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Eternal Warrior (2013) #2
Eternal Warrior, Volume 2: Eternal Emperor
The coming of...4001 A.D.!
Two thousand years from today, the planet has been transformed by science, technology... and war. The centuries have not been kind to the Earth's own undying warrior, but a battle that could change everything is only just beginning for the Eternal Emperor and the tattered remnants of humanity under his protection. Will this be a new dawn for the age of heroes - or its death knell? And what uncanny confluence of science, myth, and magic has rendered the world - and its own Eternal Warrior - into war-ravaged remnants of their former selves?
The Fist and Steel's battle continues right here as New York Times best-selling writer Greg Pak (Batman/Superman) and rising star Robert Gill build a bridge to the far-flung future of 4001 A.D.
Collecting: Eternal Warrior 5-8
Two thousand years from today, the planet has been transformed by science, technology... and war. The centuries have not been kind to the Earth's own undying warrior, but a battle that could change everything is only just beginning for the Eternal Emperor and the tattered remnants of humanity under his protection. Will this be a new dawn for the age of heroes - or its death knell? And what uncanny confluence of science, myth, and magic has rendered the world - and its own Eternal Warrior - into war-ravaged remnants of their former selves?
The Fist and Steel's battle continues right here as New York Times best-selling writer Greg Pak (Batman/Superman) and rising star Robert Gill build a bridge to the far-flung future of 4001 A.D.
Collecting: Eternal Warrior 5-8
112 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2014
About the author
Greg Pak
1,711 books592 followersGreg Pak is an award-winning Korean American comic book writer and filmmaker currently writing "Lawful" for BOOM and "Sam Wilson: Captain America" (with Evan Narcisse) for Marvel. Pak wrote the "Princess Who Saved Herself" children's book and the “Code Monkey Save World” graphic novel based on the songs of Jonathan Coulton and co-wrote (with Fred Van Lente) the acclaimed “Make Comics Like the Pros” how-to book. Pak's other work includes "Planet Hulk," "Darth Vader," "Mech Cadet Yu," "Ronin Island," "Action Comics," and "Magneto Testament."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
March 2, 2017
Wow. I don't care how many times this exact story is told, it gets me every time.
April 23, 2014
I won’t spoil the second volume of Eternal Warrior for anyone who hasn’t read the first one but I will say that it doesn’t live up to the first volume’s tantalising finale at all. Volume 2 is set in 4001AD and the whole point of doing that, I thought, was because “someone” was supposed to be set free in 2000 years after the events of the first volume so we’d get a showdown between Gilad and that “someone”. And, disappointingly, it doesn’t happen.
In the 41st century technology has been all but erased and everyone lives in huts and farms all day long, entranced at seeing grain pour from a basket, apparently. But of course there are a few bad apples who enslave people using crude robots and live in ramshackle “cities” that look like bad props from ‘90s dystopian future movies. Powering places like these are unstable radioactive power sources which are poisoning everyone. It’s up to Gilad to leave his “empire” of a couple dozen huts and get a cure for his granddaughter (and, grudgingly, the 30 or so others he’s “emperor” of).
I appreciate that Greg Pak’s taken an unconventional route for the second volume by taking the story a couple millennia into the future but I expected at least one of the things he set up in the first book to mean something in the second, rather than none at all! His kids, the various natural groups his family are champions of, and of course that finale - none of that make it into this book so it feels like a completely different series. Basically you don’t need to have read volume 1 to understand volume 2.
Eternal Emperor is a straightforward quest story with Gilad taking out every obstacle in his path without any problems all to accomplish the small goal at the end. At no point did I care much about his quest or about anything that happened along the way, and it felt like neither did Greg Pak. Gone is the great art of Trevor Hairsine and Clayton Crain, replaced with Robert Gill’s uninspiring, rather sparse and unimpressive art, so not even the look of the comic can make up for Pak’s lacking script. There’s not even an enticing cliff-hanger final page like in the first volume!
Eternal Warrior Volume 2 is a total let-down. The main character is like the personification of the book itself: like Gilad as a world-weary old man, the story is totally lacking in any kind of energy or spirit and just plods along predictably and tiresomely until the final page. Just two volumes in and the series has already tanked!
