Reborn is published by Image Comics. It is written by Mark Millar (The Ultimates, Wanted, Kick-Ass) with art by Greg Capullo (Spawn, Angela, New 52 Batman).
Reborn is a sci-fi/fantasy story that is meant to answer one question: where do you go when you die? But the answer isn't as simple as Heaven or Hell. You go somewhere else. Somewhere that there's a war brewing. Somewhere you have to fight to survive, because what happens if you die again after you've already died? It's the place everyone goes. Everyone. The good and the bad. Something Bonnie Black is going to figure out the hard way.
WARNING THIS REVIEW WILL NOW CONTAIN SPOILERS: Read at your own risk!
Ok. So we begin with the death of a random person, they might not be random later, but for now they're random. When they wake up, a woman is there. A woman who shows them what's behind the bushes. A massive war between people and creature of myth. Why is this happening? What is happening? We are just as lost as the person who died.
Then we cut to the present where we are introduced to Bonnie Black, an elderly woman, living in a nursing home. She narrates us her life, he totally normal, average person life. She has a stroke, her life flashes before her eyes and then suddenly we're back in the world of chaos and war. Sorcery, goblins, zombies, dragons, all the stuff you want in a fantastical fantasy world. Oh, and spaceships with lasers. Nice little touch of sci-fi in my opinion.
Pros:
I really enjoyed this first issue. We are shown the two sides, our real world, and this new world where we go when we die. I really liked it because it makes it seem like myths are real. The stories we read are possible because there is another world that exists, rather than the generic heaven vs. hell approach. The story flows together, its sequential. It does cut between the two worlds, but it does so in a way that blend together. You don't feel like you're being jerked all over the place, you're transitioned. The art is phenomenal. It's nothing less than what you'd expect from Greg Capullo. He had a lot on his plate with this one too, creating a fantasy world that also has futuristic elements isn't easy. All the people, all the creature, the terrain, the foliage! It's a lot for one person to draw, but Capullo definitely rose to the occasion.
Cons:
There's a lot to process. That's not a bad thing, the information is well told, there's just a lot of it. So you have to be patient and do some run of the mill reading to fill in some blanks in information. It's all relevant though. When Bonnie dies and then wakes up, she's wearing this sleek white suit with a cape and a sweet looking helmet. Everyone else looks like peasants who found some used armor and donned it far the war. I understand they've been there for a while, but even the guy in the intro who wakes up just has generic medieval style clothes.
Overall Score: 9 / 10
I have some minor complaints, but ultimately the story was great, the art was gorgeous, you really feel immersed in the world just like the characters. I'm super excited for issue 2 already! So check out your local comic store or get a digital copy online, whatever it is you do. Just make sure you read it!
