Highwater Press
The Reckoner Rises is a graphic novel series that’s sure to turn heads. I would not advise jumping in with the latest volume, titled God Flare. I was curious because of the fantastic attention grabbing cover by Scott B. Henderson, but in order to understand what’s going on, I had to chase down the first two graphic novels. I got the feeling this work took inspiration from Alan Moore’s The Watchman, and overall, I’m not wrong!
When readers are first introduced to Cole, we find him on the verge of a breakdown and he doesn’t understand why he’s The Chosen One. He has the mutant ability which allows him to communicate with the dead, and for Eva, who has the powers of flight, they could easily become the next Alpha Flight! But when they’re living on a reserve, it seems they don’t have a lot of inspiration to go to the next level and do stuff for the good of their community. In the harsh winter world of what I assume is Northern Winnipeg, I’m sure the life there is no different from what I’ve learned in other works, like The Death Tour (documentary review link), which examines what life is like in these sleepy indigenous communities.
Mihko Laboratories are up to no good, and their experiments on living subjects are something that readers of the other comic should be familiar with. They want to create the next Weapon X! However, something must be done with their “failed” experiments, and as they can’t return to their normal life, what else can be done? Even by the third issue, I’m getting an idea. I had to look at the first two issues to make sense of the world.
And with the third book, things get hairy as Cole finally figures out who his friends are. If they don’t get their act together, then their enemy, which is basically a secret genetics lab, will get the upper hand and more people will go missing! There’s lots to like in this series written by David A. Robertson and Illustrated by Scott B. Henderson and Andrew Thomas. They’ve fashioned a world which is very familiar for long time readers of X-Men, but yet its lore deals with issues most First Nations people face.
Although there’s a lot of dialogue to digest, their high school drama is just as important. Lives matter, and as they deal with more than simple psychological demons, the real ones that manifest look easy to beat down! The action isn’t as crazy as a Marvel or DC comic, and here, what’s presented is more in line with 90s style narratives.
The nasty bad guys featured in the latest release reminded me of Stephen King. Technically, they’ve been around since the first issue, and as for who the scary furry/electrical looking dude is, he’s not The Wendigo! This creature appeared in the first issue, but little did I know who would return or not. He’s just one of many monsters made at Mihko Labs. This operation is like the facility that created Wolverine, aka Weapon X. and after reading this latest, I feel they come from the same mould. There are gene splicing threats, which include a young lady who has grown up instead of staying young. And if I had to spoil, I think she’s that little girl from The Shining who manifested as “twins.”
Anyone interested in this series is best advised to pick up all three books or anything else this writer has published (Amazon link provided here). Although this retailer says there’s only three books for this series, the last page says, “to be continued.”
4 Stars out of 5
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