Sunday, July 10, 2022

Rai: Deluxe Edition

Rai by Dan Abnett: Deluxe EditionRai by Dan Abnett: Deluxe Edition by Dan Abnett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rai by Dan Abnett: Deluxe Edition collects Fallen World #1-5 and Rai #1-10.

Okay, I liked the original Valiant run but I was never into Rai. A friend of mine on Twitter recommended this so I grabbed it on the cheap from Instocktrades.com.

So apparently before the series began, Rai killed an AI called Father and the New Japan satellite crashed into Earth, killing lots of people. Only Father is still alive and Rai needs to kill him with the help of Raijin, the Rai prototype. The two go on an adventure across post-apocalyptic 4001 AD, destroying The Offspring, Father's backups.

Let's get the thing I disliked out of way right off the bat. There is no resolution in this volume. One of the big bads is revealed and one of the heroes is reborn but there's no payoff beyond that.

Other than that, this was a pretty bad ass adventure story, part cyberpunk, part Mad Max. There are also some of those pesky moral dilemmas Star Trek always wrestles with. Lots of bad guys get cut down with swords. The story was gripping and Juan Jose Ryp is a great artist. The coloring was a little overdone for my taste but that's true for most comics these days.

I expect the relationship between Rai and Raijin will play a pivotal role in the climax of the story, whenever that may be. Since I only read trades and omnibuses, it may have already happened.

I'm giving this a four pending the resolution of the saga. This one is safe from a trip to Half Price Books for now.

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