‘Reborn #6’ Review (Image Comics)
Written by Mark Millar | Art by Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion | Published by Image Comics
Looking at the creative team and concept of Reborn it had the ability to be a great series but it never reached the height of its potential. While reading this series I can see the wheels spinning in Miller’s head with all the different concepts he is coming up with. Where the issue lies is how some of those ideas get lost in the shuffle and not fully developed.
It starts with the basic concept of the series. How life after death is this crazy fantasy world where your past deeds impact the type of person you develop into. There has been such an inconsistency with that idea it is difficult to determine if there is some sort of mystery that will better explain everything or it is just sloppy writing. To Miller’s credit, the emotional crux of his narrative has been well developed and hit home especially with this issue.
Here Bonnie looks to final fulfill her destiny and rescue her husband by defeating the Dark Messiah. Last issue we learned the identity of the Dark Messiah and his connection with Bonnie. It was not what I was expecting and it does bring the entire narrative full circle. However, the way Bonnie discovers the truth is rather anticlimactic as it is a throwaway line in the middle of the chaotic final battle.
On a pure entertainment level, this final issue succeeds immensely. Great fantasy adventure and action is so rare today when it does happen it should be celebrated. Anyone who is a fan of stories like the Lord of the Rings has a new tale in Reborn that they will surely enjoy. Luckily Millar revealed more Reborn is coming as there are a lot of questions left unanswered and this world still feels like it could be explored much more.
Millar tends to be looked at as a crass writer due to his work on books like Wanted, Kick-Ass, and The Ultimates. Lately, though we have seen a much more tender side of his work. Something like Huck had a sweetness to it that made you forget you were reading a Millar series. Reborn has some of that juvenile humor at times, but it also has some truly touching moments and what it has to say about accepting our own mortality had a lot of profound qualities.
Unquestionably the best reason to pick up this series is the work done by Greg Capullo. Arguably his art on this title already surpasses what he did with Batman. A big reason is the sheer amount of absurdity he gets to depict. If you ever need someone to draw a giant woman fighting a dragon with a head of a lion he is the man to call. Similar to Millar he can make the more emotional scenes work just as well as the fantastical adventure. Seeing the embrace between Bonnie and her husband had the impact some of the narrative elements were lacking.
Reborn may have been as amazing it could have been, but that does not mean it was a disappointment. Millar and Capullo got the opportunity to try something very different for them and they found a lot of success. Now that they have a familiarity with what they want this book to be my hope is future volumes will build on the positives of what they created.
***½ 3.5/5
