Eternal Empire Volume 1

by Sarah Vaughn and Jonathan Luna

[Quirky Cat]

Eternal Empire Vol. 1 is the start of a new series straight from the minds of Jonathan Luna (Alex+Ada and The Sword) and Sarah Vaughn (Alex+Ada, Deadman, and Ruined). This is the series I didn’t know I was looking for; an epic fantasy tale focusing on two different characters trying to find a way to survive during a time of war.



The moment I saw the cover for Eternal Empire, I knew I wanted to give it a try. I know that sounds a bit odd, but there are just certain art styles that when I see them, I just can’t resist the temptation to read.
While prepping to write my review, I couldn’t help but notice the pretty low average rating for this series. I’ll admit I was a bit surprised by that. Perhaps it’s because I haven’t read anything by the Luna/Vaughn team yet (and thus didn’t have any expectations)? While I think there’s some work to be done in this series, it’s got a great foundation and a lot of potential, and thus think it deserves credit for that.
Stylistically I really loved how the two main characters are polar opposites; Tair is pale, with long white hair, and grew up in a cold environment, while Rion has short red hair, darker skin tones, and grew up in hotter more arid climates. They may a striking team, and believe me when I say they’re a team. When I first saw their differences, I wasn’t sure that would be the case, but within the first issue it was clear that these two are paranormally drawn to one another.
Looking at the volume as a whole, I can clearly see where the authors are spending their time building things up. We now know a decent amount about the main characters and the current predicament they’re in, but very little about the world itself. We know a war is going on, and that a queen is leading it all. I would also hazard a guess that the queen has been looking for them (possibly thanks to a prophecy of some sort?) and would even theorize about their connection to her.
However, I don’t know why she’s waging these wars, who their gods are (other than their names, that is), their motivation, or how it’ll all wrap together. I’m assuming that will all be revealed in the next issue, which is why I intend to read that one as well. Sometimes it takes a bit to get the ball rolling, especially in worlds that are a bit more on the expansive side of things.


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