Prophet 2: Brothers. Brandon Graham, Simon Roy,(Writers) Farel Dalrymple, Giannis Milonogiannis, Brandon Graham, (Art), Joseph Bergin III, Charo Solis (Colours), Ed Brisson (Letters). Image Comics (2013)

Wonderful science fiction that full advantage of comics unlimited budget and special effects to throw off extraordinary images and ideas on every page. Old man John Prophet, the long term enemy of the Earth Empire has been restored to life at the same time as the Earth Empire itself. He starts on the journey to find those of his allies who may still be alive and willing to return to the fight, he finds some and encounters new ones and the first major assault by the Empire is launched.
The storylines is severely simple, a man looking for others to join his struggle, this leaves all the room for the astounding interstellar context and the fireworks display of ideas and extraordinary detail to come to the fore without having to support a plot.
The sheer inventiveness of the writers and artists is staggering, each page is bristling with ideas that fill out the extraordinary vision of a crowded space filled with the remnants of a previous war. The scope of the ideas is captured in a great double page spread showing the dismembered remains of a giant, his remains serving as the basis for a thriving mining industry into his flesh and active trading post, with an entity delaying becoming a planet to wait by his companion.
The most plot significant section of the book follows how John Prophet, cloned servant of the Earth Empire, became its most persistent enemy. The gorgeous art by Farel Dalrymple is one of the highlights on the book, the story and the art work superbly together in a unified way.
Elsewhere the art transition is so severe that I thought the book had some pages missing, it took a bit a re-reading and careful attention to pick up the story threads from one chapter to another.
One of the strongest aspects to the story is the lack of explanation that is provided, the context is what it is, there is no time spend proving any more that enough detail to identify the components before the reader is moved on to the next starburst of ideas. This works really well for a huge space opera like this story, the reader is taken along for the ride by the relentless push of ideas as the sheer scope of the story and the enormous story possibilities are unfolded in front f them.
The glorious confidence of the writers and artists in their work that they can be sure that the reader will follow along frees them up to pursue the project to astonishing directions and still find room for a toilet joke. Ambitious science fiction is delivered in all its glory in this great comic.

Prophet . Volume 1. Remission. Image Comics 2012

Wonderful science fiction that greatly benefits from a range of writers and artists to deliver a gripping opening to a very ambitious story. The first 3 chapters written by Brandon Graham & Simon Roy, art by Simon Roy, colours by Richard Ballerman and  letters by Ed Brisson set the scene with tremendous energy and a cloudburst of ideas. A long buried capsule breaks to the surface and John Prophet emerges in a hugely different Earth with a mission to complete. The first stage is to meet someone who will provide further details of the mission. Prophet crosses a mysterious planet that is full of alien life and soft echos of a human past. He finally meets his contact and receives his mission, to awaken the Earth Empire. The requires a further journey before it can be accomplished. The remaining three chapters written by Brandon Graham, Simon Roy, Farel Dalrymple and Giannis Milonogiannis. Art by Farel Dalrymple, Giannis Milonogiannis, Brandon Graham, colours by Richard Ballerman, Joseph Bergin III, Brandon Graham. A backup story with words and art by Emma Rios complete the package.
The book does exactly what an introduction should do, it is a really strong hook for what will come next, the set up is deeply intriguing and enough potential story telling doors have been opened to make the next step inherently unpredictable and highly anticipated. One of the very best things about the book is the confidence shown by the creative team in the readers, they feel no need to explain everything, instead they simply take a lot for granted and pursue a single story line in each section. This gives the sections a strong element of internal coherence and gives room for the astonishing context in each case to be taken over by the reader.
Too much detail or explanation would have burdened the slender story and possibly drowned it, creating a functioning context for the action with the cast simply getting on with their lives is gripping. There is just enough information to suggest a huge back story which frames the mission the John Prophet is following and the subsequent ripples from his actions.
A multitude of artists and writers can easily create a lost of conflicting and clashing voices and visions, here the multitude is used to suggest the sheer enormity of the Prophet project, the enormous distances and the staggering range of locations is glowing science fiction. The book is full of causally placed ideas that are simply there " One of McCall's children, trying to follow his father by becoming a planet" with art that captures the idea is just a passing moment in the book. The writing has achieved a delicate balance between mystery and momentum without ever becoming obscure or obvious. The arc of the book closes on a great note with a cunning return to the epic simplicity of the opening, a man on a mission has returned and there will be consequences.
The art is a  joy, it changes with each section and never fails to give the story the lift and heft it needs, it fills in the space that the words cannot reach with astounding ideas and dramatic moments that underline the strangeness of the universe. Science fiction thrives on the detail of the moment as well as the giant vistas of space and time and the art captures it all with vigor and clarity. The artists, colourists and the letterer take the possibilities for disciplined freedom that the story offers and take off, they are firmly anchored in the story and they push it far beyond what it could have been.
Smart science fiction comics are a deep pleasure and this is a really smart science fiction comic.
Other Voices, Other Views:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15770131-prophet-volume-1
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-12-11/entertainment/35768098_1_brandon-graham-animation-artists
http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2012/08/22/comic-review-prophet-vol-1-remission