Reviews

Reborn: Book One by Jonathan Glapion, Greg Capullo, Mark Millar

saphirablue's review

4.0

I really like the idea and the art of this one.

But, it felt a bit rushed and a bit more background/exploration of the world/concept would have been great.

But, I really like it. :)

museoffire's review

3.0

This was a pretty fun quick read that posits the afterlife as a huge and super complicated live action version of Dungeons and Dragons. Still when 78 year old retired school teacher Bonnie Black dies after a stroke and wakes up to find herself not only 25, dressed in super sexy warrior babe attire but also standing next to her long dead father and a Battle Cat sized version of her family dog she's, understandably I thought, a little confused.

Seems Bonnie is the long awaited empress who's going to save wherever the hell it is she's ended up from a giant albino version of Darkness from "Legend" (I love you Tim Curry) and a now human sized version of her long ago pet cat who's super pissed at her and out for revenge because she had him fixed.

This moves all over the damn place and characters jump from one gigantic revelation to another without seeming to even register what would be huge emotionally and psychologically draining trauma's for anyone else. I mean seriously I would have spent the first six issues just getting the woman used to the idea that she's now a weird cross between a Dothraki and Red Sonja rather than plunging her straight into a war but that's just me.

So there isn't a lot of substance here. Its certainly exciting and pretty to look at and it moves like lightening as character relationships change on a dime and Bonnie keeps encountering pieces and people from her old life that have been completely transformed in this bizarre new world she finds herself in.

I think the book might have benefited from just a tad of explanation into what in the hell is going on here. Why in the world is the afterlife an 80's fantasy movie? How the heck is it determined what you end up being in the after life? Why does everyone arrive at different ages? Why are you super conveniently dropped in the exact same spot as more or less everyone you knew in life?

But the authors traded world building and establishing stuff for guns, swords, homicidal eunuch cat generals and lion headed dragon sex.

Don't look at me like that. I didn't write it.

strikingthirteen's review

3.0

I love the artwork a lot more than I love the story. The story in this case is the afterlife is really another battle ground all based around our main character, Bonnie. She meets up with her dad, goes searching for her husband, and meets a whole bunch of other people who were part of her life in really minute ways. It's a bit run of the mill but it's interesting enough to explore the world and keep looking at things.

samhain's review

3.0

Women being friends instead of cat-fighting over a dude? YOU GO MARK MILLAR, TEN FOR YOU MARK MILLAR!

squidbag's review

4.0

Excellent, but the story leaves me with mixed feelings. Millar does heights and depths of human condition better than a lot of people - Starlight vs. Wanted, for example - and you'd need to if you're going to deal with substitutions for Heaven and Hell and even slightly faithfully portray people's reactions to things like finding out your S.O. has moved on, or being reunited with your childhood dog. That said, I feel like the pacing of some of these moments is lacking in terms of reaction time for my sense of realism. The thing is Capullo-tastic in the best way and this big, hardback edition looks fucking epic. Overall, I liked this a lot and am looking forward to the next one.

heavensdark's review

2.0

I really like the world and the story but Bonnie was a flat main character.

eyed's review

3.0

Pretty good story and cool art.