Seven to Eternity Volume 1: The God of Whispers

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I love the idea here: what does it mean to hold true to your beliefs in a society/world where no one else does? It's something I can relate to, having strong principles and often times being ridiculed or chastised for adhering to them in the modern world. Remender often takes an idea like this and examines it from a few angles, writing through his analysis as he (what seems like) figures it out for himself in his personal life. I strongly believe that the story itself is solid, with the characters well-written. The character interactions, especially between Garils and Adam Osidis are believable and relatable. The ending isn't something new but very much fitting to the overall message Seven to Eternity wants to convey to its readers. The Best Comedy Movies on Netflix Right Now (November 2023) By Garrett Martin and Paste Staff November 1, 2023 | 2:00pm 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.

Seven to Eternity - Worth it? : r/ImageComics - Reddit Seven to Eternity - Worth it? : r/ImageComics - Reddit

The Best Stand-up Comedy Specials on Netflix By Garrett Martin and Paste Staff November 1, 2023 | 11:30am 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.”An interesting concept but we think this misses the mark and indulges in the politics of the day. The Mud King is charismatic, cunning, and even if he did not have his powers of corruption would have been a formidable player. The God of Whispers is no opportunist con man. If we had to draw a parallel to an American politician, it would be to Teddy Roosevelt: ambitious, mad, and focussed. But, really, it is a long bow to draw to find an analogy between an American politician and a fictional fantasy character who can leech into the souls of those he rules. The Mud King’s driver is complicated and perverse. He wishes to to prove to a dead man that no one is beyond corruption. The dead man is a zealot, Zeb Osidis, someone who scorned the Mud King as flawed and beneath him. Zeb is able to determine who has succumbed to the whispered promise of Garils Sulm, and regards those who have as beneath contempt. To prove that point, the Mud King does worse than corrupt Zeb’s son. Instead, he remakes him as his successor, the one who would unleash ultimate destruction upon the world. A standard Remender reading experience. Phenomenal art with terrific colors and detailed creature designs; wonderfully inventive world-building with a great magic system (particularly love the huge metal-jawed lizardman who can teleport people by swallowing them); and standard issue shoddy, disappointing Remender writing. The story is full of weak characterisations. Remender’s main characters – Adam Osidis and the Mud King – are both one-dimensional. One’s good, the other’s bad, that’s it. The other five “characters” that appear out of nowhere are even less memorable and underdeveloped – I couldn’t tell you their names, let alone their motivations for fighting the Mud King besides him being the villain and that’s what good guys are meant to do! And so we come to admire the admire the villain, yet despise the ostensible hero. That alone is quite a feat of writing.

Seven To Eternity comic | Read Seven To Eternity comic online Seven To Eternity comic | Read Seven To Eternity comic online

Wowzers! For some reason or other, I shit the bed on collecting these single issues as they came out. When I finally decided that I wanted them, they were like a bazillion dollars for first prints. Remender is my favorite comic book writer of all time. I’m used to his writing style. However, StE doesn’t fit quite into my expectations for him. 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. That's about the first two and a half issues. By this final volume, the story is some place else--some place ultimately worth reading, but wow what a place to end it all. Spoilers abound after this.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. Under all the fantasy trappings are some core themes that help ground the book. The question of principles, and when to bend, is constantly on Adam’s mind, as his father’s unwillingness to compromise is largely responsible for his family’s current state. At what point do you stop fighting fights based solely on principle? It’s a struggle many people can relate to, especially when Adam is tempted by an easy solution. The God of Whispers’ abilities to subtly control people, to pull their strings and spread lies, leads to some interesting questions about power and the concept of truth. I can’t help but see some parallels to the currently political landscape. 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. 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.“

SEVEN TO ETERNITY – Buds Art Books SEVEN TO ETERNITY – Buds Art Books

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. All 4 issues presented in this volume were an easy 5 stars for me. From start to finish I was completely taken in and carried along with what was going on. Seven to Eternity is EPIC in scope and I am so down with where this story is going!I have a hard time giving this a actual score, cuz I enjoy parts of it but also feel there are many weak elements. But when I've been unable to enjoy or finish most of Remender's other indie work, the fact that I did finish this and found something to like about it says a lot. The bigger problem is that, while you get to see a lot of different locations in Seven to Eternity, most of their personality comes from the art. You see a variety of different races in this book, but the only ones I can actually name are humans and goblins. They might've mentioned what race Jevalia is in passing, too, but I don't remember it. As for the cities themselves, only two of them are developed in any real detail. This is understandable to some extent - you don't go on a rollercoaster to see the sights! - but I wish Remender would've taken some time to flesh out the setting. Doesn’t that sound like all of these true believers we see running around these days? The January 6th insurrectionists? The armed white men “protecting children” from drag queen shows? The people pushing the “stolen election” lies? And on the left as on the right, the rush to judgement to believe *any* accusation of wrongdoing without any evidence? The Purity Police who wield cancel culture like a weapon to destroy people’s careers? 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...

SEVEN TO ETERNITY DELUXE EDITION HC | Image Comics

A word on the art in Seven to Eternity. It is not as radical and diverse as the art in Decorum. Instead, it is conventionally pleasing along the lines of a craftsman like Jim Lee or Travis Charest, and a pleasure to look at. Jerome Opena hardly lets the side down. But it is the colours of Matt Hollingsworth which steal the show. Lurid, vibrant, and striking, Seven to Eternity offers a masterclass in colouring. The problem for the reader is that it is easy to fall in love with the worlds of Seven to Eternity. Care and innovative thought has gone into its creation and execution. We resent the curtain being drawn across the set. Otherwise, Mr Remender has a technique of slowly building up a story and then allowing the moving pieces to suddenly crash into each other, bringing about a conclusion. Seven to Eternity’s conclusion has nowhere left to go save for an exclamation mark of doom, fire, blood, and familial vengeance. There, like a classic Shakespearean tragedy, the play is done. 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. The story draws heavy on one’s choice and beliefs while having a villain that you as the reader can somehow get behind and see how right he is while also caring for protagonist Adam Osidis who’s name has been written wrong in this world but for his own personal reasons looks to gain from it without making any sort of deal with the devil. The Seven in Seven to Eternity are chipped away as the tale unfolds. Garils Sulm, also known as the Mud King or the God of Whispers, is the terrible, admirable villain who, even in chains, leads the group. Mr Opeña has designed the Mud King to look like he has been actually carved from mud: a physically intimidating, looming bulk of a figure with clay globs of purple skin, glowing yellow eyes, sitting on a throne of pink skin stretched across bone. He is on a dire journey to prove a point, and get moral satisfaction, in an exercise which costs life after life. But the Seven are oblivious to this – they think they serve the interests of justice. The Seven have against ridiculous odds caught the Mud King, imprisoned him, drag him at great peril through the kingdom of Zhal to judgment… and it evolves that at any time he could have escaped with a flex of his wrists. The God of Whispers does eventually snap his own chains during a mêlée. This causes his captors to finally start to question what precisely is going on.

Remender has a nagging nihilism in most, if not all, of his creator owned work, so much so it becomes a drag to read. However, Seven to Eternity might be the first time it actually works in the books favor, as this is a tribulation for the party involved. That's not to say it breaks new ground, as most if not all the major story beats I could see coming or at least predict closely to say "ah I knew it, you fool". Needless to say, Opeña's art is phenomenal throughout, brought to life by Hollingsworth's impeccable colors.