The Immortal Men #5 – James Tynion IV, Writer; Tyler Kirkham, Artist; Arif Prianto, Colorist
Ray – 6/10
Ray: It was revealed this week that this title ends with #6, making The Immortal Men #5 the penultimate issue. In earlier reviews, I complained that this title simply didn’t have the compelling characters needed to lift a dense, cosmic concept like this title. Young lead Caden Park has potential, but he’s lost in a sea of high-concept, low-characterization badasses straight out of the 1990s. There are moments of energy in this issue, such as the bizarre opening segment when Caden’s bodyguard Roderick attempts to get answers from a Build-a-Bear-like black site, and is promptly knocked out by a booby-trapped giant bear. However, aside from that, the issue is almost relentlessly dour. An early segment, picking up shortly after the death of the Immortal Man last issue, focuses on Timber digging a mass grave as Caden finds out that apparently he’s set to become the new Immortal Man. He winds up transformed with something called the Bloodmask, getting his own 1990s-like costume in the process.
A new member of the roster is introduced, named Communion. She keeps track of the lore of the Immortal Men and may or may not be alive, but she’s set to be Caden’s mentor as he adjusts to his new role. This is all pretty boilerplate coming-of-age adventure stuff, but it hasn’t been given the time it needs to grow and develop. As such, we feel as rushed through the story as Caden does. The morbid twist that Caden was to be the host for the Immortal Man’s consciousness is just sort of dropped in, stripping it of any impact. I think the idea of the Immortal Man being ready to exploit Caden is intriguing – it reminds me of the debate of Dumbledore’s many manipulative and shady actions towards Harry – but it needed a lot more time to explore than this. The team launches a quick rescue mission of Reload, and prepares for the final battle next issue. The concept here was good, and the writer certainly is one of DC’s best, but the execution just wasn’t there on this title.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
