Seven Secrets Vol. 3

Seven Secrets #13-18

by Tom Taylor, Daniele Di Nicuolo (Penciller)

Eva and Caspar escape the Seekers' Headquarters, but the secret of Caspar's identity threatens the bond between them. Can they find Amon in time before he uses the Books of Nostradamus to unleash his ultimate plan?_x000D_
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Unthinkable tragedies and shaken loyalties aboud, while the loss of a trusted ally shakes Eva to the core. Will the Order be able to stop the inevitable in time?_x000D_
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And, after the truth of Caspar's origins is finally revealed, Caspar is faced with a decision of the future of the order, and the very nature of the secrets themselves!_x000D_
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Collects Seven Secrets #13-18.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Action, Thriller, Fantasy

153 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 15, 2022

About the author

Once a professional juggler and fire eater, Tom Taylor is a #1 New York Times Bestselling, multi-award-winning comic book writer, playwright and screenwriter.

Well known for his work with DC Comics and Marvel, Taylor is the co-creator of NEVERLANDERS from Penguin Random House, SEVEN SECRETS from Boom Studios and the Aurealis-Award-winning graphic novel series THE DEEP. Taylor is also the Head Writer and Executive Producer of The Deep animated series, four seasons of which is broadcast in over 140 countries.

He is perhaps best known for the DC Comics series, DCEASED (Shadow Awards Winner), NIGHTWING (nominated for 5 Eisner Awards), SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL (GLAAD Award Nominee), INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US, SUICIDE SQUAD, EARTH 2 and BATMAN/SUPERMAN as well as Marvel's FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, ALL NEW WOLVERINE, X-MEN: RED, DARK AGES and SUPERIOR IRON MAN. Taylor is also the writer of many Star Wars series, which include STAR WARS: INVASION and STAR WARS: BLOOD TIES (Stan Lee Excelsior Award winner). Taylor has written for Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, Boom Studios, Wildstorm, 2000 AD and Gestalt Comics.

He can be followed on twitter @TomTaylorMade.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series gets way out there and moves at lightspeed. Taylor didn't really earn this ending by moving so quickly. Feels like Boom! may have told him to wrap it up. Taylor may be taking on too much work because he's had a few misfires lately between this and Superman: Son of Kal-el.

[Thea Jacobsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much fun to read if you don’t stop to question things. The art and characters are vivid as ever and the minimal amount of text keeps pace with the art. The ending comes fast and hard and parts of the «moral» came out of left field. It’s a wild ride, but and enjoyable one!

[Sem · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you just talk to the evil dude who literally blew up a country, he'll definitely just stop because all he really wanted was a nice dating life and some self-help books uwu.

You know what, all that criticism of Taylor's work as overly optimistic - I get it now.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not expecting the third Seven Secrets volume to be the final one. That's all this series gets? The first two volumes presented these giant competing organizations, plus faerie realms and gods and superpowers and and and so much. And in this third volume it's all wrapped up in six issues.

Admittedly, the conclusion is fine. Caspar is revealed to be the seven secret - and host for a God, who must battle the demon that was one of the other secrets. It's entirely insane, but that's par for the course. It's just such a fast-paced conclusion - the whole series could have used a lot more breathing room. So many deaths and resurrections and big reveals. It's Mark Millar on steroids.

Seven Secrets is probably best read back-to-back-to-back since there's no preamble when each volume resumes. It's a fine series, probably best suited to a beach vacation or some similar time of low brain power.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

The breakneck pace this series had at the start was fine for a beginning with a big open road to go down, but when you're barreling toward the end just as fast, it's not as appealing. The ending itself did feel rushed, I don't know if by design or because Boom told Taylor to wrap it up. Also, the ending doesn't exactly feel earned, especially when it's the same "oh you're just misunderstood, let's hug it out and love everyone" BS that Taylor used on XM Red, and I don't care for it anymore here than I tolerated it back before. The series was at its best in the initial volume, by this point, it's half baked at best.

[Tuni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the hug it out Steven Universe type of problem resolution bullshit that I am here for. This was just fun. I don’t need all my comics to be deep brooding introspective challenges to the form. Sometimes you just want to enjoy yourself. And I definitely did.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was having a good time with the first two volumes but this one wasn’t as good. The big reveal when we find out what was really up with a certain character was kind of lack luster. I don’t know. It just didn’t do anything for me. The road to the end was solid but the ending just seemed kind of generic.

