Divinity III: Stalinverse #2

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

Divinity III has been nothing short of stellar–this is, of course, including tie-ins and shut up if this is only the second issue. Valiant is taking risks, while simultaneously kicking ass and taking names. They can multitask like nobody’s business, people. Ninjak is at the forefront of this epic and with Matt Kindt’s affinity for the character, you know it’s going to be done right. Ninjak is one of only two people who remembers the world as it was before, and it’s starting to get crazy. Wait, that wasn’t a spoiler right? No. No, we’re good.

Matt Kindt has really become one of the main Valiant architects and without him, it’s hard to say where Valiant would be right now. Kindt’s story is deep, looming, and on a scale that maybe we really haven’t seen with Valiant before. Matt Kindt’s Stalinverse is setting itself up to be one of the best crossover events this side of The Valiant, and maybe even Armor Hunters, and we’re only two issues in–minus the one-shot crossovers that we’ve seen so far. If that doesn’t speak to the strength of Kindt, there might not be any other way to convince you of the quality of this event. Think of it this way: when was the last time the Big Two sucked you into an event with only two issues? Yeah, let that percolate in your brains for a moment.

One of the biggest event artists for Valiant is, of course, Trevor Hairsine. There has been some criticism of his art at the beginning, which is false by the way and you might even call those fake news (classic, ha!), but Hairsine is more than up to the task of handling big-time events like this. Case in point, the previous two Divinity mini-series and the aforementioned Armor Hunter series. Hairsine is the real deal and he’s one of those artists that will knock you down and surprise you at every turn. Like Kinda, Hairsine is synonymous with the Divinity character and it really wouldn’t be right if he wasn’t involved.

Along with Hairsine come the one-two knockout punch of inker Ryan Winn and colorist David Baron. Consider these two like a masterful reliever and a lights out closer, because that’s what they are. They shut down any doubt about the quality of this comic and close out the game in style. Winn’s inks are the perfect complement to Hairsine’s pencils and Baron’s colors are vibrant,compelling, and really bring the pages to life.

Bottom line on the bottom lines: Divinity III is the real freakin’ deal. Valiant is the real freakin’ deal. Matt Kindt is… okay, well you get the picture here. This is only issue two, and the Divinity mini-series is only eight issues deep so far, and he’s a brand new character in the Valiant Universe, so there is absolutely no excuse not to be picking this up and diving in. Start here, start at the beginning, whatever works for you. Just start; you won’t be sorry.