Eternal Warrior #6 takes a eerie new turn as Gilad and his granddaughter Caroline make their way to Big Town. What they encounter inside the fortress like walls will be enough to force Gilad to save his granddaughter all while saving all of Big Town from ultimate evil.

Official description from VALIANT:
Long live the Eternal Emperor! The first glimpse into the Valiant Universe in the year 4001 continues here! The Eternal Emperor rules over a blighted landscape, the last hope of a desperate band of survivors. When an enigmatic force appears and threatens to destroy the last remnants of his people, he faces a horrific choice: travel an irradiated landscape in search to kidnap an innocent, or see his people destroyed. Welcome to the Valiant Universe of 4001.

Writer Greg Pak has developed an intriguing set of circumstances for Gilad in the year 4001. With a heavy heart, the Eternal Emperor has had to abandon his people after issue #5’s deadly nuclear explosion and the discovery of nuclear powered machines. He hopes that Caroline has inherited some of his immortality that she may survive the current nuclear fallout and irradiated landscape and arriving at Big Town exposes an evil Gilad hoped to never see again at the hands of the uber-creepy “The Boss.”

Pak creates a series of no-win situations for Gilad and it becomes a lesser of two-evil situation. While wanting to maintain a low profile and play peacekeeper Pak forces him to make the difficult choices. Gilad’s connection to his granddaughter is touching and sincere but any threat to her survival will immediately bring out the warrior in Gilad. Caroline is also the one ultimately calling the shots as to the course of their actions and it’s entertaining to see the evils of the world through her eyes.

What is discovered by the end makes Gilad want to wash his hands of Big Town and all those who inhabit it but once again it is Caroline and her safety that ultimately forces Gilad into another choice he’d rather not make. Gilad is a true hero but in the new world of 4001 he is a reluctant one. Pak knows what makes Gilad tick and his development of his character and his reactions in this landscape of nuclear threats and tyrants rings true. He is a warrior and an emperor but first an foremost a loving grandfather.

Robert Gill’s art is fantastic. His flow of action and dramatic use of perspective makes every action bold and dynamic. His design of “The Boss” is so creepy and twisted that I would have liked to see more of this villain throughout the story simply due to the very first look readers get of him at the beginning. When Gilad gets into warrior mode Bernard holds nothing back in the action or violence that follows.

There was a part of me that was apprehensive when the Eternal Warrior title was going to jump forward into the distant future but now two issues in has sold me on the concept. Pak is able to show Gilad in a new light in 4001 and revels the layers that make up the heart of the character. The Eternal Warrior is a great read and Pak has made him a more richly deep character while maintaining his warrior aggression. The future landscape feels very much like the early years in Gilad’s life and for longtime readers an easy transition into the year 4001. This is a great time to pick up this title and a great addition to the Valiant line. Great heart, great emotion and great action!

5/5