Prophet 25 by Brandon Graham and Giannis Milonogiannis

Writer: Brandon Graham

Artist: Giannis Milonogiannis

Publisher: Image

When last we visited Prophet 24 or the violent scary lethal world with Ridley Scott approved visuals we discovered that the Empire of Man has a “Mother Box” that runs things. Specifically: the brains of the operation appears to be a big brain with tiny arms and legs that projects a friendly holographic little girl.

This issue starts out with what I think was the remains of the 6 or so John Prophets we saw at the end of the last issue but its not entirely clear. There seem to be various missions all over the galaxy. Here’s a scene that shows us the kind of fighters we’re dealing with:

I swear that you could write a thousand words about each panel. Brother John Andronocles has an organic sword that he’s grown. He’s carrying on it on his right shoulder. Later on this issue we find out that his sword spits out some massive corrosive acid that kills. His sword also has some kind of consciousness. It talks a bit and can ask questions. The other person, Brother John Hu, turns out to be a girl John Prophet which means you can do wonderful things with cloning in the future. You can also see the orb like ship they came in on at the far right. What isn’t seen is the talking domesticated dog.

There have been different artists the last two issues but the visuals are still stunning. There’s a thrill in every panel. These are just exquisitely  designed alien worlds that we travel through, with walking land mines that can kill within a minute or so, and giant dinosaur like creatures and have I mentioned the talking dog? But the highlight would have to be final page, spoiler alert, where we discover that “Jonathon Prophet”, the man who the clones originate from is still alive. We also find out that the original far surpasses the abilities of his copies.

The last page also features some of the best action writing I’ve read in a long while. It rivals Conan’s famous answer to what is “best in life”. Here it is.

Now, I would have written “Jonathon Prophet” is like, strong n’ stuff.” Here’s what Brandon Graham wrote:

“He’s fully awake now. The one man the Earth Empire fears. He knows them. Once he was their hero. But he learned the depths of their cruelty. The Friend of the Scale, The Unkillable Knife, The Wave Crester, The Spiral Jumper. The Lord of the Wolf-Rayet Star. The Old Man, Great Grey Grandfather Jonathon Prophet has awoken.”

This also answers an important question: The Empire of Man looks to be evil, if the fact that the soldiers routinely eat human flesh wasn’t a bit of a hint. Jonathon Prophet looks to be a one man resistance force. Just a stunningly good series, drawn with the Eye of Heavy Metal and the scientific grounding of Rudy Rucker.  4.77 out of 5 stars. Gardner Dozier should take a look at this for his anthology. The Best American Comics, not a friend of genre, should reserve 15 or so pages for its inclusion. (Dweeby Fantagraphics types are usually the editors. The Unkillable Knife should slay them all…!) Just a great inspired read.

Related: I am so inspired by the manly action writing describing Jonathon Prophet that I’ve decided to describe myself in the same way and hope that it catches on as an Internet meme or at least in search engines. Future employers should know what they’re getting.

“Philip Shropshire has fully awakened now. The one man the multinational rulers fear. He knows them. He once worked for them until he learned the depths of their cruelty. They fear him for Philip Shropshire is The Dull Blade That Keeps Stabbing. The Enemy of the Mirror. The Man Who Walks To Places. The Long Line Jumper. The Ruthless Lord of His Own Alternate Music Video Channel. He must now destroy the Evil Empire, again. He yearns for the taste of their blood and failed dreams on his lips….”

Please click liberally. That should be number one in my search results. I think that’s the kind of thing that employers are looking for.

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• Prophet 23 by Brandon Graham and Simon Roy(comicsforge.com)

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• Prophet 22 by Brandon Graham and Simon Roy(comicsforge.com)

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