Seven To Eternity(versión en inglés)

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I'll stop dancing about it: this is a bleak ending to the series. It choreographed this direction pretty clearly long in advance, but it's still kind of breathtaking on how dire the story is at its end. It's a little too epic in execution to be considered grimdark proper, but Adam Osidis is absolutely a grimdark protagonist. The story, in that sense, is about masculinity and the banality--or maybe pettiness--of evil. The actions of others and Adam's father's pride clearly traumatized Adam, and this story is the slow unfolding of his desire to protect ultimately himself at the cost of all else. And "all else" is more literally everything than I'd usually mean it. Remender has created a very thorough fantasy world to essentially make a point about toxic masculinity; Adam shares a lot with Walter White. I enjoyed it, though I think it maybe didn't quite need to draw out the point so much.

While the literal material itself is outstanding, it is the publication schedule that has hugely affected my reception towards Seven to Eternity. Readers have waited for so long just to see the end of the series. I have almost lost my interest reading the series. Tl;dr: if you can bear feeling dragged by detours once in a while, this story delivers and the art in Seven to Eternity is the at the pinnacle! I firmly believe that the right is far worse in this regard than the left, but let’s be honest, this is something everyone on all sides is guilty of. And that’s what gives this story it’s sting: it’s dark and cynical, yes, but it’s also all too often correct. In Seven to Eternity Volume 4, Adam and Garils Sulm, the infamous Mud King, find their journey’s end at the fabled Springs of Zhal. The Springs are the only thing that can cure Adam’s fatal affliction; a promise Garils is upholding after making a deal with Adam. But it sounds too easy to be true. Sure enough, to enter the Springs, Adam is forced to confront his entire reason for living. But will he be able to face the truth? Will all of Adam’s sacrifices be for not after this long, tumultuous journey?As I think about this book, I can’t help but compare it toSaga, by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples. In my opinion, I think this book is at or near the same level of excellence. Both stories throw readers into large, complex, actually living worlds. Both stories are about family and responsibility and sacrifice.”

we’re left to ponder whether Remender is crafting a direct stand-in for Donald Trump or merely a manifestation of the cauldron of anger and fear that led to his troubling ascent. Either way, the series can’t be read without the pall of the previous year and the four… years to come hanging over the high-fantasy narrative... And so we come to admire the admire the villain, yet despise the ostensible hero. That alone is quite a feat of writing.The world building is minimal which isn’t a bad thing so the book can solely focus on its narrative but I feel we could have gotten a bit more than we did as this whole story is one big road trip moving from place to place and seeing civilisation after civilisation you can’t help but want to learn more. Seven to Eternity was a nice surprise. Beautifully illustrated, it tells a dark tale of a strange world. The Mud King is, above all, driven. To achieve his objective, the Mud King creates a scenario where his beloved daughter Penelope, trying to rescue him, could be slain? (We as readers do not much sympathise with Penelope – she is a ruthless monster wearing the mask of a creepy doll – but the Mud King grieves for her passing.) Later, he allows himself to be blinded – not an enormous impediment to someone who can see through the eyes of any person who has accepted his bargain, but still, a physical diminishment. Why? The Seven come to realise that the Mud King has his own agenda, and even while he is caged, they are his pawns. Seven to Eternity Volume 4is a wonderful end to this fantastical, beautiful series. Adam’s journey finally comes to a close, and while it doesn’t finish how I would have expected, it will leave readers to ruminate on how Adam got here, why, and perhaps what we can take away from his journey. It’s bittersweet and poignant but at the same time impactful. This has been a wonderful series to follow, and I implore everyone to give this series a try. Not as great as the previous volume, yet the Springs of Zhal delivers a great epilogue to a story that sadly doesn't have the original number of avid readers during the time when the first issue was published five years ago.

The artwork is truly well done. But it is the story and the complex plots that intertwine the stories of all the characters. The conflicts are done well and are a believable basis for ill will. It is a complex story and as you read you realize nothing in this plot is easy. By the end I was wondering who the good guys were. The God of Whispers is an excellent and complex character. Eschewing brute force he relies on exploiting inner frailties. The bargain he offers is interesting as it changes from person to person. He is truly insidious and Remender does a great job with the individual characters.

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I would be remiss to not mention the art by Jerome Opena. I didn't think he could get any better than he already was, but man, he gets better every time. This volume has some great visuals in it, and its all handled masterfully by Opena and the rest of the art crew. I gave a book an extra star just because of the art. Remender lists famed series like “Dune” and “Lord of the Rings” as direct inspiration for this mashup of sci-fi and fantasy and it shows. There are starships, dynasties, and men destined for the throne while villains sit upon it. With its Western themes, castles, futuristic technology, and bizarre creatures in these ‘blasted lands,’ I can’t help but be directly reminded of Stephen King’s magnum opus, “The Dark Tower.” While he has never been quoted in saying that this book exists because of that series, I can’t imagine it would without it.”

Seven to Eternity, thanks to Jerome Opeña's undeniably great artwork also has the potential of being grand and beautiful. So I have very high hopes for Remender that he will utilize whatever stories the world of Zhal has into something worth reading and a comic series that is memorable and timeless. Pretty high expectations? Yes actually, because the first four issues of the series are consistently good. The entire Seven to Eternity epic. The God of Whispers has spread an omnipresent paranoia to every corner of the kingdom of Zhal; his spies hide in every hall spreading mistrust and fear. Adam Osidis, a dying knight from a disgraced house, must choose either to join a hopeless band of magic users in their desperate bid to rid their world of the evil god, or to accept the god’s promise to give him everything his heart desires. Great fantasy often couples escapism with righteous underpinnings: resist the allure of easy solutions, refuse to compromise your morals, never submit to the iron fist of a corrupt leader. As a country, we failed to internalize these lessons. As a protagonist, Adam Osidis may yet succeed. Draw a straight line from Vietnam through two terms of Dubya to the ascent of Trump, and the power of art to affect social change remains as specious as ever. There are, no doubt, readers ofSeven to Eternitywho will miss even the most obvious political references the book lobs their way.“ I have reread all the way from issue one to prepare myself for the last volume. Seven to Eternity is a wild ride that explores themes of choice (and the illusion of having one), true desires, and the great lengths and risks one is willing to take for such desires to come into fruition. That, and the ridiculously good artwork by Jerome Opena makes Seven to Eternity a memorable read and an almost instant classic.

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And the darkest thing? It’s that the book’s version of Sauron/Thanos/Apocalypse is *right*. He has the people’s number and he calls them on it. He tells the protagonist that people are confused by complicated ideas, so they don’t trust them. People prefer things to be simple. How often do we see that playing out in our world? Only every day.