Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: N/A
Written by: Keith Giffen
Penciled by: Colleen Doran
Inked by: Bob Wiacek
Colored by: Lovern Kindzierski
Lettered by: John E. Workman
Assistant Editor: Harvey Richards
Editor: Joan Hilty
Publisher: DC Comics
Welcome to the New Fall Season at 411mania! I hope everyone is as excited about the new lineup as I am. I’m thrilled to be reviewing a series launch, as the new season kicks off!
To say that Keith Giffen has had a career renaissance in the past few months would be an understatement. It would appear that Giffen is back to his late 80’s workload with no less than three series currently on the shelves. Giffen has masterfully integrated humor into his work for many years. His funnier stuff, like DC’s current hit Formerly Known as the Justice League is usually when he’s at his best.
I was very surprised by the addition of humor to Reign of the Zodiac. As a brand new world of fantasy, and considered by Mr. Giffen his “life’s workâ€, I didn’t expect much humor from the story. While it’s not the usual slapstick that he produces, there were just enough funny moments to lighten the mood, and make it clear it was Giffen you were reading.
Where the book runs into trouble is in the overall storyline. More to the point, the lack of a clear narrative is a bit disconcerting. The entire story is nothing more than the background of Giffen’s ambitious new series. He sets the table for the world of Eidolon, Earth’s twin, and while there’s some meat to the story, it seems a lot like filler. The last couple of pages finally got things going beyond the back-story, and it did pique my interest. It would be wholly unfair to judge the series on the merits of the first issue alone.
The world of Eidolon is centered on the twelve established symbols of the Zodiac, with each cast as a house. The twelve are joined into varying factions with none holding a clear advantage, and the desolate world has seen much strife. Earth and Eidolon once were reachable via portals, that was until the slave revolt, known as the “Renouncing.†During this time a powerful weapon was used which destroyed the Earth city of Atlantis, and the Eidolon city of Meridian. Upon being separated from Earth, which was considered a lesser place, the houses then began their internal conflict.
The narrative device used by Giffen, is the Scion of the Virgan house is being told the history during an excursion. The conversation between the two men gives us the gobs of back-story, with no respite. While there is some levity to lighten the way, it can be dry reading. The Scion asks a question about halfway through the story that I must mirror. “The point! Can we please, blessed author, get to the point?!†The majority of the first issue, seems more like the basis of a zero issue, rather then the first of a series.
I don’t want to come down to hard on this first issue. There is a lot to like in these pages, especially the brilliant art by Colleen Doran. Giffen takes sixteen pages before any forward progress is made. I’d much rather have seen more of the contemporary setting of Eidolon, then the centuries old recounting of how things got to the way they are. A Star Wars like scroll on page one, or bits of the back-story over the course of the first story arc, would have worked better.
This all said I am anxious to see where the story goes with the next couple of issues. My interest has been piqued, and I refuse to give up on the title after only one issue. Keith Giffen is a fine writer, and with the obvious blood, sweat, and tears he’s put into this book, I’m hopeful it will not disappoint.
If you’re interested:
DC’s mini-site for Reign of the Zodiac offers some of the beautiful imagery, and gives a deeper look at this new world.
