Broken Frontier

Writers Bryan Edward Hill and Rob Levin team up with mod artist extraordinaire, Phil Noto, for 7 Days From Hell, the latest and last edition of this year’s Pilot Season from Top Cow. Pilot Season is an event hosted by Top Cow every year where multiple creative teams produce the first issue of a potential ongoing title. Fans vote on their favorite and the winning book continues forward. In theory, it’s a great breeding ground for new stories and creators. But on the other hand, as a reader, they’re hard to really invest in. If I truly love a Pilot Season book, I have to prepare myself for the fact that there may never be an issue two. 

In 7 Days From Hell, John is a hard-boiled assassin with little to no regard for how he affects the human condition, especially since the death of his fiancé, Sarah. After he hesitates on a job, John finds himself with a bullet in his brain and a deal on the table. He has seven days to locate and terminate a target; do so and he avoids hell. On the eighth day, another target is picked and the cycle of redemption continues. Mandy, a white-hot former angel and current demon, is supplying him with these so-called jobs in hopes to gain favor with the Almighty. If they can take out enough evil together, then the big guy up stairs is sure to notice. Right?

The tone and pace of 7 Days is very straightforward and minimalist. There is no elaborate hell or hierarchy of demons. The audience is only privy to the information that John receives, which could be faulty. It definitely adds an air of mystery and tension. However, the minimal approach sometimes downplays the gravity of what’s happening. This is a battle for a man’s eternal soul and a constant ticking clock, but our main character just comes off as too cool to notice. It definitely results in a level of detachment from the story for the reader. It’s nothing detrimental, but noticeable half way through the book. 

As a fan of Phil Noto, I can admit that sometimes his interiors can be static, especially during the action. He is a master at capturing poses and the human physique, but sometimes that doesn’t translate in kinetically frantic situations. Here, his efforts are mostly successful but become a little looser during the book's conclusion. Noto draws some of the most beautiful women and enviable men. In his world, every man worships Steve McQueen and every woman has piercing eyes. 7 Days is no exception. For the art alone, minor flaws and all, it’s a worthy read. 

7 Days From Hell is a quick and fun read that could be the start of a fun story. With the expansion of characters and an opportunity to delve into the established mythology, this is the kind of book that can achieve the Vertigo level of indie status. But, such is the nature of Pilot Season—it doesn’t really matter unless people vote for it.

No matter what, at the end of the day, we still got some new Phil Noto pencils. That is something for which to be thankful.