Pop Mythology Pop Mythology: Movie, Book, Comic reviews & commentary
Comic publishing is a tough gig.
The coordination between writer and artist is only the tip of the iceberg. While their relationship is of paramount importance, you also have to consider colouring, spatial arrangement, and lettering roles even before the editor begins to take a look at the draft project. From concept to finished pages, it’s much harder than it looks.
That’s why even though I can’t say issues #1 and #2 of God War reach the level of greatness, I want to give the title some respect and credit.
Let’s look at the premise first. The idea of former mythological icons from a variety of different cultures to fight insurgent dangers from other mythological backgrounds is an acceptably workable one. It’s a great concept that works well because it uses literary archetypes that allow the reader to make predictions on the basis of pre-knowledge derived from the understanding of those characters. When presenting a story, it is imperative that the writer give the reader clues to help him complete the missing gaps in the back-story; it validates the reader’s investment of time and enlists cooperation to help move the plot along.
The heroes of the super group “Odyssey”: Atlas, Venus (two different mythological pantheons), Orion, The Tenth Muse are recognizable and somewhat compatible with each other. This permits the reader to make those predictions I was talking about earlier and involve himself further with the story. Unfortunately, characters like “Judo Girl” or “Zotz” don’t mesh with the pantheon model and interfere with that process.
I liked that the premise tied itself in well with the recent trend in YA literature to rework classic figures from mythology into modern scenarios. It’s timely, and it speaks well to the vision of writer Kenton Daniels as well as the progressive editorial direction of Bluewater. It’s a great foundation from which to launch a series of comics and it offers a lot of promise. Daniels and artist Tsubasa Yozora clearly work well together and that’s another plus for these two books.
Creating a comic requires a tremendous amount of coordination and craftsmanship and these take time to develop as they are derived from experience. What is essential for these things to happen is creative vision. God War is an emerging concept but it clearly demonstrates Bluewater Comics’ commitment to creativity and to developing this craftsmanship further and in my mind that deserves credit and respect.
Like I said before, comic publishing is a tough gig. God War, while not excellent, is nevertheless worth a look. It’s an example of a working comic concept. It shows developing talent, creative commitment and I find it a fascinating examination of the progressive evolution of a work in action.
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