In the 41st century technology has been all but erased and everyone lives in huts and farms all day long, entranced at seeing grain pour from a basket, apparently. But of course there are a few bad apples who enslave people using crude robots and live in ramshackle “cities” that look like bad props from ‘90s dystopian future movies. Powering places like these are unstable radioactive power sources which are poisoning everyone. It’s up to Gilad to leave his “empire” of a couple dozen huts and get a cure for his granddaughter (and, grudgingly, the 30 or so others he’s “emperor” of).
I appreciate that Greg Pak’s taken an unconventional route for the second volume by taking the story a couple millennia into the future but I expected at least one of the things he set up in the first book to mean something in the second, rather than none at all! His kids, the various natural groups his family are champions of, and of course that finale - none of that make it into this book so it feels like a completely different series. Basically you don’t need to have read volume 1 to understand volume 2.
Eternal Emperor is a straightforward quest story with Gilad taking out every obstacle in his path without any problems all to accomplish the small goal at the end. At no point did I care much about his quest or about anything that happened along the way, and it felt like neither did Greg Pak. Gone is the great art of Trevor Hairsine and Clayton Crain, replaced with Robert Gill’s uninspiring, rather sparse and unimpressive art, so not even the look of the comic can make up for Pak’s lacking script. There’s not even an enticing cliff-hanger final page like in the first volume!
Eternal Warrior Volume 2 is a total let-down. The main character is like the personification of the book itself: like Gilad as a world-weary old man, the story is totally lacking in any kind of energy or spirit and just plods along predictably and tiresomely until the final page. Just two volumes in and the series has already tanked!
January 29, 2015
Whoa. Much better than Vol 1. Tons of insight to Gilad and some awesome Gill art. Recommended over vol 1, frankly.
November 5, 2017
The first volume of Eternal Warrior is basically non-canonical at this point, going by his appearances in every other Valiant title, and I think Valiant decided to course correct this title for the final four issues in order to introduce the idea of 4001 AD, which would then springboard a lot more stories, including the 4001 crossover, and the Rai solo series.
This volume sees the Eternal Warrior living in post-apocalyptic times with his granddaughter, and attempting to deal with the resurgence of machines and radiation poisoning, without compromising his already dodgy morals in front of the child. It's a tried and true story, the whole flashforward thing, but it's pretty solidly told, and compelling enough that I read the whole thing in one sitting without getting bored.
The art is also pretty solid. Robert Gill makes his rounds on the Valiant books from what I can tell, and this volume is a good reason why. His faces remind me of André Araujo, but his bodies are much more normally proportioned, and the colours clash nicely with the steel of the robots and the dark browns and oranges of the human settlements.
Nice. Not particularly necessary overall I don't think, but...nice.
This volume sees the Eternal Warrior living in post-apocalyptic times with his granddaughter, and attempting to deal with the resurgence of machines and radiation poisoning, without compromising his already dodgy morals in front of the child. It's a tried and true story, the whole flashforward thing, but it's pretty solidly told, and compelling enough that I read the whole thing in one sitting without getting bored.
The art is also pretty solid. Robert Gill makes his rounds on the Valiant books from what I can tell, and this volume is a good reason why. His faces remind me of André Araujo, but his bodies are much more normally proportioned, and the colours clash nicely with the steel of the robots and the dark browns and oranges of the human settlements.
Nice. Not particularly necessary overall I don't think, but...nice.
February 11, 2019
I liked the idea of this old ruler eternally returning. However, this rendition took a number of fantasy tropes and squashed them together almost randomly. It has an apocalyptic landscape with struggles to defeat radiation. It has a young granddaughter of the emperor with a major role. But the bottled solution, god-in-a-bottle (deux-ex-medicine), was not at all convincing. The granddaughter's love for violence is not at all explained. There are not a whole lot of reasons to want to know anyone in the story. Seems rushed, but these authors often write a lot. However, I did like the lost culture living on an old aircraft carrier in a big pit. That was cool, but there was not enough about life on the carrier, or even how it came to be. Well, I confess that I did buy the book new at a low sale price.
