REVIEW: UNITY #1

Unity #1 is the beginning of Valiant’s first super powered team-up book and their first mission is to go after the single most dangerous man in the universe. Since the beginning of the resurgence of Valiant they have been doing their due diligence in connecting many of their characters across all their titles. The release of Unity is the fruit of that labor and it works spectacularly well. For longtime readers of Valiant this is a treat and for a newbie this is the point where you need to jump on like your life depended on it.

The set-up is a thread that has run mainly through X-O Manowar and Harbinger with four main players. Aric of Dacia, aka, X-O Manowar, Toyo Harada of the Harbinger Foundation, Gilad, the Eternal Warrior and Ninjak. Aric, after thousands of years of enslavement by an alien race, has settled into Romania to reclaim his homeland all hell has broken loose. The Russian army led the initial assault against Aric and to say their failure was epic would be an understatement. Now Toyo Harada is stepping up to the plate with Gilad as his main advisor. A master strategist who finds immediate fault with Harada’s plan and his team. Harada also enlists the services of Ninjak for a stealth assault against Aric alien ship.

Writer Matt Kindt has taken all the history of these characters and distilled it into an action-packed super powered ride. He is able to satisfy the reader in the know and those who might not know anything going in. He is able to keep all the players clearly defined and concise and starts the book off with some well thought out exposition from the point-of-view of a photojournalist and her witness to the initial battle between Aric and the Russian army. Giving the reader a great jumping on point to the story.

Doug Braithwaite’s art is in top form. Kindt gives him plenty to work with and various settings in which Braithwaite can stretch his skills. The action and splashes are bold and powerful but still has the subtlety to add mini-flashback sequences referencing Harada’s and Gilad’s history with war which fill out the story and characters nicely. His art is a perfect match for Kindt’s complex and well-planned script.

Once Harada’s initial Unity strike team hits Aric the fallout that results will have you hooked. X-O’s power is on full display and while his actions on reclaiming his land are incomprehensible and misguided by modern civilization standards, his motives are purely honorable. It’s rare in a story where there is no clear villain or hero and that’s where Valiant raises the bar in comics and makes this a joy to read.

Valiant has done it again and added to their already impressive stable of books with Unity. This is a new kind of team book and brings a diverse and complex group from Valiant’s Universe to readers who are looking for something fresh in the world of comics. This is a great read with a bright future. If you needed a reason to pick up a Valiant title the Unity is it. Once you read this you’ll want to go back and see what you’ve been missing.