The much anticipated Battle Beast #1 by Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley is now out, published by Image. The creative team behind Invincible have added to the universe with a series on a fan favourite character, Battle Beast.
Spoilers for Battle Beast and Invincible ahead.
This series is set concurrently to a large portion of the Invincible series, specifically running between issues 19-55. In fact, issue #1 of Battle Beast picks up right after Battle Beast bests Invincible, Bulletproof and Black Samson. Just like Battle Beast states in that issue of Invincible, his motivations remain the same. Battle Beast is looking for battle; to find an opponent worthy of his time. One that might defeat and kill him.
Given the Invincible series and the nature of Battle Beast, you might expect this series to be violent and filled with gore. You would be absolutely correct in this expectation. Here is where Ottley shines, happily showing Battle Beast picking the bones of the previous owners of his ship and then a bloody battle with the Colossus of Emsiu. With Annalisa Leoni (Oblivion Song, Cobra Commander) colouring, Ottley has the perfect partner, with her bright, clean technique highlighting blood and viscera.
“There was a rage that boiled within me”
Battle Beast
There is a small fear that the series might rely on the artwork too much though, as the premise might wear thin. However Kirkman is an accomplished writer, having proved capable of planning long development arcs in The Walking Dead and Invincible. Hopefully, there will be time and room to explore Battle Beast as a character in this series.
There is a small criticism of the writing from issue 1 though. We are introduced to a new character, the ship’s computer, who teams up with Battle Beast in his quest to die, albeit for different reasons; the computer wants to help as revenge for its murdered crew. The criticism arises with the information dump of Battle Beast’s personal story when the computer asks. This could have been played out over several issues or put together from different sources but instead feels very jarring, even for new readers.
Is the criticism warranted though? Battle Beast is about his quest for blood, violence and death. So long as Battle Beast continues to serve this, it will be an exciting read, looking incredible with artwork from Ottley and Leon. Readers want to see Battle Beast fighting unbelievable warriors, aliens, titans and demons; no doubt the series will provide all of this. What will be interesting is to see how Kirkman keeps readers involved if we know Battle Beast’s eventual fate.
Buy Battle Beast Vol. 1 – Forbidden Planet UK (I earn a commission)
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