Twilight of the Gods: A Review

I am not a fan of comic books. I don’t hate them, I don’t love them–I nothing them. But my good friend and partner-in-adviser-crime Stueve sent me a PDF copy of a comic he wrote that will hit stores in November, and since he will one day have to suffer through a draft of a manuscript I might dare to send to a publisher, I figured the least I could do is read his comic book.

This really is a rather big sacrifice for me. I have vague memories of going to comic book stores with my high school boyfriend. I remember being bored. I remember the boyfriend trying to explain to me the complicated relationships of the X-Men, and I also remember my eyes glazing over, trying to figure out when he’d stop blathering on about comic books so we could just go make out already.

But now that I”m older, I try to be a good friend, which at times means that I do things like read a comic book. Here’s what I thought of AE Stueve’s comic, Twilight of the Gods.

I’m not well-versed in Greek mythology at all, so I won’t comment on particular plot points, simply because I don’t know enough to do so effectively. That said, some elements of the story were a little difficult to follow, until a very well-written letter at the end of the book pulled the whole book together, and upon a second reading, I felt more comfortable with it.

The dialogue is easy to follow, and this first book in the series made this non-comic fan crave the next one. I want to know what happens to Artemis and Orion. I want to understand how Persephone sees everything from below. I want to know if Heracles can control his temper.

And then there’s the artwork. Oh my, the artwork. The colors are perfect–not too muted, not overwhelming. I never once felt overwhelmed with the design. In the past when I tried to read comics, I always felt each panel was too busy, had too much going on. The artwork in Twilight of the Gods was accessible to even me. And best of all, Artemis is drawn as a strong woman with shades of realism, as opposed to the buxom broads that tend to fill comic books. By the end, I liked Artemis. I wanted to know more about her, because her image was relatable, even though as a comic book character, she still had exaggerated elements in her figure.

It is pretty family-friendly as well. My nephews, who are fans of the Percy Jackson series, would love the story. My sisters wouldn’t accuse me of trying to steal their sons’ innocence by giving them this comic.

But here’s the thing: this first piece must sell 1,000 copies for the rest of the series to live. Each copy is $1. I plan on buying five: one for my brother, one each for my three nephews, and one for me, the non-comic book fan. I want to know what happens next, and I can only know that if 1,000 copies sell.

I’m buying five. Will you help out with the other 995?

It will hit stores in November, and I’ll plug it again then. Start saving your pennies now.