Review by Michael Smith

Writer: Michael Dolce & Marcus Perry

Artist: Mariano Navarro

Cover: Tyler Kirkham

Editor Simmons

Published by Shadowline/Image Comics

I honestly did not know what to expect as I looked at the first issue of this new miniseries from Shadowline Comics. The title of the book just made we wonder what path we might head down. A lot of times that title gives away the book and from this point all I knew was that somebody has going to be the “descendent” of another person, that didn’t capture me at first glance. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised once I opened the first issue.

Descendent tells the story of Lt. Rayne Santiago who is a government secret operative that deals with terrorist activity. If that was not cool enough, Rayne also has a mystical power to control fire but that information is hidden from any of her teammates. As with any good secret you know that it cannot stay a secret forever and somebody somewhere is going to need you to reveal the truth. Rayne’s world comes caving in on her as sins from her past resurface forcing her to go back and experience a life that she has been running away from for years.

I felt like this book offered a nice mix of action adventure mixed in with supernatural intrigue. I am always looking to compare a new book to an existing book for a point of reference and for me this book had a lot of the same strong qualities you would find in Witchblade from Top Cow Entertainment. There is a strong female lead character, which is hard to find in too many comics. She is tough and capable of holding her own but also can tap into a force beyond imagination that sets the lead apart from an ordinary woman. This is where the similarities stop though because Descendent is strong enough to stand on its own merit.

I think the story is well written and provides a great introduction into the characters while continuing to push the plot forward. I have read Dolce’s other independent work The Sire and this book shows a lot of growth in the overall writing and style of telling a story. We get a lot of things thrown to us all at once but each and every piece felt necessary to tell the true story of the book. I felt the art presented itself very well, though I am not sure about a government secret operative attacking terrorist in leather pants, a trench coat, and a top that might be found in the lingerie section of Victoria’s Secret. I also realize this is a comic book and that is something many of the readers want to see.

In the end I thought this was a strong introduction for the miniseries and actually introduced a character that seems to be dynamic enough to provide more storylines in the future if this miniseries is a success. I was impressed with the book as a whole and felt like it offered readers a lot of storyline and character development to kick off a first issue of a series. I also would like to applaud the creators for introducing a strong, female leading character. That is not an easy thing to do and they executed it flawlessly. I really anticipate the next issue to be equally as strong, if not stronger and would suggest that everyone give this one a try and check it out.

Rating: 7 out of 10 (Above Average)