It also seems to have suffered a bit due to the pandemic, as the series had to shed a number of tie-in stories, most notably for Spider-Man and Thor, who are strangely absent in the main book. Event level books require event-level art, and Gracia delivers.Īt its core, the book does have a strikingly similar plot to War of the Realms, which featured an angry villain coming to Earth to do terrible things. A stunning scene takes place near the sun and the sun effects are so warm and realistic you’ll believe what you’re seeing.

Form and depth are conveyed wonderfully throughout. The number of effects Gracia uses is only rivaled by how many characters are drawn in this book. From cover to cover, the art never falters and it looks as sharp as ever.ĭomestic bliss is hard to come by when you’re a king. For scenes like this, the art could easily look confusing or be hard to read, but Schiti keeps things measured and focused. There are many epic war scenes with an impossible number of characters throughout the book with impressive attention to detail. You’ll get a crack out of an Iron Man emoji and fear from the characters when an army begins to rise with an impossible force.

There are impactful moments throughout the book as well as smaller visual ideas that work splendidly. The art by Schiti and colors by Marte Gracia is fantastic - the story is seriously enhanced thanks to the visuals. It’s the kind of rousing heroic moments you rarely get in action and adventure storytelling, and you may even feel emotional reading it. There are multiple opportunities for heroes to rise up and show off that their real power is courage. Of course, this is a Fantastic Four meets Avengers event, and it does well to sprinkle FF characters amongst Avengers. The main conceit in the book features heroes showing who they really are, and how no matter the background of a character, they are an Avenger. There are moments of shock and awe you won’t see coming.

As far as plotting, this book is quite good at keeping your attention where it needs to be with some well-timed misdirection.

Empyre omnibus