Divinity #1

By Former Contributor
On 11 February 201516 June 2017
0

by Matt Kindt, Trevor Hairsine, Ryan Winn, David Baron

The long-awaited debut of Divinity is finally here. Get the details on what’s going on with our review of the first issue.

It should come as no surprise that everyone at Valiant Central, and Valiant fans in general, have been very excited about the debut of this miniseries. This is the first original title to come out of the Valiant stable since the 2012 relaunch and thanks to a terrific creative team – in Matt Kindt, Trevor Hairsine, Ryan Winn, and Brian Reber – and the new and original story line, the book had a lot of expectations to meet. Boy does it deliver.

Matt Kindt is no stranger to Valiant having written nearly every character in the universe – a writer whose characters and ideas have been steering the direction of many books for some time. With Divinity, he not only brings us an interesting new property, but a character whose power set and background could easily bridge the gap between current continuity, and the events that ultimately lead us to the world of Rai’s 4001 AD. Long time fans who have been clamoring to see a Solar-type character brought into the VEI fold, will readily see the similarities, thought don’t expect a rehash of that character. For new characters, know that Abram Adam is sure to bring some exciting story opportunities to the universe as a whole. Having a character with no known history and zero connection to any existing property, I expect Divinity to be one of the books which can unite old and new readers alike on a journey of discovery.

What we do know is that Abram Adams was raised by the former Soviet Union as a sort of “super soldier.” Not in the cliched Captain America way, but they have spent many resources in making sure that he is in top physical, mental, and emotional condition to embark on a secret mission into space. What should have been a mission months long turns into a decades old mystery as Adams crash lands on Earth with newly imbued powers which liken him to a god. To paraphrase the events of this book any further would take away some of the magic which Kindt has imbued into the story, but there are so many “WOW” moments that will have you wanting more. If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably want to read and reread this book to catch all the little subtleties and nuances of the story.

Of course, I have to give high praises to the art team as well. I haven’t always been the biggest fan of Trevor Hairsine’s art in the past (I’m looking at you Armor Hunters: Bloodshot), but he knocks it out of the part in Divinity. There is still plenty of grit and roughness in his pencils as is his style, but every panel looks so polished it is gorgeous to look at. From the darker Cold War panels, to the bright and gorgeous scenes in the Australian Outback, Hairsine knocks it out of the park.

He couldn’t have done it without the rest of the team though. I don’t generally call out inkers during a review, but Ryan Winn’s work on this title is fascinating, and may one reason why I enjoyed Hairsine’s work so much more. David Baron on colors…what is there to say, the guy is a genius. The colors are bright and pop right out of the page, particularly towards the end of the book. Some have complained of the large use of browns at Valiant lately, and while there is some of that here, Baron’s palette choices here are much more varied than we’ve seen elsewhere. Beautiful!

Don’t expect to get all the answers in this first issue of Divinity. In fact, I would expect many of you to be confused as to what is really happening, and that’s okay! Divinity #1 is a beautifully written and illustrated book that will take all of us into a new and unexplored journey – enjoy it. The mystery of how Adams has turned into a god will only be the beginning.