When we last left Seven to Eternity, the Mud King and Adam were captives of the Mud King’s estranged pirate son, the Mosak were hot on Adam’s trail, and the Piper had arrived at Skod to free his father in an exposition-heavy issue. This time, we’re treated to a payoff to that slow-building momentum, making room for what comes next with a surprising ending.
Rick Remender once again treats us to an engaging story with fully formed characters, thoughtful dialogue, and wonderful pacing. In such a small amount of time, the story moves forward in such a large way. I was surprised to learn how quickly it all ended. It all has to do with how Remender is able to create his characters and the complex situations we’re presented with.
Nothing in this issue seems to come as a shock or surprise. There is some exposition and the Piper arrives to rain involuntary suicide bombers on a floating city while Adam tries to prevent the mass murder of his captors and keep the Mud King safe. Adam remains one of the most relatable characters in what may be all of comic history, given his struggle to do the right thing in the face of saving his family and live through the ordeal to see them happy and free. Adam’s decisions are, again, put to question here. The lines between good and bad are so blurred now that it’s beginning to look a lot more complex. Decisions aren’t made out of a choice of doing what’s good, but out of personal necessity. We see this through Volmer, the “failure” as Garil’s calls him. He absolutely despises his father and for good reason. He lost his wife to him and his ability to touch the ground. (It makes sense in the issue.) In any other story, we would be viewing him as a rogue-like antihero, fighting for the safety of his people, but not so much here. Here, he’s willing to work with his father in order to ease the hardships of the people he leads. It’s the same thing with Adam; we can easily say that because he’s the protagonist, as everything he does is for the good of all living beings by deposing a tyrant. But, what he’s doing is mainly out of selfishness and personal pride. He’s trying to not just be a shadow of his father and be his own man, making his own decisions.
If it wasn’t for artist Jerome Opena, I don’t think this series could do exactly what it does. Opena opens the world up so much, and each new character is given a distinct design and is fully thought out. Every page is littered with detail and yet it’s not stuffed to the brim.
Going back to the story, though, it’s interesting to see what’s going to happen. That ending wasn’t necessarily a twist, but it wasn’t expected either. If anything, these next few issues are going to start answering a lot of questions that we may not have thought about answering. In just 12 issues, Remender has created a world so rich and full of complex and amazing characters that are on par with those of Tolkien’s magnum opus. Seven to Eternity #12 continues to push the story forward, paying off the exposition-heavy, yet still fantastic, previous issue while still setting us up for more down the line.
Creative Team: Rick Remender (writer), Jerome Opena (illustrator), Matt Hollingsworth (colorist), Rus Wooton (letters), Sebastion Girner (editor)
Publisher: Image Comics
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