Reviews

Promethea, Vol. 1 by Mick Gray, Alan Moore, J.H. Williams III

snuf's review against another edition

4.0

So I stumbled into a youtube rabbit hole on the philosophy of Alan Moore and found this comic. Super weird guy, Alan Moore, with even weirder ideas - delightful guy. The premise of this story is absolutely amazing and totally original (to me, at least). I'm understanding now that this has roots in Hermeticism, which led me down another rabbit hole that was equally entertaining, but mostly rubbish. Still, spinning some ancient philosophy into a modern day comic is cool. Although he drastically overestimated our technological timeline because the setting is 1999 and we have flying cars and clone skin grafts. He had way to much faith in us. It's 2020 now and we still can't order spare parts from our own clones, which is outrageous.
The art in this one is 5/5.
Overall this was a pretty trippy read and I'm looking forward to reading the others. To add another layer of meaning he even wrote these in 32 issues to intentionally mimic the 32 branches of some hermetic tree or something? Idk, I'm still in the rabbit hole on this.

alishaairscape's review

challenging inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

stopnodont's review against another edition

2.0

Not sure what I expected, but this is basically a superhero story with a twist. Despite Alan Moore being a stellar writer and storyteller in general, this book comes off almost like a Great Value Sandman.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly what I don't like about it, but it's just not that compelling. As of right now I have no desire to read any further in the story.

I don't doubt that plenty of people truly enjoy this sort of thing, but it's not for me.

the8th's review against another edition

4.0

This is awesome. Sometimes I wonder why I ever read anything not written by Alan Moore. It is gorgeous, intriguing, philosophical, mystical.

violinknitter's review against another edition

3.0

Fun. Probably the closest to an "average" comic book I've ever read. (MAUS being my somewhat non-standard introduction to the format/genre. ) Loved the detail & the mythology. Less comfortable with Sophie's friend's constant derogatory jokes about lesbianism. Is it just me, or could a book not get away w/such a homophobic character as a sympathetic (?) character in 2015?

adamcagey's review against another edition

5.0

Re-read, actually. Alan Moore disguises a modern history of magic and mystical thought in the garb of an action-adventure comic, a la Wonder Woman. The story is perfectly in sync with the art by JH Williams and the whole can feel a bit overpowering at times. I'm currently re-reading this series on my way to the fifth volume which I somehow managed to miss. I am looking forward to the experience.

ckjaer88's review against another edition

1.0

Eugh. I could not get into this at all. The dialogue in the first three pages are enough to make any woman want to burn this fucking comic.

jrlagace's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

meggomyeggo1210's review against another edition

4.0

Really interesting beginning to Promethea's story! I'm not a big graphic novel reader but I'm trying and this series is definitely holding my attention. Excited to read the next one.

embuhlee's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 stars