Seven to Eternity vol. 2: Ballad of Betrayal

Huh.

Looking back on my review of the first volume of this series I was surprised to see how negative I was towards it.  There’s no denying that much of it fell in line with the depressing grind I’ve come to expect from Rick Remender’s creator-owned works.  Yet, when vol. 2 came up on the weekly shipping lists I ordered it without a second thought.  Either my memory is starting to slip, or this series wasn’t as bad as I thought it was.  (Not like Remender and Tocchini’s “Low” — that first volume was still far too much of a downer to consider giving a second chance.)  I’m glad I picked up this second volume as it shows more promise than the first.  Whenever its focus is on the title’s big bad, that is.

Garlis Slum, the big bad in question, plays a sizeable role in the first two and last issues in this collection.  It’s not a coincidence that they’re also the most entertaining ones.  I mentioned in my previous review that I thought this series would be better off being told from his perspective.  I’m even more convinced of that after reading this volume as Remender actually, intentionally even, manages to make the character’s struggle engaging.

This isn’t quite apparent from the first issue as it mainly involves the protagonists, including the disgraced and allegedly untrustworthy Adam Osidis, weathering a psychedelic attack from Garlis’ daughter Penelope.  While the action orchestrated by artist Jerome Opena is top-notch, the spaced-out ramblings from the characters serve as a distraction.  It isn’t until the end of the issue where Garlis, tied up, riding an animal, and threatened with a “filth rag” finally gets some kind of agency as he nudges the group on which path to pick when the road forks in front of them.  Even if he’s nudging them in the direction he wants them to go, the character is still doing it from a massively disadvantaged position.  Garlis is having to struggle for whatever advantage he can get, which is what I like to see.

Same goes for the issue which follows as the group finds out exactly what’s waiting for them in the swamp:  A malevolently spectral hive-mind made up of the goblins that Garlis had marched into it.  We even get some backstory for the character here as it’s revealed that one of the spirits still trapped here is Garlis’ grandfather who drowned his daughter when he found out she had given birth to the half-breed.  More interesting still is the additional perspective added to the relationship between Adam’s father and Garlis.  It makes you wonder if the Mud King is really trying to tempt the man out of revenge, or if he sees it as some kind of redemption.  In the end, Adam escapes from the physical quagmire of the swamp into a moral one as his journey takes on a new direction and partner.

That being said, I probably shouldn’t say too much about the final issue in the collection for fear of spoilers.  In fact, I’ve probably already said too much.  What bears mentioning is that we get additional backstory about Garlis’ childhood that makes him even more sympathetic.  He also has much to say about the ruthlessness of his rule and how it has brought peace to the land.  Even if it is coming from someone who has millions of individuals under his psychic thumb, I was left thinking that some of his arguments have a point.  Meanwhile, the story surprised me by appearing to commit to Adam’s new direction.  Admittedly, it’d be fairly easy for Remender to back out of this as he did with Marcus’ “death” over in “Deadly Class.”  I hope he doesn’t, as it’s rare we get to see a character live with the consequences of his actions in the way he does here.

These issues also showcase another reason I’m inclined to sympathize with Garlis and his struggle.  That would be the fact that the other members in the group escorting him, aside from our ostensible protagonist Adam, aren’t really all that interesting.  They’re a familiar mix of upbeat upstarts, repentant souls seeking redemption, and sanctimonious grandstanders who completely unfamiliar with the concept of a self-fulfilling prophecy.  It’s the kind of group you’d expect to come together in order to overthrow an evil ruler and that’s the problem.  There’s no real surprise to be had in how they interact with each other or approach their quest.

So it’s not surprising that the two issues which focus on them are the least entertaining of this volume.  Let me say that’s “least entertaining” in a relative sense as I’d be hard-pressed to call two issues of anything illustrated by guest artist James Harren completely lacking in value.  His style may be chunkier and less meticulous that co-creator Opena’s, but the man’s style is impressive on its own terms and not lacking for energy or imagination.  Harren gives us a wonderfully gritty post-industrial factory town populated by all sorts of fantasy creatures and makes it a memorable visual trip along the way.

The problem is that Garlis, as well as Adam, are missing for these two issues and we’re left with the supporting cast to carry things by themselves.  What results from that isn’t exactly bad, but its mix of betrayals, twists, and turns still comes off as pretty familiar.  The most memorable part of this two-issue interlude is the introduction of the actually and thoroughly mercenary Dragan, his pet gold-eating frog, and sword that can spot the best deal.  His actions throughout the two issues should have told our band of travellers that he is not to be trusted and bringing him along is a really bad idea.  They do anyway, so it should be fun to see them learn the errors of their ways in due time.

“Ballad of Betrayal” ends with the narrative following two sets of characters, one more interesting than the other.  I’m hoping that Remender can split the difference in upcoming issues to focus on both of them so that we’re always getting more of Garlis in each one.  His story may not be the exclusive focus of this series, but it is easily its most interesting part.  It’s enough to get me fully onboard “Seven to Eternity” with the hope that he’ll triumph over the less-interesting supporting cast in the end.