August 7, 2020
Although not boring, it was littered with ridiculous things. These people are building robots and airplanes... but they couldn’t figure out how to make their guns work? Didn’t make any sense. How are all these primitives synthesizing advanced cures for radiation sickness... and yet they can’t achieve an even mildly functioning society?
I don’t think Greg put too much thought into this. It seems rushed.
I will say, I enjoyed the pacing, the action and the characterizations, although I expect later volumes to tie up some loose ends.
All in all, better than the last collection, but still not great.
I don’t think Greg put too much thought into this. It seems rushed.
I will say, I enjoyed the pacing, the action and the characterizations, although I expect later volumes to tie up some loose ends.
All in all, better than the last collection, but still not great.
December 13, 2017
Greg Pak's first run on the Eternal Warrior was interesting, but the turn to the Eternal Emperor is completely different. Jumping to a post-apocalyptic far future, Gilead is released from his duty to the Geomancers and is protecting a small town with a ban on machines. The reference to 4001 seems to call back to the classic Valiant, but it just doesn't quite seem to go anywhere. Robert Gill's art is generally strong and that adds to the feel, but Pak just doesn't seem to know what to do with the setting in a way that makes everything work and using the Eternal Warrior as a Conan meets Magnus Robot Fighter doesn't quite seem to work.
June 9, 2017
Entertaining.
World: The art is okay, the characters have emotions but the mechanical stuff is a bit janky. The world building is basic but serves the story. This is in the distant future and we only get the glimpse of the little pieces that Gilad sees. It's jarring after we find his daughter in the last arc and now we abadone all that world building before to start new.
Story: It's basic and expected. It is a big change from the last arc and I both like and don't like that. It's good that with an immortal character you can go to different eras and have stories there but at the same time abandoning the work and characters done last arc for this seemed like a waste. As I said the story is basic and expected and the beats are all there, it was a popcorn book.
Characters: Gilad is interesting but we don't really get a lot of time digging deep into the character. Having Caroline there (we have no idea where she comes from) was a nice sounding board for Gilad and served the story well. The villain and the rest of the cast were just throwaways and cliches found in any post apocalyptic story.
It was entertaining but forgettable.
Onward to the next book!
World: The art is okay, the characters have emotions but the mechanical stuff is a bit janky. The world building is basic but serves the story. This is in the distant future and we only get the glimpse of the little pieces that Gilad sees. It's jarring after we find his daughter in the last arc and now we abadone all that world building before to start new.
Story: It's basic and expected. It is a big change from the last arc and I both like and don't like that. It's good that with an immortal character you can go to different eras and have stories there but at the same time abandoning the work and characters done last arc for this seemed like a waste. As I said the story is basic and expected and the beats are all there, it was a popcorn book.
Characters: Gilad is interesting but we don't really get a lot of time digging deep into the character. Having Caroline there (we have no idea where she comes from) was a nice sounding board for Gilad and served the story well. The villain and the rest of the cast were just throwaways and cliches found in any post apocalyptic story.
It was entertaining but forgettable.
Onward to the next book!
December 30, 2022
The art is way better than in vol. 1. Writing just as flat.
May 12, 2017
I was expecting a continuation of the story from Volume 1, but instead got a somewhat nuanced, self-contained story from the 4001 AD crossover. That's fine. I think I actually liked this story better as an older Gilad has to see if he can find justice or hope for the hunter-gatherers he was living with in the far future when they get irradiated by a weird robot. All he has for company is a young granddaughter, but finding the real culprit may be more complicated than he thought.
January 9, 2021
Greg Pak tells the lightning quick tale of the future life of Gilad. The story is fine, better than that really. Its just odd that this is the second volume of a series that abruptly ends. It doesn't continue the story from the first arc nor touch on Gilad's involvement with Unity. This is such a bizarre editorial choice. The artwork was serviceable but unspectacular. Overall, a good read that flew by.
November 29, 2023
I guess this is a sequel to "Sword of the Wild"? It's still Gilad, but there's no mention of the previous volumes events. The device of him teaching his granddaughter gives this series a real heart that "Sword of the Wild" didn't have.
