Promethea, Vol. 1 Review

Rating: 2/5

Synopsis: College student Sophie Bangs becomes next in line as mythological figure Promethea.

My Thoughts: As one can deduce from my less-than-stellar two-star rating, I did not see this as Alan Moore's most impressive opus. For starters, the art just grotesque and not in a uniquely evocative R. Crumb type of way but a soullessly vapid manufactured commercial art one that one would expect out of a shoddy 90s superhero comic such as your typical early Image series. Lamentably enough, the story didn't diminish the searing burden of weak art either. While I do understand this is supposed to be a modern-day take on the Greek myth of Prometheus except with a female lead, the plot lacked any form of concrete purpose and the main character didn't seem to have any real discernable motivation or drive unlike in V for Vendetta (which I didn't enjoy much either for being a cheap mouthpiece for Moore to express his anarchist views) where it was pretty clear V wanted to take down the Orwellian totalitarian society surrounding him. Similar to many of Alan Moore's works, Promethea did dabble into a handful of philosophical themes. However, they were littered all over the place like a haphazard laboratorial mess and as a result, came across as superficial.

Final Thoughts: Sadly, in spite of all the praise Promethea has received, I just couldn't find myself getting into it or understanding the appeal and therefore, cannot recommend it. I hope this isn't the case for most of Alan Moore's later work.