[Håvard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit heavy on the exposition stuff throughout. Loads of fun though, and visually striking as always!

[Odo · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.5/10

[Billy Jepma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very cool but very outlandish ending to a series that never seemed to settle on an identity. It's got personality in excess, thanks to Taylor's action-comedy writing and Di Nicuolo's bombastic artwork. But the series moved at such a breathless pace that little of it got to breathe or find an identity outside of its obvious "cool" factors. This finale reflects all that, all the good and less-than-good bits of the series. It kicks ass, objectively, and contains so many absurd moments of grand spectacle and fantasy that my desire to critique almost evaporated entirely. Almost, but not quite.

I'm sure Taylor didn't intend to end the story this early, which means the plot is straining almost out of the gate. There are huge leaps that might've worked if they had been built up to, but in this story, we don't get that, so those big moments don't land as solidly as they should've. Don't get me wrong, the all-bets-are-off silliness is fun, and I was very down to enjoy it on those terms. Maybe more time wouldn't have fixed the myriad of issues the series struggled with, especially since the characterization was lacking from the start, more or less. But I would've liked to have seen it try. It's unfortunate that a series with this many ambitious ideas didn't have the capacity to do them justice. If Taylor and Di Nicuolo ever return to this world, I wouldn't say no, but adopting a shorter-form or anthology approach might work out better for them.

[47Time · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the focus is on magic and comic-book deaths in this volume. This makes it the weakest by far.

Canto betrays more of the Keepers and gains a demon from one of the secrets. Amon retreats to Faerie to grow the baby to maturity. Meanwhile Caspar finds that he is the seventh secret. The good guys led by Eva follow Amon's group and their new Faerie allies. The battle looks to be in Eva's favor, but Caspar is decapitated by the fully-grown Amon-demon merge. It then passes into the real world where it starts to dish out death and destruction.

Caspar is not dead, though. He gets resurrected as a blue... thing. Some sort of god, apparently. He won the war against Chaos eons before. He left humanity when they became complacent, then violent against each other in his name. He split himself into the Seven Secrets, so now he must recover all of them to become whole and save the world. Caspar convinces Amon to let go of it and reunite with his lover Canto. Again, I am relieved that their relationship was actually used for something worthwhile.

The god Caspar defeats Amon-demon and decides to again split himself, but into 8 secrets. The Keepers are again tasked with protecting the secrets, as well as the world.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final arc of Seven Secrets veers wildly into uncharted territory, bringing Tom Taylor's story to an explosive and climactic conclusion that somehow manages to make total sense with the world he's created and yet still be completely unexpected right up to the last few satisfying pages.

It's hard to talk too much about the plot without heading into spoiler-land, but suffice to say that you'd never guess the way this book plays out, even if you went back and re-read everything that came before.

Daniele Di Nicuolo's art is impressive from cover to cover as well, and it's nice that Boom! gave him the chance to finish everything himself without bringing in any fillers. Di Nicuolo's visuals have always been a little left of centre, heading closer to manga than traditional superhero (even when he was on Power Rangers), but he's made the world of Seven Secrets his own, and it'd never look right without him on it.

Seven Secrets sticks the landing even when all appearances suggest that it won't. It's a rollercoaster to the finish, with everything up in the air right until the last minute, but Taylor and Di Nicuolo make sure the plot and the characters get their due.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a review for the entire series. Yep, all three volumes in one review. But, to be honest this is a pretty simple story to summarize.

There's a secret society that protects seven secrets that if revealed could doom the world. Each holder of a secret has a protector. Now, a traitor is going about killing holders and releasing the secrets.

That's really the basic story. This is a turn off your mind action movie, for the most part. Very little characterization, but what really hit me was the final chapter. Because there are a lot of writers who would have dragged out that big ending.

And, Taylor wrapped it up nice and neat without a huge exposition dump or drawn out fight scenes.

[Benjamin Kimble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seven Secrets is over. I’m gonna miss it. This series was a lot of fun for its three volume run. Fun characters who I got attached to and then had ripped away from me. Seeing all the secrets come together and finding out the ultimate secret was really cool. I’m a big fan of Tom Taylor’s writing, so while some people might not have liked the ending because it was a bit cliché, I found it really fun and touching. Daniele Di Nicuolo is a great artist and gave a great bombastic energy to this book. This is the end, but Tom gives us something that could lead to a sequel series somewhere down the line, some day.

