The Book of Lost Souls #1
Icon
2005
Icon is a division of Marvel Comics, but you wouldn’t know that without reading the fine print. This starts out in the Renaissance with a man driven to the point of suicide by a series of problems that mostly seem a bit too modern for the time period. As he prepares to jump off a bridge, he is given a heavy book by a mysterious stranger. Fast forward to modern times, and he has apparently been transformed into a being who is in charge of helping lost souls find their true path. He’s got a cool interdimensional lair with a talking cat, and he finds himself in a conversation with the Devil (or maybe God) who basically tries to bribe him. I may be coming off a bit too harsh here. This had some good dialogue, and Colleen Doran’s art was excellent. No complaints about J Michael Straczynski’s execution of the plot. The dialogue had its moments, although it tended to drag. My gripe is that this is just a rearrangement of what has become a rather tired set of cliches. With the talent involved here, I was expecting better.
4.5/10
2005
Icon is a division of Marvel Comics, but you wouldn’t know that without reading the fine print. This starts out in the Renaissance with a man driven to the point of suicide by a series of problems that mostly seem a bit too modern for the time period. As he prepares to jump off a bridge, he is given a heavy book by a mysterious stranger. Fast forward to modern times, and he has apparently been transformed into a being who is in charge of helping lost souls find their true path. He’s got a cool interdimensional lair with a talking cat, and he finds himself in a conversation with the Devil (or maybe God) who basically tries to bribe him. I may be coming off a bit too harsh here. This had some good dialogue, and Colleen Doran’s art was excellent. No complaints about J Michael Straczynski’s execution of the plot. The dialogue had its moments, although it tended to drag. My gripe is that this is just a rearrangement of what has become a rather tired set of cliches. With the talent involved here, I was expecting better.
4.5/10