Promethea review by Athena

This review covers the whole series from books 1-5. I quite enjoyed this graphic novel series by Alan Moore, J. H. Williams III, et al. There are style and art changes throughout the series. The story has themes of folklore, mythology, spirituality, magic, and most of all, imagination. It is very epistemological and a bit psychedelic (in the good way). Sometimes, a lot of the concepts went over my head, and it really is a series that requires reread to appreciate all the messages and the beauty. There were many times I did not know where to look as so many things were on the page. It is meticulous and beautifully done. By Book 5, the series gets incredibly meta; it is very cool. I can not really summarise all the ideas of the series, but it is fascinating. I would love to own it and reread it when inspiration strikes. I've grown to really love and appreciate Moore's work, and this may seem like a shift from The Watchmen and V for Vendetta, but at the same time, it is not. He is still spiritually and emotionally evocative in his works. I would highly recommend it to be people who are open to fantasy, epistemology, philosophy, and visual storytelling.

Crossposted from aquatique.net.

V for Vendetta review by Athena

Before reading this graphic novel, I had read Alan Moore's other acclaimed work Watchmen. I enjoyed it, but I'm inclined to think right now V for Vendetta has some even better writing. Moore is a brilliant author who imbues poetic prose and engrossing narrative in graphic works. His characters are fascinating if not compelling. When I was reading this, I was afraid the darkness of dystopia would bring my mood down, but there were a couple of wonderful moments of beauty in this. Moore and co-author David Lodge weave a novel about society, politics, integrity, love, revenge, anarchy, fascism, security, and freedom. V is an intriguing character; a mad genius whose actions I do not necessarily condone, but whose arc makes this novel: "It's everything, Evey. The perfect entrance, the grand illusion. It's everything." While the novel has extremities, there is a moral grey side to it. The work does probe at the human capacity for indifference and to be controlled. A great graphic novel.

I watched the film adaptation more than a year ago. I liked it, and I understand that while Moore does not, Lodge does. I consider them different entities as a result of the changes. While they are not completely divergent, they are notable changes to the ending and fates of characters. The graphic novel is understandably more involved and includes more characters and stories. I highly recommend reading the book, and then watching the movie.

Promethea - Alan Moore (3)

I can say I absolutely loved Promethea by Alan Moore. Promethea is a cool heroine. She’s also of the imagination so she can’t be killed! (at least that’s the scuttlebutt so far) Promethea was originally from 411 A.D Egypt, her father a Hermetic Scholar who is killed by Christians, she escapes and is taken by the gods into the Immateria. Over the years, different women with enough imagination and enthusiasm for her have written about her in newspaper comics or pulp novels, and bring her forth from the Immateria, and the two merge to create superheroine. It’s happening again in 1999 with a college student Sophie who was writing a paper on Promethea. Again there are evil forces after her to kill her, because those with power in the physical world, and little imagination fear that Promethea will destroy the world and their power. But ideas and imagination are not easy to kill. But Sophie is new to this and has much to learn about the Immateria and her history (her different incarnations) and she has to learn it and stay alive. I am absolutely in love with Promethea.