Prophet Volume 2: Brothers

While the second volume of Prophet does not quite live up to the promise of the first, it ties up some of the loose strings of the first installment, forming a central plot line. To me, what made the first volume so great was the focus on three different individual John Prophet story lines, providing the reader with only hints of backstory here and there. This gave the universe a sense of enormity that made the individual Prophets seem so insignificant and expendable, but that sense of enormity also lended the title a certain air of mystery and creepiness that made the book very compelling to me.This second installment while keeping us up to date on the three John Prophets from the first book, starts to flesh out a central story line focused on the original John Prophet and his companions. For me this sort of ruins the sense of wonderment that I got from the first book. It takes it out of the realm of sci-fi mystery and into a more typical sci-fi adventure type of format.On the other hand Graham and co. have not exhausted the seemingly endless heap of ideas they drew from in the first volume. I really got a kick out of all the creative fantasy sci-fi aliens, ships, cities, etc they cooked up and this volume has plenty more where that came from. Learning more about the universe and its inhabitants is a continual joy in this series.Overall, a great read and I'm excited to conintue reading future installments. However the briliance from the first book has faded slightly into something more familiar.

As you may recall, I lauded the first volume of Prophet published by Image comics as a startlingly original, unpredictable, almost revolutionary work in that it went against the grain of most comic book conventions. In the first volume, we witnessed the rebirth of several John Prophets and followed their plights in unusually alien worlds. It didn't' reveal much of what was going on, did not focus on any one character for too long, explored an expansive universe, and displayed a wildly visionary story. I'd never read anything quite like it and instantly became a devoted fan.Or so I thought.Unfortunately, in the second volume, Prophet comes back down to Earth as it realigns with customary comic book craft.In this second volume, we meet the original John Prophet. And though the story takes place far into the future, he is joined by Diehard, who you may remember from the comic book series Youngblood. We even are given a brief glimpse of the character Supreme. Old man Prophet is seeking out past allies to aid him in the coming war.This volume is linear and, though the art is still gritty and thrillingly unattractive, rather boring. The first volume seemed intent on creating an entire universe, one that delighted with its uniqueness. But this volume focuses on one character with his prerequisite band of misfit cronies. It all seemed the antithesis of the first volume.I'll be honest, Diehard really ruined the book for me. I just wanted this book to continue being so inimitable, but with Diehard in it, it can't help but make me think that this is a "super hero" book when that is the last thing it set itself up to be. And with all of the imaginative alien names and language, having a character called "Diehard" is jarring to the experience and takes this reader out of the moment.I will read volume three upon its release, because I believe in the creators' work, but if things don't change, it may be my last volume.By the way, if you haven't read the first volume, entitled Remission, do so immediately. As probably made evident, it's one of the best graphic novels I've read in some time.~Scott William Foley, author of Andropia

With volume two, one really sees why Image is becoming one of the more interesting publishers after feeling like it was an "edgier" variant of superhero fair for the first part of its 20-something year life. Graham really ups his game here as the relationship of the clones becomes more clear and the scope of the world starts to add up into something coherent. Graham is zooming outward in narrative structure, showing us glimpses of a massive mythology, and hints of a relationship to the Liefeld comic universe. The art remains fascinatingly alien, and the grit remains in the comic. Indeed, however, unlike Prophet, whose "grit" was a 90s conceit to male adolescent fantasies, this is necessary to the world. Great work overall.

Prophet is just a wonderful acid trip of the most unique sci fi experience that exists in graphic novel. I love how weird and alien it is

Read it.

The art varies in style by the artist for this series, but each is excellent in its own way. Far more than the visuals, however, are the ideas they breath life into.Such ideas you've never seen, heard or read before. Epic histories are hinted at as they characters reminisce in volume 2 of Prophet. Read vol 1 knowing that it introduces the (astounding) fundamentals for what is to come. Read vol 2 to focus more on one of the primary characters, and his band of compatriots.This comic is my idea of great scifi: golden age inventiveness with modern sophistication. I hope you love it.

Not for everyone, but my favorite series. It takes a few issues to figure out that these stories are about a bunch of clones and not the same exact character, but that is one of the really fun cool things about it. I never really read the original series, but these guys successfully demonstrate that there is actually a hidden genius somewhere in Rob Liefield's subtext. BTW I could say the same thing for the most excellent "Glory" run by Joe Keatinge.

A continuation of the first story arc (which is a continuation of an older story arc.) I can't really say what's going on except that there's a lot of John Prophets and they're all over the galaxy/universe. It's sort of like Hitchiker's Guide meets 2001. Great read if not for the story, for the amazing visuals. Some of the best artwork I've seen in a comic.

The artwork is incredible and a pleasant change for the mainstream Marvel stuff (which can bit hit, miss or generic)The characters and ideas are really left field which make it a refreshing read that catches you of guard in a good wayIt definitely needs a couple of re-reads and is of no use without part one.

Great story - great art - story flows well as the character reincarnates - recognizing the face on the different characters as the story evolves gives an extra depth to the story - love it!

Epic series! It has what a space opera is about. I found many similarities to the Metabarons and the Incal, which is a pro. Don't miss it

Perfect

Der zweite Sammelband (Trade Paperback) zur "Fortsetzung" der Serie Prophet. In den 90ern bei Image von Rob Liefeld begonnen und, wie so vieles was Rob Liefeld begonnen hat, nie vollendet. Die Muskel- und Utilitybelt-bepackten Figuren mit viel zu kleinen Füßen und keiner nachvollziehbaren Story, sind europäisch und japanisch anmutenden Zeichnungen (es sind unterschiedliche Zeichner an der Serie tätig, je nach Storyline oder Zeitebene) gewichen. Die Story verläuft nicht linear sondern eher in mehreren Ebenen, zeitlich wie räumlich. Es handelt sich schlichtweg um ein komplett neues Konzept und driftet teilweise in die psychedelische Science Fiction im Stil von "Metal Hurlant" ab. In diesem Band erfährt man mehr über diverse Klone von John Prophet und Ihre Abenteuer die oftmals mit dem Tod enden oder zumindest sehr unkalkulierbar verlaufen. Ich kann diesen Comic jedem Science Fiction Fan ans Herz legen, der offen für neue Ideen und Erzählstrukturen ist.