I’m not entirely sure what to make of this comic, but there’s a lot of elements that I really enjoy.

First, we have a guy who is maybe not the brightest of bulbs living in the 1930s era and stumbles upon a book with an incredible amount of power.  Ignoring the advice of his friend (who seems to be a mix between Batman, the Rocketeer, and Gosylin from Darkwing Duck), he is pulled into a whirlwind adventure that has its origins in ancient Greece.

Paul Jamison introduces us to a world he is obviously in love with.  His use of vernacular from the age of the Silver Screen is impressive, and he creates a very intricate but easy-to-follow mythos that lies at the heart of his story.  He lays out all of the elements of his tale without pushing too far into exposition dumping, leaving a fair amount of questions without the reader feeling completely lost.  The story reads well, though I found myself having trouble with our main character’s speech. I kept trying to get the dialect into my head, but, sometimes, I felt the letter replacements inconsistent and I had a hard time placing the voice Jamison was going for.  It wasn’t too large an issue, though, and I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Gilbert Dudley serves up the artwork for this issue and does a great job of building the world for us.  His style is authentic to the period and has a great talent following the action with some “Hell yeah” moments scattered throughout.  The action is never wanting, and the panels have a vivid life that carries through the story well.
If you grew up on Talespin or Darkwing Duck, or remember The Adventures of Hercules, Beastmaster, and Masters of the Universe, you’ll feel right at home in this world.

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