Posted by The Rippaverse has been hard at work producing and releasing new comics. A little while ago, there was a pretty rapid-fire release of campaigns for new and exciting books, and they don’t look to be slowing down any time soon. Today I want to look at the relatively new The Great War of Separation #1. I did receive my copy of the comic in the mail a few weeks back, but I’ve been so busy with personal things and Monster Hunter Wilds that I’ve had to postpone this comic review until now. It’s still an appropriate time to review, especially with the recent The Great War of Separation #2 campaign that just started this past week. Now let’s get into my thoughts.
SPOILERS FOLLOW
At first, I always assumed the America presented in the Rippaverse was a lot like the one I live in today, geographically speaking. However, as more and more comics got released, it started to become clear that this was not the case. The Great War of Separation #1 begins to answer those questions. Its story and premise is straightforward enough: drug cartels at the Texas border caused some trouble and killed Texan Guardsmen (basically the border patrol/military), which steadily turned into an escalating conflict between the cartel and Texan government. The tit for tat vengeance initially begins with unsanctioned military operations agains the cartel, but the cartel continues to hit back harder every time until the governor is assassinated. The new governor takes over, and his stance is quite firm: don’t mess with Texas. The federal government doesn’t like what’s going on, with the new governor essentially sanctioning an undeclared war in Mexican territory, so they try to pressure him into stepping back a little. The new governor, Plessy Sanders, won’t let Texas roll over and accept the punches, so he begins preparing for inevitable war with the United States proper. The first issue ends with Bryan Solari abandoning the United States to return to Texas to prepare for the coming conflict, the United States prepares to send an Except army down to crush Texas, and a cartel assailant named Xeno is making his way towards the Texan capitol.
Another interesting detail is that since the story is basically being told as a flashback, it uses a few familiar faces as focal points to ground the story and contextualize things. The main one is seeing a young Avery Silman and how his family responds to the war and its effects. It’s really cool seeing a Rippaverse staple in such a different context than normal while contextualizing the timing of the events depicted. The story as a whole will also provide some nice characterization and context for the character of Bryan Solari. While his presence in #1 was a little limited, I expect he’ll be front and center in #2. Finally, it’s always interesting to see the world-building and gain a better understanding of the world that these comics take place in, such as learning about other parts of the United States that seem to have seceded into independence prior to the events of this comic.
SPOILERS END
The story is really solid. It’s also interesting because while it has important characters, it feels more like a history book chronicling a specific event rather than a tale detailing a character’s adventures and battles. It’s a fun story that I’m really looking forward to seeing continued in #2. Chuck Dixon continues to knock it out of the park with his gripping and engaging stories that feel good to read. As with most Rippaverse comics, I picked it up and couldn’t put it back down until I was done reading. I’m definitely looking forward to the next issue when it releases in a month or so.
All that being said, the comic wasn’t perfect and I definitely had a few complaints here and there. First, it was a pretty short book. At 56 pages, this is one of the shortest comics yet, though the price point of the book does reflect that. The shortness is also alleviated by the fact that the next issue is already preparing for a release. My other major issue with the comic is the frequent use of Spanish with no translation provided. I know a bit of Spanish, so I could stumble through some of the foreign dialogue, but it’s kind of annoying when you’re missing out on the details in full scenes. Sure, there are plenty of ways to alleviate this problem (i.e. Google Translate), but doing that still takes you out of the book. It’s further puzzling because I know in other books, like Yaira #1, there are instances of Spanish being spoken that then have little blurbs that translate it at the bottom. Why those translations are absent from The Great War of Separation #1 is beyond me.
Turning to the artwork, it’s good. This time I can say with certainty that it didn’t have any particularly weird or funky looking panels. There’s definitely one panel in particular that’s kind of uncanny and creepy, but I think that that’s the point given the character it depicts. Overall, the artwork is solid and succeeds in depicting the story it’s trying to tell.
As with all previous Rippaverse comics, I highly recommend The Great War of Separation #1. It’s a good story that will grip and interest you. One big reason why I respect Rippaverse comics is because they recognize that the consumer doesn’t owe them anything. The onus falls on them to release good quality products that interest the consumer and the consumer chooses to purchase and support. It’s a simple philosophy that I 100% agree with and believe in, and it continues to guide Rippaverse in producing high-quality, fun content. I’m definitely looking forward to The Great War of Separation #2, but until then I would highly recommend checking out The Great War of Separation #1.
Broad Scope Entertainment 