Scourge of the Gods
Issue: #1
Writer: Valérie Mangin
Artist: Aleksa Gajic
56 pp. Marvel/Soleil. $5.99
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
Being a reincarnation of Kerka—the goddess of chaos—isn’t easy. It’s not all hymns and obedient parishioners. Especially when you’re the object of worship to a rough bunch like the Huns. And your lover is some Hun named Attila.
The Huns are brutal and violent, raping, pillaging and human sacrificing their way to galactic dominance. That’s right—galactic dominance. No mere planet can contain their ambitions, their viciousness. They’re a spacefaring, conquering group, spreading like a pestilence across the universe, bringing death and destruction to peaceful worlds. Forget long walks on the beach and dinners by candlelight—unless it’s a human candle—a good time for Huns is dousing people with acid to hear them scream. Charming.
But they’re also schemers, continuously plotting, sub-plotting, and sub-sub-plotting. They backstab backstabbers. Their political machinations would confound and exasperate a Shakespearean villain; Iago would be reduced to tears. Machiavelli would counsel restraint, blanching at their excessiveness, their impulsiveness.
So what’s a poor goddess-in-training to do in the midst of all this maneuvering?
The answer lies at the heart of Scourge of the Gods. This series—originally published by the French comic publisher Soleil—has recently debuted in English thanks to Marvel Comics. And it’s an undeniable winner, clearly worth the effort of bringing it to an American audience. Intelligent and intricate, Scourge of Gods mixes science fiction, history, mythology, and court and church politics, creating a deep and engaging story. It’s less an action comic, and more about the drama occurring at the highest levels of government, about the struggle for power, the struggle to rule. And the means men will take to secure this end.
Writer Valérie Mangin creates a full and intriguing universe, filling it with religion, history and mythology. There is a depth and inherent believability to the world. Aleksa Gajic’s visuals are strong, memorable and epic in scope, a mixture of various historical images combined with a fertile imagination. Some of the architecture is quite incredible and vividly drawn, Gajic’s attention to detail immediately evident. It’s a stunning feast of words and pictures.
Good sci-fi comics are rare. Really rare. Like a panda-out-in-the-wild rare. But Scourge of the Gods is one of these select few. Definitely worth a look.
Final Grade: 81 out of 100
Related Posts:
Comic Break: 30 Days of Night: 30 Days 'Til Death #1 (IDW Publishing)
Comic Break: Dead of Night Devilslayer #1 (Marvel)
Comic Break: Locke & Key Head Games #1 (IDW Publishing)
0 comments:
Post a Comment