Prophet, Vol. 1: Remission

Prophet is the multi-layered, possibly even multi-dimensional, story of the awakening of John Prophet in a variety of guises. Each John Prophet may or may not be a unique entity, which begs the question of who, or what, exactly is John Prophet?The strange tone of the story echos the sort of disassociated congnizance of Donnie Darko, but it is never clear whether or not John Prophet is insane, dreaming, or a real, cloned entity sent on the quest (or quests) to ascend the towers of Thauilu Vah and awaken the Earth Empire.The many settings in which the John Prophets find themselves (or is it only one man finding himself?) are unified by organic, almost mystical artwork reminiscent of the old Heavy Metal magazine . . . minus the naked women. In fact, the five artists who contribute to various sections of the book, Simon Roy, Farel Dalrymple, Brandon Graham, Giannis Milonogiannis, and Marian Churchland, have created worlds and creatures that are more Moebius than Moebius. And though each artist has stamped his or her mark on the story(ies), all seem to be giving each other a knowing head nod and grin indicated "we did this together". This is, in a strange way, comforting. Sometimes artist try too hard to differentiate "their" hero from another artist's hero, even when it's the same character. While that might work well in different series, I like the team-play exhibited here. The Emma Rios short story at the end might be the most stylistically out-of-place, but it is a separate entity and doesn't distract from the overall unity of the graphic novel proper.Some have complained about Prophet's elusive plot, but I think that the muddling of the narrative actually adds to the ambiance and gives readers a taste of what it must be like to be John Prophet waking from who-knows-how-long of a hyber-pod sleep into a strange world. Pre-programming or intuition or even a ghostly guide compel him to undertake his quest through landscapes and among creatures that he may or may not understand, depending on which John Prophet we follow. Each of them is equipped with an impressive array of survival equipment, some of it manufactured, some organic, some combining aspects of both. This aspect I thoroughly enjoyed - the technology, the weapons, modes of transportation - have a thoroughly biotic feel to them and many are explicitly biological in nature. Given recent advances in organic computers, I suspect that these sorts of bio-mechanical tools are the way of the future. And yet, the ultra-high-tech organic machinery seemed, somehow, ancient, which adds further folds to the mystique of the story itself.In essence, I loved everything about Prophet. I bought this book sight unseen, based on the several reviews I had read and seeing a snippet or two of the art. I'm glad I took a chance and found this treasure. This is one of the best graphic novels I have read in recent memory, up there with Ojingogo (but for different reasons). Consider me an addict. Cannot wait for my next fix!

I wrote a review of book 5, but thought I should come back and put my 2 cents in on book one.In a nutshell, this is really fun and interesting science fiction that is also beautifully drawn. The story is actually a few stories developing over many comic books, each drawn by a different artist, and each handled expertly. The drawings are amazing. In comics, I'm looking for well drawn, well colored pages with lots of detail, and all of that can be found here. The aliens are weird and unique, the locale's are immense and beautifully rendered. There's cool technology, amazing splash pages filled with details, and a story that is slowly pieced together over time.If you find yourself a little perplexed after this first graphic novel, don't sweat it, keep going. Everything gets explained and sorted out, just enjoy the ride. So many good characters in here, I had never paid attention to the Prophet comics of the 90's, nor the Youngblood comics, and none of that is needed here. This is a stand alone story that is very well crafted, very unique in it's delivery, and filled with interesting tidbits.Get this, you won't regret it. Everything is done well - story, characters, art, coloring, pacing. So good, can't say much more about it other than that!

