Reborn: Book One (comic) by Mark Millar - Paul's REVIEW

*I received this book as an eARC from Image Comics via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Reborn: Book One
Writer: Mike Millar
Illustrators: Greg Capullo & Jonathan Glapion 
Release Date: August 2017

Synopsis: Where do you go when you die? Not heaven or hell; somewhere else. Somewhere you have to fight to survive. Somewhere the people from the past are waiting for you--the good and the bad. 

Bonnie Black has no faith in an afterlife. Spending her last days in the stroke ward of a county hospital, she fears falling asleep in case she doesn't wake up. 

When a final stroke ends her life, Bonnie is reborn in Adystria--a sci-fi fantasy world that's locked in a raging battle between good and evil. She's twenty-five again, there's a sword in her hand and she's ready to fight. 

She meets her dad, Tom, and her childhood dog in Adystria, but there is no sign of Harry--her husband who was murdered over ten years before. With the help of her dad and loyal pet, Bonnie sets off on an epic quest to be reunited with the lost love of her life. 

But it's not just her family that have been waiting for Bonnie. Her arrival has been prophesied, and there's a tremendous evil lying in wait. 

An evil that will stop at nothing to destroy her. An evil that can only be sated with blood. 

Superstar creators MARK MILLAR and GREG CAPULLO join forces to create the sci-fi story of the year, collecting issues 1-6.

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Review: What happens when you die? This is a question every human has wondered and there are many answers out there. In this story, our world is only the staging ground for the real deal. Your actions matter. You may become a giant queen of the elves if you're good or a monstrous demon with horns if you're bad, and of course everything in between. When you die, you wake up in this new world in a new body. You may be a child or you may be the same age you were when you died. In this fantasy world, it's the classic Good vs. Evil.

Bonnie has lived a fulfilling, long life. After a stroke, she finds herself  in a youthful body in this new world where it has been prophesized that she will defeat the evil with amazing magical powers that are just beginning to develop. Her father is there. Her past pets have fantasy like powers. Although she wants to help, the first thing on her mind is finding her husband who had passed years ago.

I absolutely love the concept of this world. There are so many small details in the worldbuilding that I really found interesting. From the start, it seems like a big story and I was in for the ride. I was disappointed when it didn't turn out as big as I had hoped. There are a lot of things that make the world smaller. She seems to know or have a connection to all of the important characters. I wanted to see a much larger, more inclusive world. It is very white, straight American. There's one same-sex relationship and it is between the big bad demon and a dragon with a lion's head. I wanted more complexities to the good versus evil theme. When you die and find yourself in a new world and your past negative actions have turned you into some kind of monster, do you really just continue doing "evil" deeds? I wanted more subversions.

The story is quick moving and completes the arc in just this volume. For such a big concept and huge world, it is made to feel so small in this story. Overall, I thought this story was a great concept, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me. I wanted more modern storytelling. The good and bad ideals seemed so dated. I wanted something unexpected. I was disappointed in the queer representation. I give this story a 3.5/5. I would love to see this comic adapted into another media and given more depth and modernity.    


--PAUL