Fallen World #1 (of 5) - Valiant Entertainment
Written by DAN ABNETT
Art by ADAM POLLINA
Colors by ULISES ARREOLA
Letters by JEFF POWELL
Cover by JONBOY MEYERS
Writing major arcs that cross over your entire publishing line is hard. It has to make sense for the timeline, you have to stay true to the characters and readers have to feel like the story will have a major lasting impact. Despite all these difficulties, Valiant has had a great amount of success with these stories in the past. So when the futuristic sci-fi crossover, Fallen World, was announced I knew I couldn't pass it up. The book doesn't come out until May 1st, but how about we take an early look inside?
As you can probably tell by the cover, Rai is a huge part of this story. You might remember this cyborg samurai from one of Valiant's previous future crossovers. In this case, the year is 4002 and Rai has a lot on his plate. There isn't much that I can tell you without spoiling anything, but I can say that he makes a major decision that effects each and ever person around him. The fate of humanity itself is literally at stake, after a catastrophic event that results from this decision. Rai is left to wonder if he did the right thing and even try to find his own humanity. He is not the only Valiant hero that we meet in this story. Bloodshot is also a part of this, and he really has his hands full as protector of...well...everyone. There is another hero that will be a part of the story, but I will not reveal who that is since they are not a part of the book's synopsis released by Valiant. I will say that this person being around during this time period makes plenty of sense, so if you know Valiant, you won't be surprised to see them. Another action by one of these heroes leads them to all converge on one particular spot. When they arrive it isn't exactly a warm welcome, and the end result could be disastrous.
One of the things that made this such an interesting read is that, we get to see fairly instant consequences to the actions of the heroes. In two specific parts of this story, we get to see results that we would normally see dragged out for an issue or two. Given that this is only a five issue arc, there was no time to waste, and Abnett executed that perfectly. I wouldn't really describe this as post apocalyptic, even though it might seem that way. To me it's almost like the story of an ancient dynasty, that just happens to be taking place in the future. Dynasties fall, and others are born, and that's what this feels more like to me. Then you throw in some other era appropriate heroes, and you've got quite the intriguing combination. I really like the different look that Pollina and company gave to Rai in this book, as well. Things are a bit different from the other times that we have seen him, and the way he is presented her was spot on. Beyond that, there are a lot of different sci-fi elements at work here with a lot of different stages to set. The strength of the art in this book really is in those different setting, which I think really helped drive the story forward and help the reader keep track of what was going on. This seems like just the right kind of story for Abnett's Valiant debut. I'm curious to see what else that this story may bring.
RATING: PULL / BUY