Because I'd heard such good things about the Prophet revitalization, I decided to check it out. I rarely read reviews before buying a book, mostly due to fear of spoilers, but because I wanted to be sure I spent my money well, I did just that this time around. The reviews were, like the word of mouth I'd experienced, favorable.I pulled the trigger and bought a copy.Let me be frank ... the reviews did not do it justice.At the age of thirty-six, I basically just want one thing from my books and movies--originality. Please give me something new, something I haven't seen before. Now, I realize this is an ironic statement considering that Prophet is a reboot of sorts, but trust me, this book is blazing new trails.In fact, Prophet: Remission is one of the most original and refreshingly weird books I've read in quite a long time.It begins with John Prophet awakening in the far, far future. Humanity is seemingly lost, and the world is a devastated heap inhabited by creatures that you'll have to see to believe. He has one mission, to try to "awaken the Earth empire."But, as you'll soon realize with this book, what you presume to come next does not. In fact, Prophet delighted in its unpredictability. I love that the writers are building their own worlds by their own rules. All of the medium's conventions for which you expect are gone--this is a book unlike any other.The prose is sparse and direct, and the artwork is ... well, it's excellent, but it's not pretty. It looks like the world is falling apart. The creatures are gross. The tone is unpleasant. In other words, the art fits the story perfectly and is absolutely part of the reason Prophet won me over.This isn't a super hero book, and that's a good thing. John Prophet is almost out of a Cormac McCarthy novel--he's tough, resolute, and absolutely self-reliant. This is not a science fiction story, though it does wade heavily into those waters. It's not a fantasy space epic, but it carries that vibe, too. There is plenty of adventure, to be sure, but there seems to be an underlying philosophical message just beneath the surface. Is it a post-apocalyptic dystopian tale? In all honestly, I don't know how to label this book, and that's fantastic.I want to keep reading Prophet for one simple reason: I have no idea where this story is going.~Scott William Foley, author of Andropia

L'ambiance de cette série diffère complètement des premières séries de Prophet des années 90-2000, ambiance sombre... mais c'est une bonne révision pour un personnage qui avait été traité à la superhéros et dont on peut effectivement faire autre chose...

Prophet 1 – RemissionDie Anfänge von Image Comics waren holprig. Viele für die Zeit moderne Zeichnungen, aber wenig erzählerische Tiefe. Dies galt auch für Prophet, eine Schöpfung von Rob Liefeld, meist aber gezeichnet von Stephen Platt. Nach 20 Ausgaben war Schluß, die Leser hatten genug von dem Konzept Schulterpolster und dicke Wummen.Daher war ich überrascht, das diese Serie fortgeführt werden soll, denn Image Comics hatte aus den Fehlern gelernt und jede Menge großartige Serien wie Invincible, The Walking Dead oder Morning Glories auf den Markt gebracht. Warum also eine schlechte Serie aufwärmen?Doch die Stimmen im Internet wurden nicht leiser. Prophet sei gut. Meine Neugier war geweckt, und bei einem Preis von 9.99$ für das Trade (Inhalt #21-26) riskierte ich einen Blick.Vorweg genommen: Prophet ist gut. Das liegt daran, daß ein Schnitt gemacht wurde, und man nicht auf Vorwissen aus den 20 Vorgängerbänden angewiesen ist.John Prophet erwacht in einer fernen Zukunft aus dem Kriyoschlaf. Seine Kapsel bohrt sich seinen Weg an die Erdoberfläche, doch die gute alte Erde hat sich massiv verändert. Viele verschiedene Alienrassen bevölkern die Welt, auf der keine Menschen mehr existieren. Doch John Auftrag lautet, die Türme von Thauilu Vah zu erklimmen, um das Erden Imperium wieder neu zu erschaffen.Dabei trifft er auf die skurrilsten Aliens, und nicht selten findet er sich im Kampf mit ihnen wieder. Das Techlevel ist niedrig angesetzt, so daß er seine Lieblingswaffe, ein modifiziertes Messer, reichlich einsetzen kann. Trotzdem ist Prophet kein reiner Kampfcomic. Autor Brandon Graham und seine Mitstreiter haben viele kreative, angefahrene Ideen entwickelt, die die Welt interessanter und tiefgründiger machen.Fazit: Conan als Weltraumoper - so wird die Serie oft charakterisiert. Dies trifft nur zum Teil zu, was an den Zeichnungen von Simon Roy (#1-3) liegt, die stark an Moebius' Arzach erinnern. Auch bei Moebius herrschte diese besondere Stimmung vor: ein Fremder im fremden Land – hier ist der Weg das Ziel, und er ist gepflaster mit Tentakeln, Schleim und den Wracks der Kriegsmaschinen vergangener Jahrhunderte. Eye of all!

