Divinity #2

The Good

DIVINTY is unlike anything else at Valiant, which puts out some pretty awesome stuff. Writer Matt Kindt, along with penciller Trevor Hairsine, inker Ryan Winn, and colorist David Baron, provide this new landscape at Valiant, which is more science-fiction than super-hero, which is exceptionally cool.

There is this fantastic scene that really sticks out in this issue where Abram becomes a "slave to routine," as he puts it. These four pages are beautiful and tragic. A man who just found he's going to become a father leaves everything behind and gets signals from Earth's past, showing him what's happened while he's been gone. It's this incredibly depressing scene and tries its best to describe life in exile from the rest of society.

The look of the book is what really drives it. This is the closest thing fans have had to a cinematic experience with a comic book, at Valiant, thus far. There's a great sense of fluidity to the art as it moves the story along as well. Reading this book is quite the visual experience.

Trevor Hairsine has some fantastic layouts for this issue. The last two pages of this issue are an utter delight to look at. The second to final page has almost this cinematic feel to it and the way the panels are set-up have a great deal of movement to them. Then, there's that last page, which is utterly brilliant in the way it is set up. That last page eloquently describes just how this whole book is played out and how it plays with time.

All-in-all, there's a ton of mystery still to this book and what's going to get readers to come back in is that there's still so much to learn about what happened to Abram and why he's returned to Earth and why he has these god-like powers.

The Bad

Part of the appeal of the book is the flow, but at times, it can get a little too jumpy and confusing. This book is about Abram more than anything else, so we're seeing the world through his eyes, and the book does have a tendency to gravitate towards more important things in his life, so while things are happening in real time on Earth, it does jump a bit and take you out of the main narrative. It's not very distracting though.

I will admit that I was a little bummed to see other people from the Valiant universe in this issue, coming to stop Abram. The first issue made this book feel like it was in its own little pocket and maybe seeing another episode before introducing them would have been a little nicer. That's all just personal preference though. Their inclusion doesn't feel forced at all.

The Verdict

Conceptually, this is one of the coolest books to come out of Valiant, even if, at times, it comes off as a tad confusing and a little bit jumpy. DIVINITY is this wonderful reading experience that speaks mountains to Valiant regulars and those new to the company as a whole. The minor problems do not really distract from the overall enjoyment of this book, and while I'm a huge supporter/pusher of X-O MANOWAR, the first and second issue of DIVINITY may be what I'm going to push, Valiantwise, next.

I thought Hairsine's art was maybe a little rushed in the first issue but it's absolutely perfect here.

Matt Kindt originally planned this as an arc in Unity. Not surprised to hear other characters are getting involved. Bummed because my shop was out. Gonna be a bit before I can read this.

Needs better art. Also the pacing of this book is slow

@holyserpent: I think the art is great also I don't think the pacing is slow, this is the story, it's only a mini.

I have no idea what is happening in this book but the art is fantastic

This is a beautiful book, both in writing and art. It's lived up to the hype, and then some.