November 27, 2017
This is a solid if unspectacular read. I really enjoyed the future Gial. He was a much calmer more thoughtful Eternal Warrior.
August 28, 2018
Another trite, predictable and absolutely forgettable story by Greg Pak. Gill's beyond average art definitely wasn't of any help.
November 21, 2018
Me han gustado mucho este segundo arco con ese rollo post-apocalíptico. Buenas historias de introducción al personaje.
April 25, 2020
Grade: Very Good
Slight, but enjoyable tale, of Gilad (and the feisty Caroline) in the future.
Slight, but enjoyable tale, of Gilad (and the feisty Caroline) in the future.
December 24, 2022
Una historia que continua del volumen anterior pero que se va por otro camino completamente distinto dejando de lado el gran enfrentamiento que estaba por suceder. Entretenida pero sin más...
January 2, 2023
Still not getting enough story to keep reading this series. Calling it quits now.
July 11, 2023
A fast paced volume but a tad underwhelming.
June 21, 2017
A nice self contained story that is in stark contrast to the Rai books of the 4001 timeline. Interested to see if there is more of The Eternal Warrior's granddaughter Caroline in future books - loved the tease of impending doom she's likely to cause.
August 25, 2017
For me, volume two of this series is much more enjoyable than volume one. It takes a different approach by jumping 2,000 years into the future. The Earth is broken and Gilad Anni-Padda is caretaker of one of the few groups of humans still struggling to survive.
What I liked best about this book is the relationship between Gilad and his granddaughter. As he teaches her about the world outside their confined home, the reader gets to learn about what happened that brought the world to this point. Part of that discovery includes forgotten bits of technology (and why some of it has been forgotten). While this is quite a departure from the previous volume, it connected things back to the family issues brought up in the first arc.
I enjoyed the art a lot. There is a lot of mixing technology with nature. Some of the set pieces are just stunning. Given some of the events that are hinted at, the Earth is in much better shape than expected. I like this take on the Eternal Warrior and want to see more from him in this time. There are plenty of opportunities to fill in the gaps too.
What I liked best about this book is the relationship between Gilad and his granddaughter. As he teaches her about the world outside their confined home, the reader gets to learn about what happened that brought the world to this point. Part of that discovery includes forgotten bits of technology (and why some of it has been forgotten). While this is quite a departure from the previous volume, it connected things back to the family issues brought up in the first arc.
I enjoyed the art a lot. There is a lot of mixing technology with nature. Some of the set pieces are just stunning. Given some of the events that are hinted at, the Earth is in much better shape than expected. I like this take on the Eternal Warrior and want to see more from him in this time. There are plenty of opportunities to fill in the gaps too.
October 25, 2014
Eternal Emperor is a nice little stroke of genius that could only occur in the Valiant U. Not unlike Marvel's (recently deceased) Wolverine, Eternal Warrior is the kind of guy who's everywhere at once. He's hanging out with Unity, dropping in on Archer and Armstrong, reminiscing with Aric of Dacia, and still the star of his own ongoing. Greg Pak throws a curve-ball at us though, by letting his solo ongoing nosedive 2000 years into the future. Gilad is now the Eternal Emperor, a world-weary old man serving the Earth with his sword, dispensing grandfatherly advice on every page.
The new setup gives us Gilad's granddaughter Caroline, who steals the show with her cunning and innocence. The interactions and dialogue between the two leads is gorgeous and endlessly quotable. Ramshackle robots and radiation poisoning run amok, leaving the two questing for a cure, all the while Gilad educates Caroline in the art of war. Spinning a major property into a new genre is a bold move, and I think it pays off here, especially as a mirror to the excellent Rai ongoing. The setup of volume one is largely ignored, which is frustrating, but its clear that the first volume's events are not forgotten, only further delayed. Some of the color blending looks a little off, and the issues are the Valiant standard brisk pace, but Eternal Warrior ends up being a fun, character driven, post-apocalyptic tale that does something new and interesting with a solid IP.
