There are not enough adjectives to describe the genius and beauty of the sequential series Promethea. One could go in ad infinitum how the creators Alan Moore (Swamp Thing and From Hell) and J.H. Williams masterfully wove the myth of Promethea along with those mortals who kept her alive in their comics. And it wouldn’t be unjust to say that even if you had no desire in comics or to read the series that it should be picked up for the artwork, which is a breathtaking homage to the artist of the Golden Age of Comics.
Promethea is a figure that has manifested in many forms since the eighteenth century. Promethea was mentioned in a poem entitled A Faerie Romance. Since then she has remained an interesting and mysterious character of strength, honor, and courage. Moore and Williams have now added to the folklore with their version of Promethea, an Egyptian themed Xena-type goddess who kicks ass!
The story of Promethea opens with Sophie Bangs a college student researching the Promethea phenomena in comic history. In a series of strange, violent, supernatural events Sophie ends up meeting a woman whose husband was the last comic artist and writer of Promethea. When he passed away, the woman, Shelley, became the mortal host body for Promethea. But while Shelley/Promethea was attempting to save Sophie from a demon like creature she transforms into her mortal self and Sophie assumes the role as the new host body for the legendary Promethea. And thus begins an exciting story into multiple dimensions, secret societies, and impending doom.
The remainder of the trade paperback is basically a primer for Sophie who must now learn how to handle her new responsibilities as Promethea. For one, Sophie must learn how to co-exist with the essence of Promethea; this includes traveling between the legendary HyBrazil (for which the Portuguese Explorers named Brazil after) and Earth. There in HyBrazil Promethea has the honor of meeting the other host bodies of Promethea, who were all the great comic writers that kept her essence alive. But unbeknownst to Sophie, there is a group of supernatural men-in-black-types who are seeking to destroy Promethea and have put a hit out on her.
The story of Promethea is not the only riveting piece to this sequential work. The artwork as I mentioned earlier is hauntingly beautiful. The blend of Golden Age art, with science fiction and fantasy is so well done that J.H. William's artistic triumph in this novel is nothing short of perfection.
I strongly encourage anyone venturing into the world of Promethea to read Alan Moore's history on the character. This brief yet extremely comprehensive analysis introduces to the reader the creators and writers who have kept Promethea alive for nearly 300 years. And this story alone is worth the price, as a history nerd I was in total rapture reading this fascinating article. So, basically I am telling you to go and become an avid fan of this series.
Send your comments and or questions about this article to Cosmicnerd@ybfree.com.