Maybe I wasn't the target audience, but I didn't feel like there was an over-arching theme to the book. There was almost no character development with characters getting abilities because it fits the story at that time. ( )

Now, I'll admit, I've only read a smattering of Millar's vast bibliography. But "Reborn" still strikes me as his 'typical' thing: A fantastic premise that's grippingly presented and immediately seizes my attention and carries me off while pages fly by. And then ... it just peters out. Characters start talking like cliches or with gouache, over-the-top lines that take me completely out of the story and the believability of their personalities. The plot directions go from inventive to plain, and from plain to predictable, and from predictable to rote. The degree of this development definitely varies, and I'm not saying everything I've read by him follows this trajectory, but it definitely seems to be a trend, leaving the end of any story with an underwhelming taste in my metaphorical mouth.

In "Reborn" in particular, this is on my mind, because it's the poster child for the tendency. The first third of the book was great. Back then, I was strongly considering putting it in my wife's reading pile after I finished it, one of the highest compliments something on my side of the bed can reach, really. But the obvious logical holes that I expected to be addressed and made pivotal parts of the plotline (for instance, why, of all the good people, is the protagonist so special? And why, of all the other good people, is the _other_ super-awesome overpowered person the woman who used to be her best friend? And why, of all the millions of aggrieved pets in the world, is _her_ old cat the one fielding armies in the afterlife?) are glossed by, completely undermining the narrative by the sheer ridiculousness of not being answered or even properly asked. And then, even worse (massive spoilers follow until the line break, but you're maybe better off knowing this up front so you're less disappointed) the story started becoming ever more trite. The bad guy, conveniently, is the same faceless bad guy (and unmotivated 'I'm just evil' bad guy at that) that ruined her life early on. And for nearly as little reason as her cat, her best friend, her dad or her own super-special awesome-person place in the afterworld. It's so dull and lifeless, so obvious and without layers, and such a waste of the story that sucked me in from the get-go. Similarly, the protagonist's touching search for her husband is almost casually dismissed -- the heartbreak at realising he's found someone else initially worked well, but mere pages later, it's shrugged off, so that Millar presumably (as the inane dialogue hints) can have his pretty blonde protagonist get into sexually adventurous guilt-free shenanigans if he ever writes a follow-up.

Now let me be clear. It's not terrible. It's just bland. Excessively bland, considering the very memorable beginning and the very exciting premise. Not to mention Capullo's beautiful artwork, which really sells even the weakest parts of the narrative with gusto.

I'd give the end of this book maybe 2 stars (mostly for the artwork), and the beginning of it 4.5. The change is very gradual, though, and I enjoyed it for much more than halfway before it started to dawn on me it just wasn't going to get good again. So I'm landing on a 3 total. The premise is that fun -- it lifts "Reborn" above average all on its own. Well, it and the artwork. ( )

Cool science-fantasy mix, great art, emotional plot. Not as good as Seven to Eternity, Vol. 1: The God of Whispers but definitely worth a read. Looks like it never got past volume 1, but it ended without any unresolved issues. ( )

An old woman dies and is reborn in a fantasy world in danger where she is the young heroine. Sidesteps all theological questions, although notes that 'good' people are reborn on one side of the conflict and 'evil' people on the other. Otherwise a fairly average fantasy. ( )

This was an entertaining take on life after death. Essentially you end up as a character in a video game because the land is fantasy based and some people have special powers, or some people are actual demons/monsters if they were total assholes in life. There's a chosen one trope and our heroine crosses over as a hot young lady, of course, but I was ok with that. Apparently, no matter what age you die, you could appear in the new world at any age, from child to teenager.

Millar covers some topics like morality, religion, and friendship, but only lightly (that's just the nature of comics, I think). It's still fairly lighthearted, though the end was bittersweet. I was left with some questions though, and I don't see any future volumes, despite issue six being completed in 2017.

If there's hope for other volumes, I would recommend this. I'd like to see where the story goes and the characters are likable enough, even though they didn't really leave a lasting impression. I kind of hate thinking about death though and this book gave me some feels, but that's just where I'm at in life. You might not be bothered by this. But if there are never going to be any more volumes, I'd say maybe just borrow from the library if you think the premise is interesting. ( )