The new setup gives us Gilad's granddaughter Caroline, who steals the show with her cunning and innocence. The interactions and dialogue between the two leads is gorgeous and endlessly quotable. Ramshackle robots and radiation poisoning run amok, leaving the two questing for a cure, all the while Gilad educates Caroline in the art of war. Spinning a major property into a new genre is a bold move, and I think it pays off here, especially as a mirror to the excellent Rai ongoing. The setup of volume one is largely ignored, which is frustrating, but its clear that the first volume's events are not forgotten, only further delayed. Some of the color blending looks a little off, and the issues are the Valiant standard brisk pace, but Eternal Warrior ends up being a fun, character driven, post-apocalyptic tale that does something new and interesting with a solid IP.
January 11, 2015
I have to hand it to them - after the first volume, I wasn't sure I wanted to continue reading this. But this is a completely separate story from the first volume, and takes things very differently. Instead of modern day, we're two thousand years in the future, post-post-apocalypse, as people live on the earth and the bones of a long-dead society. Gilad, the warrior of the first volume, is now the Eternal Emperor, an immortal who tries to lead the people in peace. But someone is restoring the robots of the past, and Gilad and his granddaughter go to find out who, and stop them. It's a surprisingly strong story, examining not just people's actions, but their motivations, with several switches in expectations. The first volume focused on family in a fairly conventional way; this volume focuses on society in a very unconventional way. I strongly recommend this book, very much complete in itself. You don't need to read the first volume to get this story, and it is worth the read. Especially if you're a fan of Stephen King's Dark Tower series - this shares a lot of similarities with the later books in that series.
April 17, 2015
what i loved most about Valiant in the 90's was how cohesive the univere was. Every book tied into every other, and they all ultimately shared one story. This collection not only departs from the previous volume(what happened to his daughter? where'd his granddaughter come from?) but doesn't seem to relate the other stories recently relaunched in the Valiant universe. I was really hoping for tie-ins to The Valiant mini series. I love how far ahead in the future this volume goes. It's just a great story. full of human understanding. how our need to create tools and automate ultimately reduces down to just making better weapons. And the art. all the simple clean lines and water color(ish) paintings i loved about 90's Valiant and the recent The Valiant are here. i don't think i'm missing much else Eternal Warrior from the newest incarnation of the Valiant universe, but whatever i am, i'll be picking up soon.
February 11, 2021
A flawed but ultimately satisfying story by Greg Pak, we are kicked 2000 years into the future to see how Gilad deals with a post-apocalyptic society rekindling their relationship with technology and nuclear power. It all makes narrative sense, but there are a few "So, they can create robots and nuclear warheads, but they don't know which way to hold a gun? Huh?" moments, and the shifting of the villains provides little satisfaction.
Still, I liked this more than many of the Valiant books, and I hope to see Greg Pak's name on another Valiant title soon.
Still, I liked this more than many of the Valiant books, and I hope to see Greg Pak's name on another Valiant title soon.
September 6, 2016
Volume 1 left a lot of plot threads dangling, none of which are picked up in volume 2. This volume is a stand alone story set in the year 4001. Humanity has been thrust back to the stone age and Gilad is now the leader of a small village. The village is attacked by some mechanical monsters and Gilad discovers a group is digging up war machines from the past. It's a generic story with just OK art.
July 2, 2014
If you're looking for something that ties into the greater Valiant Universe, keep looking (at least, on the surface). This is a fairly by-the-numbers post-apocalypse type story, but the art is very nice and it's a well written narrative. Nothing ground breaking, but a solid book.
February 14, 2017
The first two chapters were really great--and Caroline is a wonderful character--but the end could have been a lot stronger. It sort of felt like there wasn't really a villain, but it needed more chapters for that idea to work more. Still, very fun, great art, and a fast read.
December 20, 2015
la histora se proyecta a 4001 dc perodeja completamente suelto el punto del arco argumental anterior, el arte sigue siendo acorde pero no plantea nada nuevo y llega a cansar con la constante mension del Eternal Warrior
February 23, 2016
3.5 stars? I think the story breezed past a little too briskly, especially how the final conflict resolved (man those are some dumb giant robots), but the more I learn about Gilad and his millennia-spanning journey, the more I like him.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews