Book of Death Vol 1 1

The Geomancer Kay McHenry was slain, and the massacres began. A new and terrible Geomancer rose to power. He brought with him a dark age. A bitter wind that swept over all, as though the Earth itself sought solace through vengeance.

-- Book of the Geomancers

Solicitation[]

“A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once.”

The Valiant heroes. X-O Manowar. Bloodshot. Ninjak. The Harbinger Renegades. Unity. This is how they lived. This is how they died.

Now we know. The Book of the Geomancer has recorded it all. But only a young girl – the last in a line of the enigmatic mystics who protect the Earth known as Geomancers – has seen this future come to pass, from the coming cataclysm to the dawn of the 41st century. Alone with her sworn protector, the Eternal Warrior – a soldier battle-forged across five thousand years of combat – the duo must defy their allies to stop the Dark Age that now threatens to eclipse our world.

Together, they are the number one target of every hero and villain on Earth. Either the Eternal Warrior hands her over…or they take him down. But can even he single-handedly protect one child when the entire Valiant Universe wages war against him?

The blockbuster Valiant event of 2015 starts here as New York Times best-selling writer Robert Venditti (X-O MANOWAR) joins superstar-in-the-making Robert Gill (ARMOR HUNTERS: HARBINGER) and visionary artist Doug Braithwaite (ARMOR HUNTERS) to begin a thousand-year journey into the future of the Valiant Universe…and rain, fire, blood and war on the heroes of today.

(Part 1): Foretold[]

Appearances[]

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

G.A.T.E.
- Bravo team
- Colonel Capshaw
MI-6
- Neville Alcott

Villains:

Geomancer / David Dunlow (First appearance)
Master Darque / The Corrupted One

Other Characters:

Armor Hunters (Vision)
- Helix (Vision)
- Quartz (Vision)
Beast Brigade (First appearance) (Vision)
- Bloodhound (Vision)
- Jaunty (Vision)
- M.A.T.T. / Telepathic Dolphin (First appearance) (Vision)
- Mister E. Meat (Vision)
- Vincent Van Goat (Vision)
Bleeding Monk (Vision)
Bloodshot / Rampage Form (Vision)
Bloodshot Dinosaur (Vision)
Class-I Independent Operations Units (Vision)
Commander Trill (Vision)
Divinity (Vision)
Doctor Mirage (Vision)
Doctor Silk (Vision)
Gravedog (Vision)
Harbinger Renegades (Vision)
- Archer (Vision)
- Kris Hathaway (Vision)
- Peter Stanchek (Vision)
- Torque (Vision)
- Zephyr (Vision)
H.A.R.D. Corps (Vision)
- Charlie Palmer (Vision)
Jhukka of Dacia (Vision)
Kay McHenry (Mentioned only)
Li Hwen Mirage (Vision)
Mech Major (Vision)
Ms. Dunlow (First appearance)
The Myth (Vision)
The Outcast (First appearance) (Vision)
Punk Mambo (Vision)
Roku (Vision)
Saana (Vision)
The Torment (Mentioned only)
Unnamed black female hero with brown/red hair (Vision)
Unnamed hero with black striped outfit (Vision)
Unnamed black female hero with halo (Vision)
Unnamed hero with tie and crowbar (Vision)
Unnamed hero covered in scarves (Vision)
Unnamed purple X-O warrior (Vision)
The Visitor (Mentioned only)
War Mother (First appearance) (Vision)
Zygos Twins (Vision)
- Katherine Zygos (Vision)

Locations:

North Carolina
- Concord
Oregon
World War II (Flashback only)
- Holocaust
Wyoming
- Ashlee

Items:

Archer's Crossbow (Vision)
Book of the Geomancers
Gilad's axe
Ninjak's sai
X-O Commando Armor (Vision)
X-O Manowar Armor
- Shanhara

Vehicles:

