Let's see... I've never heard of (a) Kevin J. Anderson's Saga of the Seven Suns novels, and (b) Kevin J. Anderson himself, for that matter.
I'm in trouble.
Anderson and Wildstorm Productions throw those of us uninitiated in this science-fiction continuity into the deep end of the cosmic pool with this graphic novel. Apparently, this is a prequel to the writer's Seven Suns series of novels, but it reads more like it starts smack dab in the middle of it. Anderson seems to have a lot to say, and he weighs down the narrative with a lot of dialogue and narration, a lot of characters, a lot of conflicts and a lot of genres as well.
In the 23rd century, the human race seems lost. It has sent out 10 slow-moving generational expedition ships into the unknown recesses of space, and in the process, humanity has caught the attention of the Ildirans. The benevolent aliens not only offer help and refuge to those lost and beaten-down humans they encounter in the great beyond, but they come to Earth and offer to share the secret of faster-than-light travel. As new cultures emerge in the human colonies throughout space, though, and old political habits reassert themselves back at home, the question arises as to whether or not humanity is ready for the kind of power and responsibility that comes along with the Ildirans.
Teranishi has certainly honed his craft to a great degree since I first saw it on some DC fill-ins and hum-drum "event" comics. There's far more polish to his linework now, and he conveys a vast and awe-inspiring sense of scope in his storytelling here. His art here is lie Jae Lee meets J.H. Williams II meets John Cassaday meets Travis Charest. There are far too many characters to keep track of here, and not nearly enough of them boasts a distinct visual design. The transitions from scene to scene are often sudden, jarring and confusing as well, and the characters are somewhat inconsistently rendered throughout the book. The colors reinforce the dream-like quality that hovers over the art in general, and they add an appropriately exotic flair to the figures.
The storytelling is all over the place here. At one moment, we have something of a pirate story. Then, it's a jungle adventure. There's political satire as well. In terms of genre, plot, characters and settings, Anderson is all over the map here, and it makes for a scattered read. It's difficult to connect with any one plot or character because we never stay with one for very long before jumping onto the next.
Mind you, one theme seems to emerge here, and that's the importance of leadership. Most of the scenarios that arise here stem from a lack of leadership or a distortion of what it should be. By extension, another theme that arises is trust. Leadership results in one of two things: trust or a breach of that trust.
Ultimately, though, this is a pricey and confusing introduction to a complex system of settings and players in Anderson's science-fiction continuity. I would imagine this book will be of interest only to fans of his books, but begs the question as to why DC/Wildstorm would bother publishing a graphic novel for an audience that's come to expect and enjoy its stories in the prose format.
