I swear that is dust in my eye.

When I saw the team of Mark Millar and Greg Capullo, I immediately knew I wanted this book, and I can safely say it doesn’t disappoint one bit. Reborn #1 asks the questions that many of us do. Where do we go when we die? What is the meaning of life? Does anything matter beyond what we see with our own eyes? I can say this book answers some of those questions, but also leaves us with more than we started with.

This book goes through a lot of emotions. We follow the story through the aging eyes and memories of Bonnie Black. She tells us of how much she has lost, but also loved in life. It is an interesting perspective to be in the mind of someone who is scared they are in the final hours of their life. There is a point where Bonnie is on a stretcher with her life flashing before her eyes. This is some of the most powerful stuff I have seen in awhile, and not just in comics. In anything. We literally see her favorite moments flash before her eyes. Playing catch with her dad at age seven. Kissing the love of her life at age twenty-two. Her newborn child in her arms at age twenty-six. We then jump ahead to her retirement where she volunteers teaching others at age seventy-seven to forget how lonely she is. I swear that is dust in my eye. Okay I am lying, this book got me close to some tears.

This book takes us from the world we know to a bizzare but interesting glimpse at a world straight out of fantasy and science fiction novels combined. I don’t want to ruin too much here, because it is a very cool setup and it doesn’t give us too much. It really makes you want to more, and not want to wait a month for the next part of the story.

We’ve talked about the fantastic writing from Mark Millar, and I could go on for a few more paragraphs on that, but we should also talk about Greg Capullo. I’ve always been a big fan of his. His run on Batman with Scott Snyder was magical, and he doesn’t disappoint here. He takes the challenge of drawing so many different scenes and settings and nails it. He captures the dark and the light moments equally here, and it is beautiful.  Jonathan Glapion on inks and Fco Plascencia are fantastic here as well.  From the sad and lonely hospital Bonnie is spending her final days in, to the lush and vibrant world she is reborn into, the inks and colors match the scenes wonderfully.

In closing I would like to say go buy Reborn #1, and as soon as you can. It is going to sell out, and if you miss it, get it at the second printing. You need to read this book, because I think it is going to be something really special.

 Story: Mark Millar Art: Greg Capullo Ink: Jonathan Glapion Color: Fco Plascenia
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review