Ants
Frogs
Love Boat
Rats
Scorpions
Snakes

Credits[]

Writers: Robert Venditti
Pencilers: Robert Gill, Doug Braithwaite
Inkers: Robert Gill, Doug Braithwaite
Colorists: David Baron, Brian Reber
Letterers: Dave Lanphear
Design: Dylan Todd
Cover Artists:
- Regular: Robert Gill & Brian Reber (A / 2nd)
- Variants: Cary Nord (B), Clayton Crain (C), Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic (D), Blank Cover (E)
- Incentives: Paolo Rivera (1:10), Pere Perez (1:20), Paolo Rivera (1:60)
- Exclusives: Juan Jose Ryp & Pete Pantazis (1-UP), Scot Eaton (4CG), Scot Eaton & Ulises Arreola (Atomic), Robert Gill & David Baron (BAM), Meghan Hetrick (Borderlands), Stephen Segovia & Ulises Arreola (Collector's Paradise), Ryan Lee & Allen Passalaqua (Comics Dungeon), Zach Dolan & Laurie Foster (Level Up), Cafu (Mile High), Ryan Lee (NERD Store), Rafa Sandoval (Ssalefish), Jason Strutz (Ultimate)
Editors: Warren Simons, Kyle Andrukiewicz (associate)
Editor-in-Chief: Warren Simons
Logo Design: Tom Muller

Synopsis[]

This article does not have a synopsis recorded yet.

Notes[]

The "1:25 Retailer Incentive Variant Cover" of this issue is the exclusive Book of Death: Legends of the Geomancer #1 (of 4).
The Deluxe Edition includes a version of the script where Gang appears as a future member of Unity alongside Katherine Zygos, Quartz, and Punk Mambo.

Quotes[]

An eleven-year-old with the power to make trees do murder -- and she's lost control. We need Tama back. Whatever it takes.

-- Colonel Capshaw

For thousands of years I've walked the Earth. Inquisitions. Holocausts. I've witnessed what humanity does when it panics. I won't let them do it to her.

-- Eternal Warrior

I taught you everything you know, Aric. I didn't teach you everything I know.

-- Eternal Warrior

The Geomancer Kay McHenry was slain, and the massacres began. A new and terrible Geomancer rose to power. He brought with him a dark age. A bitter wind that swept over all, as though the Earth itself sought solace through vengeance. Gilad Anni-Padda -- the Eternal Warrior -- gathered who he could for a counterstrike. It was just one desperate moment among countless before and after. When it all began, those who had means, but not courage, departed for the stars aboard any vessel that could carry them. The rest were abandoned to their fate. A future that neither belonged to them nor would be of their own making. A future of unimaginable terrors. Where one man's utopia -- finally achieved -- was all the more terrifying for its exclusivity. As the best of us will, there were those who discovered light in the darkness. New life amidst such death. All the while, the world hastily built its armies. Drafted the able-bodied into service. Bestowed the young with power unfathomable. Nations were laid low. People eradicated. Every side lost, but what good would a victor have been? For the true opposition, corrupt and evil, was armed with the sea, the land, and the air. We heard stories that might have been fact or legend. Or both. "Outcast." "The Visitor." "The Torment." We knew not what the names meant. Isolated, pockets of survivors held out. To no avail. Heroes banded together under the banner of Unity -- were struck down and banded together anew. The Earth was soaked with blood... some drops, more vital than others, signaled the end of an era. Did we deserve the tumult? In all of history, why were we the ones to watch the world fall? To see all that was built reclaimed by the ground whence it came? When even the unkillable are slaughtered... what hope can there by for any of us? It is said a Geomancer brought the devastation. Could a Geomancer have thwarted it? Could anyone? None can say. Too much time has passed since the conflagrations began. Such truths are beyond knowing. The only truth is that it is the dark age to end all dark ages, and it still continues today.

-- Book of the Geomancers

The lines are drawn, then. You bleed next.