It's a bizarre irony that one of the most original and inventive mainstream comics around is a resuscitation of one of the worst comics ever made, a cynical attempt to cash in on the speculative market boom of the early 90's. Regardless of it's origins, this incarnation of 'Prophet' is an imaginative and beautifully executed tribute to Metal Hurlant (as well as it's American sibling, the Heavy Metal of the early 80's) and the modern classics of European SF comics, particularly 'Arzach' & 'The Airtight Garage' by Moebius, Enki Bilal's 'The Nikopol Trilogy', and above all, the sprawling, crazy space-operas of Alejandro Jodorowsky: 'The Incal', 'Before the Incal', 'Final Incal', 'The Metabarons', 'Weapons of the Metabarons', 'Castaka', 'The Technopriests' & 'Megalex', all of which are illustrated in mind-blowing detail by some of the best artists in Europe, and form one gigantic saga, dubbed the Jodoverse. In the same way, Brandon Graham and his collaborators have fashioned a dreamlike conceptual playground, somewhere between the silent alien vistas of 'Arzach' and the osmium-weighted exposition of 'The Metabarons', unafraid of letting the art do the explaining. The art is the real attraction of Prophet; in contrast to the background-deficient splash-pages and anatomically exaggerated, over-rendered characters of original creator Rob Liefeld, the new version features some of the best young artists working today... Farel Dalrymple, whose art on Omega the Unknown and Popgun War established him as both a fan favorite and a critical success, winning multiple awards (including a Society of Illustrators Gold Medal), is one of the few artists who possesses a completely original style... he honestly can't be compared to anyone else; primary writer Brandon Graham's manga-influenced style is more realistic on Prophet than it is in his excellent King City, but still retains it's unique east-meets-west blending reminiscent of Taiyo Matsumoto; Simon Roy is a relative newcomer (at least to me), but his 'ligne-claire' art here establishes him as one of the most remarkable artists of his generation. His style is very close to that of 'Hardboiled' and 'Shaolin Cowboy' legend Geof Darrow, capturing his brilliantly intricate linework, heavily detailed but completely free of extraneous texturing. Roy has his own definitive take, however, and is instantly recognizable when portraying human (or alien) features. Prophet is an entertaining example of a group of talented individuals working together to create something ambitious and big, and is highly recommended for fans of SF comics, bande dessinee, and comic art.

I love Sci-fi and post Apocalyptic books/comics/movies, etc... I have to say this was a great introduction to a really cool series. I never heard of Prophet the series previously and just stumbled across it one day browsing comics on Amazon. I am happy I did as it really is a great read. In regards to being confusing, I don't find it confusing at all, it perhaps doesn't give you all the backstory up front but that is part of the charm of the comic, the way it starts to lay certain pieces out for you as you progress through each chapter. With a series like this you can infer yourself what you think happened prior and what the entire backstory might entail.In regards to the quality of the book the pages are nice and dont seem too glossy which helps with glare.The art is fantastic overall, there are a lot of nice vibrant colors and unique 2 page spreads that just make it overall a great comic to look at. and its just an overall cool concept sci-fi story with some really cool elements. I already picked up volume 2 in a local comic book store and will be ordering volume 3 shortly.If you like sci-fi where the story isn't handed to you upfront on a platter, which is totally unique and entertaining, for the price of these books you really can't go wrong at all.

Prophet is a new take of an long forgotten dull title of the 90'. Graham, Milonogiannis and Roy use it to make a facinating and poetic sci-fi world. Let me be clear: except if you've been reading sci-fi Bédé from Europe, you've never read anything near what's in that book. It's nearer to sci-fi novel and what sci-fi must be: wierd, disturbing and fascinating.The art is stunning. Each artist bring something to this world. That's why the visual, the art is so important in the book. The best word to describe is Poetic. The story's good, but it's a little bit to early in the story to tell. ( the book seams to have a very large story and everything is mysterious to the reader.)So, it may not be for everyone. But if you're a little bit tired of super heroes comics or juste want some good sci-fi story, pick this book. You won't regret.