The shepherd, apokatastasis vol 1 by Andrea Lorenzo Molinari and RoBerto Xavier Molinari

Illustrated by Luca Panciroli & Ryan Showers, colored by Pamela Poggiali & Heather Breckel, lettered by Joel Rodriguez & Jacob Bascle

​Lawrence, a professor of theology, loses his son to a drug overdose. He finds the grief too much to bear, and he has a nagging feeling that his son's soul is lost, that he needs his father on the other side to help guide the way. As Lawrence crosses over, he meets with his departed father who tries to counsel Lawrence away from seeking vengeance on those he feel is responsible for his son’s death. Lawrence's father gives him a staff that he hopes he will use for good, but he instead uses it for revenge. Along the way, he gets a companion - a fierce wolf who follows his lead and seems to want revenge as well.

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This story is an interesting start, but I'm not sure how much more story there will be beyond this volume. This is a reprint of a comicbook from 2015. The beginning does hint that there could be more adventures for Lawrence, as he is in the middle of a rather large dispute with spirits, and the rest of this book is his flashback to how he got his powers and took on this role of a spirit Shepherd. For me, the art was a little lacking. Panciroli & Poggiali did the first few chapters of the book and they were enjoyable and detailed similarly to other superhero comicbooks. Showers & Breckel’s chapters weren’t my favorite. The art was really lacking detail, and most of the panels are covered in black, making it really difficult to see what was going on or decipher anything. Characters were also really stiff and lacking in facial expressions. Since there are no more chapters, this might just be for readers who love afterlife mythology.

Sara's Rating: 6/10
Suitability Level: Grades 10-12

Publisher: Scout Comics
Publication Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 9781639691043 (Paperback)

​Tags: Rating: 6/10, Suitability: High School, Comicbooks, Mythology, Grief