Monthly Archives: February 2011

The issue ends with the good guys (at least, it seems like they’re the good guys) setting sail for Troy. I can’t say “finally,” because Shanower never really gave a timeline for when the war was to start. This issue is the first where the long lapses in time seem to affect the characters.

It opens with Achilles arriving. Shanower plays it as a comedic scene (for a while), which brings a moment of levity before the denseness sets in. Besides a lot of political stuff, there’s Achilles meeting his father for the first time in… an extended period. Again, Shanower needs a cast list—I didn’t even remember Achilles had a father.

There’s the seeds of betrayal regarding a priest (whose prophesies seem to be repeats), there’s the High King revealing victory will have its costs—there’s word Helen, the kidnapped, is soliciting troops for Troy.

Shanower’s started rolling.

CREDITS

Writer, artist, inker and editor, Eric Shanower; publisher, Image Comics.

Shanower needs to include two things. First are maps. He moves all over the place; each issue should end with a map. Second is a cast list. He’s got this one character returning after being gone three issues. It’d help if a cast list reminded the reader of characters and their histories.

Otherwise, it’s a fantastic issue, probably the best so far. With Odysseus, Shanower has finally found a worthy protagonist for the comic. The issue opens with him departing home, saying goodbye to wife and child, bringing the long missing human component.

Then Shanower does another one of those jumps in time. This issue is now almost two years since Helen was kidnapped, so probably a year passes at some point during this issue. The passage of time needs work.

Regardless, the series is finally coming together. Shanower is even working on the faces–Odysseus is very distinct and recognizable.

CREDITS

Writer, artist, inker and editor, Eric Shanower; publisher, Image Comics.

Shanower fast forwards approximately nine months and opens with the birth of Achilles’s son. No one knows about Achilles and the girl, everyone still thinking he’s a girl too. It’s somewhat extraordinary and doesn’t work in Shanower’s realistic retelling. Achilles is such a jerk, it’s also unlikely sometime in the nine months he wouldn’t have gone off the handle… as he does at the end of his scene.

No Helen or Paris, but Shanower finally gets around to presenting the political argument for the war. It’s an issue late (and the time period—why everyone took nine months off between this issue and last is problematic) but it’s a neccesary scene.

The last part of the issue is the introduction of Odysseus. Shanower handles the scene rather well (it’s nice to get someone heroic instead of not).

Great art here—though the faces still look alike.

It’s a strong issue.

CREDITS

Writer, artist, inker and editor, Eric Shanower; publisher, Image Comics.

Well, certainly by Republican standards, Achilles is not a rapist.

The issue ends with him, dressed as a female, forcing himself on a girl. They’re presumably about thirteen. Between him and Paris, Shanower seems to be implying men’s errors tend to be due to desire for women (in Paris’s case, Helen). I imagine it’s in the source material too, but it’s sort of boring.

Besides Achilles being a rapist and still being a hero, the issue’s excellent. Shanower goes all over the place with the story, lots of different characters, all of them properly identified so one isn’t trying to discern identity from appearance. The war is building up.

Again, there really isn’t much humanity to the story. Achilles’s friend (or girlfriend or victim) is about the only one who gets any non-melodramatic, event moments. She gets a couple panels.

It’s a wonderful exercise. The question is, of what?

CREDITS

Writer, artist, inker and editor, Eric Shanower; publisher, Image Comics.