Image Comics Hardcover #1
A brutal alien emperor prepares to erase humanity, but two of his scientists make a desperate choice that changes everything. In "The Way It Was," Erik Larsen crafts a gripping, morally charged tale of rebellion and consequence, with his own art, inks, and lettering bringing the story to life alongside the bold colors of Reuben Rude and Abel Mouton. The cover by Erik Larsen captures the intensity of a world on the brink.
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Savage alien, Emperor Kurr, is poised to wipe out humanity and take over earth as a new home for his people. When a pair of his scientists object to wiping out an entire sentient race, Kurr threatens to kill them and move forward with his plan anyway. Reich and Weiko retrieve a fertilized egg from Kurr's bedchamber (after the emperor brutally kills the woman he bedded down) and, with the next generation of the royal line preserved, they give the Emperor a lobotomy, sterilize him and leave him behind on earth in a burning field.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).