This week I’ll be taking a look back at one of my personal favorite comics. God Country is a six-issue series, first released back in 2017. The series is created and written by Donny Cates known for his work on various Marvel events such as Absolute Carnage and The King in Black in addition to his recent work on both Thor and Hulk. Geoff Shaw provides the artwork with colors by Jason Wordie.

The story of God Country is collected into a single trade paperback published by Image Comics. It’s another series I would recommend to those looking to get into the medium as it delivers a satisfying narrative with a minimal time commitment.

God Country is focused on an elderly protagonist by the name of Emmet Quinlan. Emmet suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and his son, Roy remains his only reliable caretaker. One day a massive tornado rips through the small town where Emmet lives and in the aftermath he finds himself in possession of a magical sword named Valofax. While holding the sword, Emmet finds his memory restored and is able to reconnect with his son and granddaughter. Unfortunately, the sword’s creator is a ruthless god by the name of Attum, who will do anything in order to get it back.

What follows is easily one of the most epic stories that I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Cates excels at delivering huge stakes and exciting action scenes that leap off the page. This is complemented by the absolutely exceptional character design by Geoff Shaw. Valofax is easily one of the coolest weapons in fiction for me and I never get tired of seeing Emmet carve his way through hordes of the undead or trading blows with gods wielding world-destroying power.

Don’t mistake this for just a mindless action fest, however. God Country delivers a truly touching and grounded depiction of the struggles that can come from caring for an aging parent. Each of the main characters are well fleshed out and I like how Cates takes the time to build up their motivations and relationships before throwing them into the fire towards the end.

The interpersonal conflicts between Roy’s family and Emmet provide the core of this story and guide every conflict. I love how every battle acts almost as a personification of the core themes. Emmet fights against war, death, and even himself at times on his quest to simply be remembered as who he was, not what he became in his worst moments. It’s a struggle that everyone has to face at some point. Age is the worst reminder that even the strongest person can be reduced to a shadow of their former self.

However, I like that God Country manages to provide a hopeful outlook on these gloomy topics. The dialogue is often quite witty and provides moments of humor amongst the struggle. The final lines of this story are some of my personal favorites and always help me to feel better about the losses within my own life.

My only real issues with the story come within the first two issues. The pacing here is just a tad too fast, but it makes sense given the brief nature of the entire tale. Other than that though I can’t recommend this story enough. It could be because I read this story at just the right time in my life, but I truly think this is one of the best comics out there.

It takes full advantage of the visual medium in order to provide otherworldly, eye-popping battles that overflow with color. On top of that is a deeply personal and heartwarming message surrounding loss and the bonds between family members. It’s clear Cates put a lot of love into this book and I for one am extremely grateful it exists.

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God Country

16.99

10

Score

10.0/10

Pros

• Great art
• Epic worldbuilding
• Colorful action
• Touching story

Cons

• Pacing can be too fast at times