Warning: Potential Spoilers Ahead!
When Don’t Hide PR sent along the email for Rion Mosley and Shawn Lewis’ Immortalis, the summary for it caught my attention and I decided to check it out and even reach out about an interview to Rion and Shawn. As Old Gods, Heaven, Hell, Prophecies, Beliefs, and a young woman who has to pull a Kratos and do up some straight up Deicide on some Old Gods? Well… Sign me up! As its got all the makings for something I’m very likely to enjoy! Even want to see on the screen for that matter.
Our gal Tam Montefiore, born in good ol’ 1813, has a lot on her young shoulders due to being the chosen true Deicide. And given all that, its no wonder she’d rather be doing anything else then having to train to be a killer in a war that could ultimately kill her in between other horrible things. Sure, there’s not exactly a lot for a young woman to do in those days but they are marginally better than being forced into a role like Tam’s been put in. Its unfortunate that the decision is ultimately out of her hands however given the events in the story, events that see her 200 years away from everything she ever knew and in a time period she definitely sticks out like a sore thumb in.
Plus, there’s the team she’s now with, each who have issues of one kind or another that they are dealing with while planning the fight to stick it to the Old Gods. And then there’s Charmein and Oberhasli, the managers so to speak of the team and its hard to tell which is the Angel and which is the Demon between the two considering Charmein’s attitude.
But it makes sense considering how some Angels are portrayed in various media when it comes to dealing with Humans. Tam’s team includes a 6000 year old Immortal cursed with Immortality thanks to Zeus, a Vampire, a young boy with Autism and a connection to 9 of his ancient Ancestors, and a Doctor with a Jekyll and Hyde situation. See what I mean about the issues there for that bunch? Rion and Shawn have also put together a fairly big creative team to handle the art, letters, and colors for this book, which makes sense as its stated this is a collection so calling it a volume might be an inaccuracy. And the styles of the talent involved are especially noticeable in the Overload story and on a second go through of this book helped me to realize what I was seeing when it comes to the scene of the Doctor seeing his alternate self in a mirror during the Overload story.
Which is something that we see elsewhere later on and I thought it was a nice touch. There’s a lot that goes on so its easy to miss something if you aren’t paying attention.
There’s also a moment during the Overload story that felt a little confusing for me and it might feel that way for others. Especially given as there’s an on the road conversation going on between the Immortal and the Vampire that leads to how the two met at some point. The lead up to that scene is hinted at at an earlier point but shortly before it starts, its a thread that gets picked up on again without warning. Which again, as I mentioned, a lot goes on so its easy to miss something and or get confused. But I suppose Rion and Shawn chose not to do a repeat of sorts in order to keep the flow of the story going.
I also rather enjoyed Okeanos’ (the Immortal’s name) attempts at teaching Tam something other than fighting and how she ultimately takes to it as perhaps any other modern day teenager would. Sure, her 1800s life would be a block but she overcomes and enjoys the experience. Especially given its not necessarily related to a certain duty she has to perform! I’m also rather liking the extra exposure for a figure like Charon, who typically only gets small amounts of time shown in various media and is just there to help get a character to this or that place outside of his normal duties. But in Immortalis, ol’ Charon’s got more to do than that and I like it as he’s shown to be a capable threat.
A threat that has a rather interesting conclusion to that I wasn’t expecting but thought was a nice twist to do. Immortalis also introduced me to the Egyptian God known as Babi, albeit, he’s not actually shown but just mentioned by Charon. Either way though, it was the first time I’d heard of Babi to my knowledge so that was pretty cool!
I’ve said it before (at least I think I have) that I love the fact that Mythological figures like the Gods and Goddesses of various Pantheons and the various stories involving them can allow for a lot of interpretation/takes on them in various media and while even telling new stories as well. It can be a lot of fun to see and its no different here in Immortalis. Hopefully we get to see more Gods/Goddesses working together that probably otherwise never would and the potential dynamics there once the next collection is out.
I’m eager to see where Team Tam goes next in the future and hopefully it won’t be too long of a wait! Immortalis is out on January 30th from Markosia, which is always fun to see something being published from them so don’t miss out when the time comes!
Editor’s Note: Immortalis is currently available for pre-order so get on it while you can! And in addition to the Markosia and Amazon websites, Immortalis can also be found at Barnes & Noble, Foyles, and Books-A-Million!
Immortalis – Volume 1 (Advanced Review!)
Markosia
Created by: Rion Mosley and Shawn Lewis
Written by: Shawn Lewis
Pencils and Inks: Miguel Galindo, Rahmad Wisnu, Ben Perkins, and Juan Salcedo
Colors: Miguel Galindo, Rahmad Wisnu, Ben Perkins, Camilo Roncallo, Champe Ramirez, and Indy Marludzy
Letters: Amal Desai, Rahmad Wisnu, and Ben Perkins
Reviewer: Rob Wrecks
Summary: the ongoing adventure of Tam Montefiore, born in 1813 to be the one true Deicide in the war between heaven and hell and the old gods of myth. Led astray by false prophecies and her own beliefs, she finds herself 200 years in the future, being trained and protected by a team she doesn’t know and may not be able to trust. As she encounters enemies and loves from her past, she must decide if saving the world is what she really wants to do.
