In 2012, nearly twenty years after the debut of the original Prophet comic book, Image Comics announced his return. The comic book would be part re-imagining and part continuation beginning with issue #21. At the time of this announcement, I had no idea what to expect. Perhaps it would be simply more of what this character once was, I thought. Well, I could not have been more wrong and the surprise was not just pleasant, it was exciting. In this revitalization, John Prophet once again awoke after a long slumber. Though this time, it wouldn’t be for mere decades but for thousands of years. The comic book is also less super-heroic and more fantastic science fiction. This is because Prophet awakens in a world filled with strange aliens long after the fall of man with hopes of saving humanity one last time, however, the character doesn’t have the limitations that he once had. For starters, John Prophet is a clone of the man that was the original hero and there isn’t only one, but many clones with the same mission. They are all John Prophet. He lives in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity is scarce and that world is a terrifying place to live in. It’s one of the most recent times that I have been inspired by a comic book. I enjoyed it more because of the usage of a character I have had admiration for since I was younger and how he was turned into something more sophisticated. This time the brilliance of the story is matched with that of the artwork. The title itself is almost a personal metaphor for my own taste in comic books and how it’s changed over the years. Whereas before, I simply wanted exciting adventures that were action packed that shared the exploits of a new interesting hero now I enjoy exciting, well-written stories. That’s very much what this is and to cap it all off, later this year the final chapter of this tale will be published as Prophet: Earth War. I’m a sucker for good endings and I can’t wait to read it. If there is one thing that I’ve learned from reading this comic book and retaining the inspiration it’s given me is that stories never have to be bound by genre guidelines. They can be original in new ways. If you’re looking for something new and original, check out Prophet. It’s on my list of examples of what make the comic book medium as fantastic as it can be.
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