Review by Lily Fierro |
For the Resurrectionists, reincarnation does not seem to be on their side.
Once, in a previous life, a master tomb builder, his wife, a mute scout for tomb raiders known as the Resurrectionists, and the leading Resurrectionist, the group fell into a futile cycle of rebirth after the Pharaoh Herihor double-crossed them and placed their bodies in his tomb in Ancient Egypt in order to forever control them and their destinies. In each incarnation, the group spends some time awakening to understand their newest surroundings, but with each new physical transformation comes the same outcome where they work for yet another incarnation of the Pharaoh until he decides to eliminate them.
In each iteration of life, as the group awakens, they recall all of the Pharaoh’s actions to destroy them and begin to plot how to recover and free their bodies and souls from the Pharaoh’s eternal grasp.
Unfortunately, since ancient Egyptian times and despite all of the reflections and attempts in lives since, the group has yet to succeed in saving themselves.
In their most recent incarnation in today’s world, the group has become bolder, more clever, and, most importantly, more aware of their surroundings and their history across lives. Consequently, they have more courage and foresight in order to see the Pharaoh approaching and to once and for all end their cross-lifespan enslavement to him.
At this time in history, like other times in their lives, the Resurrectionists have really nothing to lose; if they fail in this life, then they will have another chance to overcome the Pharaoh in the next, and if they succeed, they will finally be free.
For a premise that will eventually contain plenty of action sequences, the first volume of The Resurrectionists spends most of its time establishing the parallel Ancient Egyptian and modern lives of the title group and all of their pasts that lead them up to their current moment of reunion.
Tao, the original builder of Herihor’s tomb, has become Jericho Way, a former architect turned criminal after a major accident on his bridge. Maya, his wife who Herihor’s army slayed, has become Quinn, an artifacts dealer to Lenox, the Pharaoh’s most recent form. Memi, the mute scout, has become Lena Parsifal, a spy-like hired gun who has long been awakened to begin the mission of soul and body recovery. Khu, the original leading tomb raider, has become Macdonald Gardner, an ex-con turned thief and partner in crime to Jericho. And lastly, Sabu, the Pharaoh’s former lover, has become Adele, the ex-wife of Jericho and lover of Quinn.
Without even knowing it, the original group have crossed paths and woven their lives together, preparing them to unify for their next revolt.
Though this first volume, collecting issues 1-6, focuses primarily on mythology construction, the smooth transitions between Ancient and modern time make the Resurrectionists as a series stand out.
As a comic book series focused on the continuum of the life force, the creators of the Resurrectionists outstandingly weave two completely different time periods to create a single timeline, even if parts of one era interrupt others. Maurizio Rosenzwig’s streamlined illustrations graphically connect the different lives of our group, and the excellent coloring by Moreno Dinisio helps to distinguish each time period without making them visually conflict.
Then, from a plot and dialog perspective, Fred Van Lente simultaneously merges and distinguishes the speaking styles and the plots of the periods, thus creating the foundation of the continuous time spectrum where parts of the past could be parts of the present and vice versa.
With its time shifting plot, the Resurrectionists could have been an unwieldy endeavor to create and to read. Thankfully, with clearly planned transitions in plot and writing paired with deft transitions in art and color, Resurrectionists never gets too confusing or tangled up in itself. As a result, its fascinating mythology continues to engage you and prepare you for the revolution to come in future issues.
Rooted with a strong concept and insightful, smart decisions in what to convey in the past or present and how, the first volume of the Resurrectionists sets a solid foundation for future action.
Hopefully, our group of Resurrectionists can finally break their cycle of enslavement to the Pharaoh without breaking the seamless time and space and style continuum established by these first six issues.