Positives
Justin Jordan has created a Suicide Squad but placed them in medieval times in mythical Madaras. And it works! First of all, Becky Cloonan’s cover art is amazing. And I wish the cover art was the real art inside the book. Issue 1 started a bit slow, but we are immediately plunged into a mission with a whole history to learn. The great thing is that this comic is in its infancy, and we have time. I just wish the framing and the art displaed on the cover was replicated by Rebeccah Isaacs
Madaras is based on North American cirac 1780-1860. You have the Imperials which are a proxy for the British and the Escalene which are a proxy for the French. Justin Jordan is a strong period writer and his background material fills in the gaps as the script gets stronger with each issue.
I am particularly taken with the Rekela character as she is part Harley Quinn with the syntax of Bizarro or Solomon Grundy. She is a rabid fighter and a “skin eater” which is scary. She takes a chunk out of a soldier’s neck and proclaims “Your story is my story. You are memory and song”. Gross, but effective in building a small assassin.
You have an interesting array of characters in Ash, who is a turn coat who aids Imperials in a fight against his people. Breaker is the Devil’s son. Marris, is the mastermind behind the missions and he has a bodyguard named Thes.
This is historical fiction in a fictional land. And it’s rather exciting to see Lord of the Rings meets Games of Throne with a bit of Suicide Squad thrown in.
Negatives
To be so rich in story, the F-bomb is dropped much to much. Not that I should be a moral thermometer for the brutality of the times, but over-peppering a stew makes it less edible. Slow down on the cursing, as they cannot be that frustrated all the time in the mission.
Verdict
This is an interesting book and reminiscent of when you get a time travel where heroes and villains you are familiar with are in a different era. The development of these characters is going to be key in the next several issues, and you should see more script development come about. Jordan’s writing skills are strong, and again, the cover art is studio worthy of Hell’s Half-Dozen. It’s early, so add issues one and two, and plan on getting your hands dirty as this series gets started!
