I was so excited to get the chance to review the Kill All Immortals trade paperback. I’ve heard a lot of positive buzz around this series from friends, as well as strangers, at my local comic shop. Now with Dark Horse releasing a collection of the first five issues, I had no excuse but to dive right in.
Kill All Immortals centers on Eric the Red and his children who have lived for more than a thousand years, lurking in the background of society and manipulating events to their benefit. The secret to the family’s longevity is a central mystery of the series, and I won’t spoil it here, but it was a satisfying, genre-bending twist. Zack Kaplan’s script doesn’t waste any time and delivers the reader right into the action. In just the opening scene, Kaplan is able to convey so much information about Eric the Red and the Asvald family. Their cold ruthlessness is on full display as they stab and slash their way through their foes all in the name of material gain.
The Asvald family empire is threatened when Eric’s daughter Frey and her boyfriend Owen, a journalist, are attacked on a mercy mission in Africa. This sets off a chain of events that will lead the family to a reckoning over their past actions. Kill All Immortals is part family drama and part Quentin Tarantino/John Wick action movie. Kaplan shows us that there is a price to pay for immortality, and it was a lot of fun to watch this family unravel piece by piece. I also applaud Kaplan’s protagonist, Frey, who is a female character with the strength to make hard choices and break free from her destiny. Frey was an easy character to root for and, by the end, we really felt the weight of all that she had sacrificed. I do wish that the series had been given a larger issue count in order to further explore the motivations and backstory of her siblings. A bit more on their personal struggles and mindset would have greatly added to the dramatic confrontation in the finale.
Before I continue with this review, I have to mention the striking covers by Oliver Barrett that make it impossible not to pick up this book and buy it on the spot. They exude the tone and style of this crime family/magical book and really capture the essence of the characters. The interior art of Fico Ossio was also a joy. Ossio adeptly choreographs the graphic action sequences, which are both gripping and easy to follow. He has a great knack for drawing tension in his scenes and emotion in his characters’ faces. There is a great sense of movement in his pencils, as well, that reminds me of Scott Kolins and his work on DC’s The Flash. This may be a tale of immortals, but Ossio’s art grounds the story in our world, expertly letting this saga feel at home as a crime family epic even with the mystical undertones.
Kill All Immortals is a satisfying and thoughtful series that I really enjoyed. Kaplan definitely leaves potential for a sequel that I will be picking up from issue #1. The cliffhanger-like epilogue demands a follow-up, and I hope Dark Horse is able to give us more of the Asvald family in the future. In the meantime, if you haven’t picked up each individual issue of Kill All Immortals, you (like me) no longer have any excuse. Dark Horse has put together a trade paperback that acts as a great introduction into this world and a wonderful showcase for the artwork.
Creative Team: Zach Kaplan (Script), Fico Ossio (Line Art), Thiago Rocha (Colors), Hassan Otsmane-Elhadu (Letters)
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
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