It’s Friday, which means it’s time for another new edition of Kickin’ It Old School, our weekly column in which we look to the past and review books from the original Valiant universe! This week, I’ll be discussing Eternal Warrior #3.
Eternal Warrior #3
Published in October 1992
Story by Janet Jackson
Written by Kevin Vanhook and Jim Shooter
Penciled by John Dixon
Inked by John Dixon
Additional Background Inks by Paul Autio, Kevin Vanhook, and Howard Simpson
Colored by Knob Row
Lettered by George Roberts and Joe Albelo
Edited by Barry Windsor-Smith and Don Perlin
Synopsis:
Gilad is returned to the motel in Oklahoma where he had left Jillian to face some criminals alone. He tears the remaining guys up looking for Jillian, before discovering that she slipped out after gunning down the first couple of guys. Once they escape, Gilad passes out from exhaustion and is taken to a secluded cabin by Jillian. Once Gilad comes to a few days later, Neville shows up to check on him and give him his next mission. Gilad tells them that he’s done fighting for now and leaves.
He heads to Greece to stay with an old friend, Astrea. He’s clearly out of sorts, but he promises it’ll pass. Astrea asks Gilad to go meet with a potential art seller to keep him company while she’s tied up with something else. Gilad agrees, but while he’s waiting, Armstrong shows up to settle the score for Gilad forcing him into the Unity fight. They bust everything up during their fight, which Gilad eventually wins. Astrea shows up, telling Gilad that the fight scared off the seller. As it turns out, she had asked Armstrong to show up to break Gilad out of his funk.
Review:
This was a fun issue and a good way to segue out of the weight of the Unity event. It’s always fun seeing Gilad and Armstrong intereact. The writing feels a little simplistic to what I would expect from Jim Shooter or what we got in Archer & Armstrong #3 from Barry Windsor-Smith. This leads me to believe that Kevin Vanhook primarily did the writing with Shooter’s supervision. As Valiant continues to grow, more people will have to be involved in creating the product, so it’s good to see the involvement from Jim Shooter as he hands things off. Vanhook will continue to be a big part of Valiant for quite some time. I’m looking forward to seeing more from him and seeing what Eternal Warrior has in store for us now that his story isn’t tied into Unity.
Originally from ValiantCentral.com
The Eternal Warrior is my second favorite Valiant series, only behind Bloodshot. I find myself enjoying it more the older I get. I think the only reason it isn’t at the top is due to the priceless teenage memories of reading Bloodshot. I just finished the 8th issue of the current run last night and lets just say, Bloodshot should be worried.