The last issue hada newly healed, but still depowered Rai trying to find a way back to New Japan after being exiled to Earth, Rai set out with a simple, yet loyal tribesman to search for the one person who may be able to help him; a person known as “the warrior eternal.”

When the object of their quest was revealed last issue, I was excited.

I hoped that “the warrior eternal” would turn out to be not only my favourite Valiant character, but one of my favourite comic book characters – Gilad Anni-Padda, The Eternal Warrior. It was a fair leap of logic, and one that had me anticipating this issue more than I had before. The idea of Rai meeting up with a much older Gilad is one that really interested me, but what is more exciting than the thought of that is how Rai #11 looks.

Clayton Crane‘s artwork is fantastical, eerie and very atmospheric. The details within some panels are jaw dropping; when we get our first close up shot of a certain characters face, you can really appreciate the talent on display here. I said in my review of the last issue that “there are several panels and full pages where the vibrancy of the colours can take your breath away,” and that rings just as true with this issue. As the story continues to be told between the technological nirvana of New Japan and the surface of the Earth miles below the flying nation, Crane is able to effortlessly differentiate between the two settings for the story, highlighting the differences with subtle colour changes that enable the reader to easily differentiate the two locations.

Rai‘s quest for the warrior eternal is a long one that is captured well with subtle but effective nods to just how long he and his companion and guide Lemur have been travelling, both with Rai‘s internal monologue and the differing shades of the landscape that the two characters travel through. As beautiful as the comic looks, though, if not for Matt Kindt‘s writing, it would be a beautiful comic that has a poor story. That’s far from the case here, however, and as the multiple plot points begin to head toward the conclusion next issue there are some brilliant moments that could easily have served as a great ending to the issue. The final page is a brilliant, if somewhat expected, conclusion to the penultimate issue of the current story arc, and sets up the next chapter in a simple yet oh-so effective way.

Rai #11 is one of the best looking comics to hit the racks this week, that it’s also a well written comic only makes it that much better.  Valiant have been consistently producing some of the best series from any publisher lately, and this is no exception to that. Whether you hop on board now, pick up the first two chapters in the arc or wait for the next arc to begin, make sure Rai  is on your radar.

Story: Matt Kindt Art: Clayton Crain
Story: 8.5 Art: 9.5 Overall: 9 Recommendation: Buy

Valiant provided Graphic Policy a FREE copy for review.