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PANTHEON
#1-7
From:
Lone
Star Press
Review
by: Troy
Brownfield
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If you’ve
never heard of Bill Willingham, please do me a favor, stand
up, and kick yourself in the ass. When people discuss the
reinvention of the super-hero in the 1980s, Willingham’s name
is often painfully omitted. It’s my impression that he should
be noted along with Alan Moore and Warren Ellis as a man who
tried to make super-heroes into something that carried some
weight and intellectual discourse. Willingham’s own particular
stab at this was Elementals. It’s a well-regarded,
cliché-dodging book, but it never gets enough credit (that’s
probably partially because after Willingham left, leaving
behind a detailed bible for the company to follow, they dropped
the ball. Sigh.).
Also,
Elementals never got a proper ending, which it was
supposed to have. Therefore, the team of Willingham, artist
Mike Leeke (who also has some “elemental” experience) and
editor/inker Bill Williams are here to tell a grand “ending”
with Pantheon. Imagining the last climactic battle
in a world filled with super-heroes, Pantheon is a
12-issue series about the end of a dream. It’s its own send-off.
The
creative team cheerfully admits in the first issue that this
series will have casualties. To that end, they include an
actual scorecard underscored by euphemisms for death (like
“assume room temperature”) and a note that you should cross
out dead characters with a red X. Disregard for your own status
quo goes a long way toward making me a fan.
However,
they are telling a serious story as well. The characters fit
into certain recognizable archetypes (the armored patriot,
the super-woman, the urban vigilante, etc.), but their interactions
and reactions to their situations give them original lives
of their own. Allegiances are formed, betrayls occur, villains
are unleashed, and heroes die. It’s grand storytelling, and
it pulls no punches.
With
so many characters darting about, you might be curious about
the art. I assure you that Leeke and Williams tackle this
challenge handily (issues 8 and up will feature some other
artists, but they include the uber-talented Steve Lieber and
Paul Ryan, so no worries there). The art is sharp and the
action furious. The creative team manages to imbue the book
with something like an ‘80s feel, but the concept is certainly
a very contemporary ideal.
If
you haven’t read Pantheon, get it. Ask your comic shop
to stock it. Read it and enjoy it. It’s great super-hero work
from some very talented creators, and that’s absolutely never
a bad thing.
Troy Brownfield is the Editor-in-Chief of Shotgun Reviews. Email Troy at
psikotyk@aol.com.
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