[Sarah (thegirltheycalljones) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know it could have been so much more, that this world could have been explored much MUCH more than this and that this ending felt quite rushed, but I still enjoyed it.
The drawings are absolutely magnificent, as always, and the ideas brilliant. It should have been more developed and a bit more complicated to defeat the bad guy. The fault is, for me, to have it wrapped up in 3 volumes instead of 4. More details and side quests could have been added in order to know more of certain characters and give them depth and meaning.
But again, I still enjoyed it. For once, I want to be a bit generous with my stars.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taylor and Di Nicuolo wrap up their fantasy/adventure series with some even more epic ramifications. I thought the book was fun and a lightning fast read but the stakes become too huge. The big overall secret is decent but the book went in a direction I thought was "meh". I felt the book undid too many things that mattered. I still think the overall premise was great but the execution fell short as the title went on. Di Niuolo's art was sharp and energetic. There were some seriously cool designs. The series went much too fast as many great plot points were just blips. Overall, a good read that shot for the moon...and missed the mark.

[Rory Wilding · Rating 4 out of 5]

The problem with long-running sci-fi/fantasy narratives like Game of Thrones or Star Wars is no matter how the story expands through its world-building, opening many possibilities for where it can go, ultimately the story has to end and you have to tie up all the loose ends. Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Nicuolo are facing this problem with Seven Secrets in its third and final volume.

Please click here for my full review.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid ending to the story. The remaining secrets are revealed, and their existence is explained. Our heroes go through travais, and there is an ending.

Does it feel rushed? Yes, and that's to the deficit of characterization. But it more feels like they should have run a couple more issues, not that there's a whole missing book, so who knows.

In any case, an enjoyable light-hearted series, with bright, beautiful art, and a fun premise. But not something I'll be knocking down the doors to reread.

[Kevin MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really solid series from Tom Taylor that wraps up nicely and does a fantastic job of tying plot threads together by its final page. The characters of Caspar, Eva, Amon, and Canto among others have nice depth despite the series’ short run. The art style is fluid and kinetic and there are some delightful twists throughout the story. I think this book could have ran for longer, but Taylor brings forth an ending that is both beautiful and warranted. The seven secrets were great mysteries and plot devices. I love discovering comics like these.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Controversial opinion apparently: I thought the final volume of this three volume series wrapped things up as well as one could hope. I finished the series understanding the secrets (well most of them) and noticing the threads that had been set up long before. I have no idea if this was always meant to be a limited series but I had a great time reading all three volumes in quick succession.

Overall I would give the series maybe 4 stars for being the most fun over-the-top globe-trotting nonsense, but really I do admire a book that ties all the major threads of a series together at the end.

[Melanie Gaum · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad I got to finally finish this series, but this last volume was so quickly paced. I wish there had been a fourth volume so the author could slow down and explore the characters/plot more. I also read this 2.5 years after volumes 1 and 2, so I struggled to remember a lot of what had happened.

[MJ Pinheiro]

Honestly this series started off with an interesting premise but ultimately kinda weird. The art was fantastic so I kept with it. The ending was pretty good and imo a lot better than the beginning, just don't stop to think about it for too long haha

[Omar · Rating 2 out of 5]

As usual, a review of the series.

Painfully mediocre, sometimes even less than mediocre. Boring writing, lackluster character work and interrelations, generally just no better than a comic for children. Maybe it just is, and I missed the mark when I went and read it?

[Rob Schamberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ton of fun that really sticks the landing! Di Nicuolo is an artist to watch for sure.

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series could've used some extra work. There were a lot of great ideas that would've had an even bigger impact had the story been more fleshed out and not so fast-paced.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bellissimo stupendo meraviglioso fantastico

[Jaq · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the student who suggested this series! I've really enjoyed it!

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stay out of it, Carl.

The secrets are logical and interesting. Swords play a fun part.

[IMSEY · Rating 5 out of 5]

At one point I almost lost faith in this book, until I kept reading and I couldn’t have seen a better ending

[Rakan ♈ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can't believe Tom Taylor actually wrote this.
Vol.1+2 were so ridiculously good,
but the way he handled Vol.3 and wrapped up the entire story ?
WAS JUST A MASSIVE LETDOWN.