Toyo Harada is the most dangerous human being on the planet. Imbued with incredible powers of the mind, he has spent his life guiding humanity from the shadows. But today he is a wanted man. His powers are public knowledge, his allies have turned to enemies, and he is hunted by every government on the planet.

Instead of surrendering, Harada has one last unthinkable gambit to play: to achieve more, faster, and with less, he will build a coalition of the powerful, the unscrupulous and the insane. No longer content to demand a better future, he will recruit a violent legion from the darkest corners of the Earth to fight for it. The battle for utopia begins now.

I was a fan of Valiant‘s Harbinger, its series which has led into this one. The series saw Toyo Harada manipulating the world to fit his view. It was something that was present, but it wasn’t the focus, instead its goal was introducing us to this world. Toyo’s corporate empire is in shambles, and now he controls a small nation, and he no longer hides in the shadow. That massive status quo change has opened up the opportunity to truly explore what it means for a world to have people with extraordinary powers. Imperium by writer Joshua Dysart and artist Doug Braithwaite looks to explore what that means, and what it means when the most powerful of them has a vision for how the world should be.

This first issue of the new series is a fantastic kick-off with the first quarter or so of it really catching me off guard, and then hits you in the gut as what you thought might be going on is revealed to be not quite so much. It fantastically lays out the motivations, and truths and untruths setting up a series that looks to be as much fun to read, as it will get you think. There’s been so much potential in exploring Toyo Harada and his motivations, and it looks like we’re finally getting that.

The fantastic story is enhanced by Braithwaite’s art, which is crisp, and beautiful to look at, especially when you consider the story switches its focus and locations so much. The design contrast is impressive and just shows off the artistic talent on the book. Valiant’s comics usually have solid art, and this issue is no exception.

Overall, this was one of the series that I was looking forward to as part of Valiant Next and it delivers. Its perfect for long time fans as well as those who are new and just want to check out a quality comics.

Story: Joshua Dysart Art: Doug Braithwaite
Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9 Recommendation: Buy

Valiant Entertainment provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review