This hefty HC collects all the mini-series sporting combat-magician William Gravel. This is one of these Ellis projects that sees him just telling a story without trying to explore any deeper issues. The attitude of Gravel is similar to characters from pulp magazines like the Shadow, not much in the way of introspection or agonizing over the death of his enemies. Gravel is all for the shoot first, sort ‘em out later approach.
And to tell the truth, while I wouldn’t want all comics to be like that, this kind of unrestrained, often extremely gory violence can be very entertaining when you’re in the right mood for it. It’s also very nice to see a magician who completely avoids the Gandalf-template. Gravel is no frail old sage, he is a killing machine amplified by magic.
